RPG Crossings - Writer's Table (Authoring Articles)

The quest to find ourselves

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 22:59:32 -0400

Flaria awoke early that morning in her usual spot in the ally with her friend, Mireen, beside her. She stood, picked up all she owned, which only filled half her pack, and got ready to go to the early maket.

Teach ‘em young

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:57:39 -0500

When my children turned 9 or 10, I introduced them to roleplaying. They could read and write, and understood, to a degree, the different races and classes and what to do in different situations. I still had to help them figure out what dice to roll each time, and when they could use bonuses and other intricacies of Dungeons and Dragons. Way back then, that was our only choice for roleplaying.

Voyage of the Jerle Shannara 3 - Morgawr

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 13:05:12 -0500

Author:
Terry Brooks

Type:
Core Rulebook

Jacket Text:

This last installment of the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy, which chronicles the exploits of the remaining adventurers who set out in Ilse Witch (2000) and staggered through the tribulations of Antrax (2001), may not be up to the standard of bestseller Brooks's early work (Sword of Shannara, etc.), but it proves once again that he puts out books that sell because of their quality, not just because of his name on the cover. As newfound mage Bek Ohmsford and his cousin Quentin Leah rejoin the Free Rover crew of the Jerle Shannara after destroying Antrax, tensions mount, for the Ilse Witch the Rovers' mortal enemy has been revealed to be Bek's sister, Grianne, and is now under his protection as she struggles to break out of the catatonic state induced by her encounter with the Sword of Shannara. Worse, the Druid Walker Boh has died, leaving behind only cryptic instructions to those who followed him into Parkasia, and the Morgawr, who trained the Ilse Witch and now seeks her destruction, has captured elven prince Ahren Elessedil and Ryer Ord Star and is using Ryer's talents as a seer to track the Jerle Shannara and those who ride it. As usual, Brooks leaves at least as many loose ends as he ties up and drops in several surprises.

The Evil DM

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 09:24:01 -0500

My idea of a great GM is the one whose name makes you cringe when you see it in your email. The good kind of cringe, mind you, where you shiver in delighted anticipation. Is my character still alive? What horrors will she face today? Nothing excites me more in a new game than hearing we have an 'Evil GM'.

Earthsea Cycle 6 - The Other Wind

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 13:35:12 -0500

Author:
Ursula LeGuin

Type:
Novel

Jacket Text:

The greatest fantasies of the 20th century are J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle. Regrettably, the Earthsea Cycle has not received the fame and sales of Tolkien's trilogy. Fortunately, new Earthsea books have appeared in the 21st century, and they are as powerful, beautiful, and imaginative as the first four novels. The fifth novel and sixth book of the Earthsea Cycle is The Other Wind.
The sorcerer Alder has the power of mending, but it may have become the power of destruction: every night he dreams of the wall between the land of the living and the land of the dead, and the wall is being dismantled. If the wall is breached, the dead will invade Earthsea. Ged, once Archmage of Earthsea, sends Alder to King Lebannen. Now Alder and the king must join with a burned woman, a wizard of forbidden lore, and a being who is woman and dragon both, in an impossible quest to save Earthsea.

Sword and Fist: A Guidebook to Fighters and Monks

Wed, 01 Feb 2006 12:49:23 -0500

Author:
Jason Carl

Type:
Rules Supplement

Jacket Text:

Combat isn't everything -- it's the only thing.

The masters of armed and unarmed combat, fighters and monks, come into their own in this book. It's packed with ways to customize fighter and monk characters, including:

Phantasy Realm - A Game Review

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 13:27:03 -0500

At long last, the day arrived! The mailman was knocking at my door, with my copy of Phantasy Realm – okay, the wait was only two days, but it was much anticipated!
As I eagerly tore the wrapping off the box with one hand, the other was punching numbers into the telephone. Within minutes, I had six people lined up to play on Saturday. Now all I had to do was read the rules, cut out the game pieces, become an expert on the game, and clear away the stacks of papers, rule books and binders of information from the game room. Reading the rules and doing the cutting was the easy part. Unfortunately, I seem to be one of those people who has to actually play a board game to understand the rules.

The 25 Types of Roleplayers - Humor

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 13:19:42 -0500

By now, most gamers are familiar with the traditional four types of players: The Real Man, The Real Roleplayer, The Loonie, and The Munchkin. Obviously, the creation of the Four Types is meant to be a joke, as well as a gross oversimplification, but even so, it's time we had a much more detailed oversimplification. So here, without further ado, are the 25 types of roleplayers: (originally by William Chase Bynum):

1. The Real Man - "Hot Diggity!! Gnoll outpost at twelve o'clock!! CHAAAAAAAARGE!!!"

2. The Real Roleplayer - "Don't start yet!! I need my two minutes to get properly into character."