Tag: Dungeons & Dragons

Thac0 with Advantage 41. Who Goes First? Rolling for Initiative

Thac0 with Advantage 41. Who Goes First? Rolling for Initiative

Posted on by Christopher Sniezak

Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D still acts first in all of our rounds of gaming.

Imagine a table full of gamers. Each one of them has a character with multiple options available to them. Now think of all of those characters in the same scene with a giants, a dragon, and a band of ogres. How do you keep all of those characters straight and make sure that everyone gets to take their turn? We roll for initiative, and let the dice tell us who gets to take what turn and when. We’ll explore how 5e D&D works, as well as variations that exist in the game.

Thac0 with Advantage 35. Dungeons & Dragons 2023 Retrospective

Thac0 with Advantage 35. Dungeons & Dragons 2023 Retrospective

Posted on by Christopher Sniezak

Last year was a roller coaster ride for all things Dungeons & Dragons. The year started with breaking a 23 year old promise with the OGL, a reversal that saw the 5e SRD added to creative commons, the release of the Dungeons & Dragons movie, the excitement of the 2024 anniversary year plans, and the sudden, sobering stop of the December layoffs from Hasbro. We take a look at this tumultuous year and what it means for the game and the brand.

BXP 6x11 - Monica and Heather Consider Ways to Keep Players Playing

BXP 6×11 – Monica and Heather Consider Ways to Keep Players Playing

Posted on by Senda Linaugh

Today Monica gets together with Heather (her wife) to discuss one of their mutually shared core principles of game design: participation makes the game. If you remove players from play, you are denying them the chance to experience your game. We break down what this means as well as provide good and bad examples of designing for character creation, incapacitation, elimination, and replacement. We also discuss constructive self-entertainment vs. disruptive behavior and techniques for different designs and different styles of play. 

BXP 6x10 - Monica and Alex Break Down Setting Design Using Video Games

BXP 6×10 – Monica and Alex Break Down Setting Design Using Video Games

Posted on by Senda Linaugh

Today I’m joined by friend and colleague Alex Guerrero to discuss how video games utilize narrative and setting design to create a sense of wonder and mystery – and how you can bring that to the table in your own tabletop RPGs!

BXP 6x09 Monica and D Evaluate Rules Exceptions

BXP 6×09 Monica and D Evaluate Rules Exceptions

Posted on by Senda Linaugh

D is back in the studio with me today to deliver on our promise to discuss exceptions-based rules design. We talk about Exalted: Essence an awful lot, but also talk about Malifaux, Chronicles of Darkness, and some upcoming games. We talk about good examples of how to build strong exceptions and an equal number of bad ones, and point out games that don’t do this at all. 

BXP 6x08 Monica and Hiromi Demystify Accessibility

BXP 6×08 Monica and Hiromi Demystify Accessibility

Posted on by Senda Linaugh

Today Monica sits down with friend and colleague Hiromi Cota to discuss how you can improve the accessibility of your tabletop RPG. We talk about making things accessible to folks with physical issues, but mental ones as well. We also talk about math a lot.

BXP 06x07 - Monica and the Scoundrels Discuss Content Creation

BXP 06×07 – Monica and the Scoundrels Discuss Content Creation

Posted on by Senda Linaugh

Today Monica is joined by the hosts of the Malifaux podcast, Steampowered Scoundrels, to have a lively discussion about being small content creators in a niche field, being the microest of micro celebrities, having relationships with tabletop game designers, and a lot, and I really mean a lot, of talk about Malifaux. 

BXP 06x06 - MTP Crossover 2: Design Directives Mechanics Workshop

BXP 06×06 – MTP Crossover 2: Design Directives Mechanics Workshop

Posted on by Senda Linaugh

Here’s another crossover with Mage: The Podcast. This time Danielle Lauzon joins us as we discuss the concept of design directives in games.

BXP 06x05 - Monica and Elliott Dissect Character Sheets

BXP 06×05 – Monica and Elliott Dissect Character Sheets

Posted on by Senda Linaugh

Today Monica is joined by Exalted developer, Elliott Freeman, to break down their favorite (and least favorite) characters sheets: what works, what doesn’t, what they like to see, and so on.

BXP 06 x 04 - Monica and MJ Examine Competitive Game Design

BXP 06 x 04 – Monica and MJ Examine Competitive Game Design

Posted on by Senda Linaugh

Monica is joined by freelance author and designer, MJ Monleon, to discuss the ins, outs, and pitfalls of designing a competitive game. We focus mostly on traditional games like tabletop RPGs and card or board games and then wander off into the weeds of some of our favorite video games.