A column about roleplaying By Robin D. Laws When asked what one can do to be a better player, the first thing I always say is: the mere fact that you’re concerned about this suggests that you’re probably already most of the way there. The second thing I say is: see where the ball is, […]
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A column about roleplaying by Robin D. Laws The GUMSHOE moment when you decide how many pool points to spend on a general ability test is meant to put players on the spot. They weigh their desire to hang on to a finite resource with the need to succeed. The rule makes them decide how […]
In Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff 603 we riffed a series of plot hooks arising from the career of experimental filmmaker and Vodou researcher Maya Deren. But maybe that left you unsatisfied, wanting a Yellow King: This is Normal Now scenario hook that drew in all of experimental cinema. You absolutely requested that, so […]
Pelgrane Press seeks swashbuckling playtesters to strap on their swords and smite some sorcery to playtest Pillars Built on Sand. Written with the trademark verve of acclaimed designer Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, this book of linked scenarios features: A quarantined ship harboring a fatal secret. An avatar of war on a predatory night time hunt. A covert […]
In the latest episode of their unadulterated, nutritious podcast, Ken and Robin talk games where the bad guys control the authorities, English spy George Blake, NYC vs. swill milk, and the New England vampire panic.
A column on roleplaying by Robin D. Laws GUMSHOE players sometimes clutch when they realize that one of them has to go talk to someone. Break through that moment of indecision by following these simple steps. Interpersonal abilities exist to help make this decision. Start by asking yourself what you know about this person, and […]
Page Turners, the game of dramatic interaction for one player and one game moderator, allows you to explore any story that revolves around interpersonal conflict. Some scenarios supplied in the book mix familiar genre tropes with the game’s character-driven storytelling structure. Sarah Saltiel’s “Addison’s Shadow,” brings the contemporary fantastical imagery of the weird tale into […]
Playtest reports for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game gave me one consistent message: This game is way too deadly! Accordingly, I made it less so, lowering Difficulty Numbers for tests to avoid Shocks and Injuries. I added the more forgiving Occult Adventure mode, where it takes 4 Shock or 4 Injury cards to take a […]
In the latest episode of their spicy, pickled podcast, Ken and Robin talk mercy for defeated foes, killer forger Mark Hofmann, stuffed shirt characters, and keeping kimchi in the timeline.





