Author Archives: Robin Laws
Page XX A Column about Roleplaying by Robin D. Laws Out of the box, GUMSHOE’s lie-noticing ability, Bullshit Detector (or Assess Honesty as it is known in more genteel settings) addresses the central problem of its category. How do you give characters in a mystery story the ability to tell when people are lying without […]
The following memo was found in the archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It sheds light on the complicated relationship between the surrealist Dreamhounds of Paris and both the French Communist Party (PCF) and the intelligence arm of its Soviet masters. July 6, 1932 To: Trofim Lysenko, Russian Academy of Sciences From: Konstantin Strezhakov, […]
a column on roleplaying by Robin D. Laws Looking for a new way to spark ideas for your next player character? Consider stealing a dramatic pole from classic literature. As Hillfolk players know, a dramatic pole is the essential opposition that defines a character tuned for, you guessed it, dramatic storytelling. It allows the character […]
In the latest episode of their ENnie-winning podcast, Ken and Robin talk School of Night, whiskey war, scene transitions, and the Illuminati hotel room.
Dreamhounds of Paris already stretches Trail of Cthulhu’s default time frame by covering events of the surrealist movement from the 1920s. While researching the book I found some details ripe for Lovecraftian parallel that fell on the other side of the time divide. Although the surrealist movement never recovers from the Occupation and the flight […]
You will surely not employ professional killers to slay galactic arch-villain Quandos Vorn. What he did to you was too cruel, too awful, to allow you to take your sworn vengeance from a remove. However, prowling after him will require you to move in his circles—a milieu also swimming with murderers-for-hire. As many others wish […]
The above comic strip depicts a character saying a dumb and wrongheaded thing in response to the Charlie Hebdo massacre. It was conceived as a critique of the character’s stance. The Birds features a cast of twisted characters who regularly say dumb and wrongheaded things. This strip caused unnecessary hurt among French gamers, many of […]