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I wrote this 15 years ago (seriously, what the hell?), but well worth the bump. Be safe getting to Gen Con, folks!

I've been thinking a lot about this topic because the game I'm writing has a mechanic for social combat -- including convincing people to do things they might not do otherwise. As folks have noted above, I find that when used against a PC I need to draw a distinction between "magical compulsion"...

Ha! I'll go summon him. He'll love this.

Probably the original Planescape boxed set. That sucker completely transformed the way I run games. If not that, any of the three 1e books would be a tie, but I think the DMG would win.

I wrote a bunch of the city descriptions for this game. It's really fun! And MAN, are there a ton of good plot hooks during Prohibition, let me tell you. And murders. And high-speed boat chase gun fights under the bridges of 1920s Miami...

Your work is really gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing and posting these. I love to see them.

Ha, here's what Google gets us! An excellent point, 8 years late. :)

Merric, you may have read one of the earlier versions of the rules. Nowadays in TimeWatch, Night's Black Agents, and the like, the rules are really straightforward and much easier to wrap your arms around.

Wow, nice! It's the challenge with a huge campaign: there's so much there, it's hard to review.

Relax, folks. No need to be prickly. PbtA is short for "Powered by the Apocalypse," a series of games that use "playbooks" that fully define your character from the start. No building a PC required; instead, you make 3-4 choices and you're ready to play. Dungeonworld is one of these. There's...

I've been offline and hadn't said thank you. Thank you!

My good friend is having a rules conflict, and I don't remember enough 3.5 to answer it: D&D (3.5) question. Using squares where one diagonal square represents 5' and 2 diagonal squares represents 15': Character A is two diagonal squares away from character B (an opponent). Character B is...

I'll be watching this really closely. It's a neat concept for building buzz. I think it's only going to be a win.

My wife: "You don't need this! I could run a western Call of Cthulhu game for you right now, without needing this supplement." Me: "Yes please! Do it!" My wife: "This looks really fun, but I'm just saying that..." Me: "No, I totally get it. And you should absolutely run an old west game of...

All good advice. I'll also suggest seeing if the Trail of Cthulhu rules (which use GUMSHOE) adapt easily; I'd be shocked if they didn't.

It is a sad fact that my first inclination for the Mouser's magical ability goes back to the 1e Deities & Demigods stat block. That's not weird, right? Early on, he's great at sleight of hand and legerdemain. Re-reading my way through the stories, so I'll confirm if he gets more knowledgeable...

A related question, to Johnny3D3D above: is slow sorcery just plain incompatible with fun in a RPG when you tie player characters into it? I see a risk of "You guys go adventure. We'll be sprinking powders and chanting for the next few days." that I think everyone would want to avoid.

Wiseass. :) I'm amazed by how much investigation there is in classic fantasy. Not Sherlock Holmes-style investigation, but "why are ravens stealing jewels from women?" and "who stole this jeweled skull from us?" plots. It's an amazingly solid fit, especially when politics get integrated...

I'm reminded of the old Vertigo Jonah Hex comics, where Jonah fought the Children of the Worm. Half-human, half-Cthulhian cowboy opponents!

Oh, really interesting point about oaths. I hadn't considered that. Interesting.