Archive of the Sphinx

Tag: OSR

  • What’s in a word? Spell Memorization

    To memorize something is a mundane task we have all done at some point, and for me it conjures up the drudgery of flash cards and play rehearsals. That the memorization is typically done from books further cements this association in my mind.

  • Review: Whitehack 3rd Edition

    Our psychological framework for concepts is not simply knowledge of what something is, but also perhaps more importantly what it is not. Giving the players Freedom of Concept also establishes the limits of who or what they are. Knowing what the character Is NOT provides powerful natural boundaries that prevent the game from devolving into…

  • Review: Bestial Ecosystems Created by Monster Inhabitation (Public Edition)

    The Short Version: This book has more in common with a yearbook than a game manual. It is an archive of brief responses to a creative writing exercise on social media. These responses are of varying quality resulting in no clear vision or theme. The result can be summarized as novelty for the sake of…

  • TACT, Deadly or Otherwise

    I found myself in a Dungeon Crawl Classics session with a player anxious about character deaths, and a GM who struggled to process the actions of a dozen player characters simultaneously. I was asked to create something that would make the game more accessible to the group. Something that gives more control over death without…

  • Review: On Downtime and Demesnes (B/X Version)

    Courtney C. Campbell recently published a trilogy of books offering new resources and ideas for the GM seeking to liven up their environmental storytelling. Today I’ll be looking at one of these three books, offering my subjective opinion on the content and how I might personally use it in my games. On Downtime and Demesnes…

  • Class: The Hearthwarden

    Every adventure has it’s caretakers. Those who cook the food, purchase the supplies, watch the wagons, bandage the wounded, polish the armor, tend to the fires, and aid their allies in a million other mundane ways often overlooked in the heroic narrative.

  • Music & Mayhem

    Music is the black sheep of external tools for immersion. In the endless pursuit of immersion we often bring elements to the game beyond our words and imagination. To engage other senses we provide portraits, maps, miniatures, and sometimes even costumes or props. Some people even select special dice to represent specific characters. Visual and…

  • Eleven Years Of Peace (Part I)

    There is a certain expectation that adventurers live busy lives. Ruins are explored in a few days, clues lead to a week of travel, upon which they meet an important character… One thing leads to another and rarely does an adventure slow down. As the game progresses the stakes grow tall and the pursuit of…

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