Write the RPG You’ve Always Wanted During GamoWriMo — the NaoNoWriMo Spinoff for TTRPG Nerds
It’s November, which means National Novel Writing Month — also lovingly referred to as NaNoWriMo. Last year, Dael Kingsmill proposed a twist on our classic NaNoWriMo called GamoWriMo. The premise of NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write at least 50,000 words of a novel in a single month. GamoWriMo’s challenge was similar: take the niggling idea for an RPG campaign that just won’t leave you alone and get it to a playtest worthy state before the end of the month. Both challenges emphasize getting words on a page as opposed to immaculate quality.
Freelance Fantasy Art and the RPG Hobby
One of the best sources of inspiration for creating content as a Game Master I’ve found is art. Doesn’t matter what the subject matter is – fantasy, science fiction, or otherwise. Looking at a beautiful piece of art and really studying it to extract as much information as possible is a huge part of my own creative process as a GM, and I know this is true for many others. I can spend hours on end perusing the old art sourcebooks for AD&D, looking at the same paintings I’ve seen dozens of times. And inevitably I’ll find a detail I hadn’t noticed before or find something new that speaks to the story that the painting tells.
Quick and Dirty Writing Tricks for NaNoWriMo
Salutations nerds! It’s November, and that means National Novel Writing Month is in full swing. I’m willing to bet if you clicked on this article you already know what that is, but permit me a brief recap on the off chance you aren’t already in the know.
Basically, NaNoWriMo is a word marathon where a bunch of crazy people decide to attempt to write at least 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. The rules are simple. You aren’t allowed to actually start writing your story until November starts (but really you’re only cheating yourself if you do), and it has to be 50,000 on the same tale. Typically, you’re looking at writing about 1,667 words a day to be able to finish on time, but there are some even crazier people out there who shoot higher.
Voice Acting In Roleplaying Gaming for Everyone
Voice acting in gaming
I have been cast for an upcoming voice acting gig, and this made me think of how this applies to gaming. At first glance I noticed the only one who gets into this at many tables is the one who runs the game. Though with the rise of broadcasts and live streams of gaming such as Maze Arcana and Scarlet Sisterhood, this is going away a bit but the question is why you should put in the amount effort needed to bring a character to life?
The Basics: Getting started in Western martial arts
If you came here after reading the headline to this article, your mind is probably filled with images of longswords. While longswords are indeed a major component of the modern trend of Western martial arts, they are by no means the only weapon utilized within the art itself. Also, longswords come from one fairly narrow era of time, mainly from the 14th through 16th centuries, and Western martial arts covers a much broader period, going back at least several thousand years. You will find the study and practice of such weapons as the rapier, the Roman gladius, the bowie knife, and many, many other weapons, many bladed but not all.
Why Western martial arts?
Now you can learn German longsword through online classes
[caption id="attachment_9726" align="alignright" width="533"] Aaron and Josh of Sword Carolina show a strike to students.[/caption] If one travels in Nerd circles, it is nearly impossible not to notice the growing interest in Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) and similar organizations, especially concerning the longsword. YouTube is...
Armored Instinct: Bringing combat of the past to the future
The ring of steel on steel, swords against armor, maces against shields, these are often considered sounds only from the far past. Today, however, that is no longer the case. With interest in the sword arts growing, in no small part due to organizations such as ARMA (Association for Renaissance Martial Arts) and HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) and Russia’s M-1 Medieval Sports League, more and more fans and athletes are taking up arms and armor to experience the thrills of historical combat for themselves.
Two such individuals are Kyle Roberts and Andrew Dunn, founders of Armored Instinct in Winchester, Kentucky, who answer questions below.
Question: What exactly (and who) is Armored Instinct?
