While I sometimes talk about playing against type and breaking out of your safe space, there is a lot to be said for playing in your comfort zone. Certainly, you should not dismiss a different type of role out of turn (such as a thinker when you usually play a brute). Allow yourself the opportunity to break in the new role, just like you might a new pair of shoes. Like shoes, however, you can be relatively certain when you slip one on your foot if it’s way too big or way too tight, other times, you might try a [...]

Justin Suzuki, a new friend of The Blur 1, and one of the powers (and voices) of WombatCast, wrote the following over on our Facebook page. My group funk is infecting my mind, is there anything you can do?! Well, Justin, no need to yell, we’re right here, but, hey, you came to the right place! Every once in awhile, a game group will run up against entropy. We, as thinking, breathing, carbon-based life forms should know by now that battling entropy is tough. Couple entropy with familiarity and you’ll sometimes get a game as exciting as visiting your in-laws [...]

We’re going to talk about interjecting humor in gaming, but first there is an obligatory preface. Today is April Fool’s Day, so let’s just get that out of the way up front. I enjoy jokes as much as the next guy, but doing it on April Fool’s Day? C’mon, everyone’s expecting shenanigans. You gotta strike them when they’re not looking, so if you’re looking for trickery here, I’d suggest you just mosey along to any of the bazillion sites floating around wanting to trick you and break your heart. As I’ve mentioned in various places, I’m continuing to work on materials [...]

Today (and the bulk of yesterday), I spent watching Spartacus, a rousing good show with a surprising depth of intrigue, far more than I expected from glancing at the little blurb. I figured it was a series “inspired” by the like of Gladiator, and I wasn’t far wrong–at least on the surface. Once things get going, there is a lot of good stuff going on. There are lessons to be learned by such a tight focus. Let’s hit a few things and all get used to the time change, shall we? Keep the motivation strong. Our hero wants to survive [...]

An interesting conversation came up on the (Twitter) feed yesterday, and I noticed it this morning when I went out on the front porch to get a bit of fresh air and was greeted by a warm, wet blanket of humidity and middling rains. I sat on the swing and saw a few people discussing whether sidebars where a good thing or a bad thing–and I’m not talking about sidebars in books (that’s grist for another mill). First off, allow me to define sidebar for the purpose of our discussion. A sidebar is when a GM takes a player (or [...]

The snow blew through fast, and I wrapped up the adventure I was working on while the vestiges of snow battled the sun. The sun won. It always does. This week has been a blur. No pun intended. Lots of phone calls have been interspersed with the writing and the scheduling and the gang is doing a bang up job. Sometimes it feels like a real effort to coordinate all the bits and pieces, but all the Blurry Ones are really in a groove of late, so I want to give them a big shout out. You know who you [...]

As much as gamers are a creative lot, we all get stuck in our respective grooves. Grooves, as one may note, can appear as ruts from the outside, and it’s important to leap out of the trenches of regular thought and run across the battlefield and see what kind of pointy things loom out there. While it’s safe in the trenches, action provides experience, and new experiences are needed to break our modalities. How do we introduce new things to our groups? Here’s a fun tip which is relatively painless for you and yours. I call it, the backup plan. [...]

“Some say a comet will fall from the sky, followed by meter showers, and tidal waves…”, AEnema, Tool A strong lead in, eh? Your attention is rapt and you are awaiting further input. This is good. Today, we’re going to talk about a simple literary technique which can elevate your game from beyond the ordinary. The technique of which I speak? Foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is the literary technique of providing clues to the reader of stuff which is going to happen later on in the story. The classic example is Chekov’s gun…”if you are presented with a gun on the mantle [...]

This one’s for the game masters out there, but if you’re a player, behold and despair! Some players look at hindrances in games as a free ride–something which may look bad on paper, but rarely, if ever, come up in play. Say it ain’t so, Joe.  If you’re letting folks coast, then you aren’t doing your job. And, yes, it is your job. Regardless of system or style of play, if a character takes a hindrance, flaw, complication, or whatever the word of the day (or game) may be, you gotta make them feel it.  This isn’t all players, some players [...]

With the wondrous presents bandied about this time of year, I think about the gifts given by GMs, those hidden away in the treasures of monsters and such. The gifts of which I speak? Magic items. When thinking of including such items in your world, be sure to carefully consider the implications they can have in your game world. Some systems and setting have magic as part and parcel of the world. Think about it. Who doesn’t like magic items? You should also have some special magic items in your game world, and even if magic doesn’t exist, be certain [...]