I’ve never been so torn by a movie in my life. This should have been super easy, barely an inconvenience. A heist movie, directed by Shane Black,… Read more “Two Reviews of Play Dirty”
Black Circles and Fan Gatherings
Field Report: Cross Plains, TX 2025Robert E. Howard Days is an annual fan gathering, organized around June 11th and held in the city of Cross Plains, Texas,… Read more “Black Circles and Fan Gatherings”
Ohio/Kentucky Road Trip Photo Dump
This is a pictorial overflow from the weekly Substack newsletter. There’s a size limit on those things, so I am putting the rest of the pictures (with… Read more “Ohio/Kentucky Road Trip Photo Dump”
From the Vault: Superman, Man of Steel, and my Thoughts on Both
I’ve been aware of Superman, near as I can figure, since the age of five. Thirty-seven years. And as a member of Generation X, I had the… Read more “From the Vault: Superman, Man of Steel, and my Thoughts on Both”
From the Vault: Raiders of the Lost Ark Made Me This Way…
Over the years, I’ve tried, with middling success, to explain to folks just how important and influential Raiders of the Lost Ark was for me. It dropped into my… Read more “From the Vault: Raiders of the Lost Ark Made Me This Way…”
Hex Flower Engine: For When the Job Goes Pear-Shaped…
My apologies for the absence these last couple of weeks. I was getting over a major oral surgery, and the constant mouth pain made it difficult to… Read more “Hex Flower Engine: For When the Job Goes Pear-Shaped…”
Table Talk: My Top 5 Favorite RPGs with Great Writing
RPGaDAY 2024 Prompt: Day 5 – An RPG with Great Writing I’m on the mend from some major oral surgery, so there’s no table talk this week.… Read more “Table Talk: My Top 5 Favorite RPGs with Great Writing”
How to Use Random Tables
Random tables are woven into the very fabric of role-playing games, from the earliest Wandering Monster tables to all of those Appendices in the AD&D Dungeon Master’s… Read more “How to Use Random Tables”
Progress and Predictions: the future of D&D
The news that John Hight, formerly of Blizzard, has joined WotC as the new company President has reignited the speculation that WizBro is moving into an online,… Read more “Progress and Predictions: the future of D&D”
Chessex Stories: The End is Nigh
Our time in California amounted to somewhere between a year and a year and a half. I remain grateful for every second I spent there, every friend… Read more “Chessex Stories: The End is Nigh”