Ironrise – A Steampunk Adventure Board Game
Spires of heavy metal scrape the smog stretched skies. Below, the rabble of its citizens toil away, working in the seemingly countless factories to scratch out their existence under the thumb of the oppressive government, all the while under the shadow of the Obligation, a massive airship that patrols high above. Will you be the hero needed to wrest these people from their poverty and ill-fortune, or be the villain who puts the vision-less rabble back in their place? In Ironrise – A Steampunk Adventure Board Game, you are doing just that. Heroes attempting to deliver their people from endless servitude pitted against villains forced to hold the line and secure the way of life that they know. Let’s delve deeper into this new board game, currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, and its unique setting.
Delving into the West Marches RPG Campaign Style
About a year ago there was a notable resurgence of an old RPG campaign style dubbed West Marches within the tabletop roleplaying game community, especially in the Dungeons & Dragons circles. This happened to be the first time I had heard about this method of play and decided to take a stab at it. In this article, and others to come, I will be opening up about my experience of building a play area within a sprawling campaign, my reactions to the dozens of sessions, and what I did to make this campaign style something more in-line with my taste as a Game Master.
Philosophy of Pen and Paper Roleplaying Game No. 2
Why did your character become an adventurer?
Adventurer in a roleplaying game like Dungeons & Dragons is a dangerous profession. Travelling through dangerous landscapes, delving into infested tombs, and challenging mighty beasts – why would anyone choose such a life? Why would someone give up their life of relative safety to place themselves into the jaws of the unknown, sometimes literally? Answering why they emerged from their life of solitude as a hermit or ended their career as soldier poses more questions than you started with. These questions will lead to crafting more compelling roleplaying game characters through the introduction of flaws, personal conviction and opening the door to meaningful decisions.
Philosophy of Pen and Paper Roleplaying Game Hobby No. 1
Introduction of “why” in roleplaying games
While often the conversation of the roleplaying hobby revolves around the question of “how,” I find I spend most of my time asking “why.” While discussion of effective Game Mastering, playing a compelling character, and the like can be useful tools, these are simply to treat the symptoms of the obstacles we face in this hobby. Understanding why we take on such an odd and complex undertaking and dare to call it fun gives us insight on what drives us and when we know why, we know when we fall short of why. This concept of why is what we’re here to explore: Why do we play, Why do you play, and why is this important for roleplaying gamers.
