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I try to give the summary line before spoiler on adventure reviews. Sometimes it's smoother than others.

One of the theoretical advantages of tie-in media is being able to coordinate releases across multiple mediums. Shadows of the Empire for Star Wars is a famous example, releasing books, soundtracks, video games, comics and even a sourcebook for the classic West End Games Star Wars Roleplaying...

As soon as the players hear that detail about the dog I imagine they decide to start a cupcake business instead of heading into certain death.

One of the main ways that most RPG players classify their games is "gritty versus cinematic". Gritty games tend to feature rules where the hit points are low, the dice are cruel and the game rewards clever execution over trusting in character abilities. Cinematic games lean into genre emulation...

Correct. There's a faded battle image on the end papers and not, say, d20 Weird Things At The Bottom Of A Dragon Hoard. Slappers only, sir.

It's somewhere within the 10-100% range (helpful, I know!) There are several ability and spell descriptions that remain unchanged from the 14 Handbook. Though I will never understand why they didn't call this the 50th Anniversary edition. Much less awkward and works with the chapter opener art...

I would assume that clicking on a clearly marked review makes it pretty obvious that it's my opinion.

If you're talking about mixing and matching with old classes, you have to be mindful because abilities get shifted around. If you're talking about running with all 2024 classes in, say, Curse of Strahd, it could work, though I assume that the Monster Manual will have its own set of edits...

That's my terminology, not theirs. It's a lot easier to type than "Dude Who Hits One Target Hard" and "Dude Who Moves Other Dudes On The Map" Although there are a couple bits of 4e that have more obviously returned. Welcome back, Blooded condition! I guess this makes me... sunglasses A Flass...

After three years of prognosticating, hand wringing and trash talking, the next version of the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook is here. The ruleset formerly known as #OneD&D has arrived as 2024 Player’s Handbook and although it’s set for a general release on September 17th, the displacer...

I played a demo of it at Gen Con. There's a lot of cross pollination from other d20 games like Shadow of the Demon Lord and Pathfinder 2e. The lead designer said they wanted to do their own thing but also be close enough to 5e to not completely scare off people reluctant to learn new systems...

There’s horror all around us. We rarely get to see things like tentacled horrors or immortal bloodsuckers in real life, but we’ve all had harrowing experiences of meetings that could have been emails and co-workers who keep messing with the thermostat without asking permission. Triangle Agency...

The popularity of cozy games has exploded over the past few years. These games explore slice of life stories rather than epic tales of star empires or dragon war. If you’ve played Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley or still love The Sims you’re familiar with this style of game. It’s unsurprising...

Sometimes when I run Blades or PbtA I get tired of coming up with complications. There are days when the players can't hit a 10 to save their life and it's hard when you're on your fifth "uh... you're out of ammo again" success at cost. I like that Spire mixes up those events so sometimes it's...

Having worked on IP based RPGs big and small, I can confirm that this happens a fair amount. Just like not every campaign has to be an epic, years long affair, RPG lines can just be one or two books about a thing someone in the company likes. This gives hardcore fans something new to enjoy and...

Players enjoy a good conspiracy. What they truly love is to be part of one. Games like Delta Green and Vampire The Masquerade bring the players together by surrounding them with secrets and making it hard to know who should be entrusted with forbidden knowledge. Spire: The City Must Fall, from...

Most old school RPGs share two design principles. The first is an abundance of charts and tables to choose entries from or to roll on. These provide inspiration for the GM when they are writing up the next adventure or give them ideas when the players stray from the obvious path. The second is a...