Returning To My Roots: BurningCon 2023

I recently attended BurningCon, a convention devoted to the games published by BWHQ in Queens, NY: The Burning Wheel, Burning Empires, Torchbearer, and Mouse Guard are the big ones. BWHQ haven’t released as many titles as some publishers but their work continues to be some of the most influential in both my own gaming life… Continue reading Returning To My Roots: BurningCon 2023

The Usual Suspects

Something that occurred to me just this year: having an encyclopedic knowledge of RPGs hasn’t actually made me happier. In fact it’s probably made me less happy participating in my hobby, because I don’t share the same assumptions as the players with whom I spend most of my time. It’s given me all the tools… Continue reading The Usual Suspects

Burning Wheel: Back In The Saddle

I’ve been running a Burning Wheel game for the first time in years, and was reminded that swaths of the indie world might not know about this seminal work. I've written about it a ton, but here's a one-stop overview. (The) Burning Wheel Okay yes, formally it has a "The" in the beginning. Absurdly underpriced… Continue reading Burning Wheel: Back In The Saddle

Deciding What To Care About

Part 3 of ? in the Cultivating a Storytelling Mindset series The hardest thing I ever ask of a player is to decide what they're going to care about. Some games tell you what to care about, right? You’re dungeon delvers, so you’re supposed to care about the treasure. Advancement is a strongly implied goal… Continue reading Deciding What To Care About