In fiction, supporting characters often function as reflections of the protagonists. As we know from DramaSystem, main characters in a dramatic story can be defined as torn between two competing impulses. In the game we call these Dramatic Poles. In Hamlet, our title character is torn between Action and Contemplation. And wouldn’t you know it, […]
Author Archives: Robin Laws
In the latest episode of their ENnie-winning podcast, Ken and Robin talk creativity rewards, sanity and atrocity, lightning round, and a worse WWI.
In the latest episode of their ENnie-winning podcast, Ken and Robin talk assassins, breaking into game design, contrivances and synarchy.
See P. XX A column on roleplaying by Robin D. Laws As a general rule, writers learn to avoid repetition. In the immortal words of David Byrne, say something once, why say it again? When writing roleplaying material I have to keep reminding myself to strategically violate that general rule. If there’s one thing playtesting […]
The skulking Outer Dark Entity known as the sulp crosses the membrane into places where humans keep the possessions they do not need but cannot quite bear to get rid of. Sulps can appear in warehouses, attics, derelict buildings or the squalid homes of hoarders. They most often manifest in self-storage facilities. The name sulp […]
In the latest episode of their ENnie-winning podcast, Ken and Robin talk Ripper DNA, the Great Ford Switch, TIFF picks, renegade chrononauts, and Feng Shui 2.
A scenario premise for Ashen Stars The lasers take a contract to stop an isolated planetary despot from starting a disastrous, self-destructive war. The mystery: how to do that. Since the Mohilar War the the planet Endemia has retreated from the rest of the Bleed. Their economy locked into a failed policy of self-determination, its […]