Monthly Archives: October 2014

A Long Trip with Lucius, Part 7

Posted on October 31, 2014 by robertpkruger

Since I started this memoir about Lucius, I’ve moved with my family to Redmond, Oregon, and the protracted summer has just yielded to fall. Lucius, Gullivar, and I passed through this country an hour after my last installment, on the … Continue reading →

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The Cognitive Science of Religion, Filed Under “Gaming”

Posted on October 29, 2014 by robertpkruger

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Cognitive-Science-of-Religion This is a fascinating and important area of inquiry. I used to think that disavowing religion was like denying your blind spot, not because I think that everyone secretly believes in God but rather that if they don’t, they’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Evo Psych, Games, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Player’s Handbook, Gamemaster’s Guide, User’s Manual

Posted on October 29, 2014 by robertpkruger

This winter quarter I’ll be teaching a class in JavaScript, and while driving around town today I mused about how I might impress my students with the power of open-source libraries. This led me to a train of geeky associations … Continue reading →

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Joe Midlist, the End of an Archetype

Posted on October 16, 2014 by robertpkruger

The following is from a post I made several months ago in a Facebook group I started. I founded the ebook company ElectricStory.com and have run it for fourteen years, publishing a few top authors in fantasy and science fiction, … Continue reading →

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The Half-Baked Guide to Better D&D, Part 4: Strangers Meet in a Foreign Land

Posted on October 15, 2014 by robertpkruger

Imagination Against Literalism Yesterday, I had a typically good talk with my friend Jonathan Tweet, lead designer of the D&D 3.0 rules and co-designer of 13th Age. He’s trying to get local atheists to form a community based on science … Continue reading →

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The Half-Baked Guide to Better D&D, Part 3: Mystery & Mastery

Posted on October 9, 2014 by robertpkruger

Computer games are not roleplaying games. A computer game circumscribes the possible interactions between the players and the environment, including the monsters. As you get better at being a DM, you act less like a computer. As you get better … Continue reading →

Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Games, Monsters, Writing | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Half-Baked Guide to Better D&D, Part 2: Beginner’s Mind

Posted on October 6, 2014 by robertpkruger

Dirk the Thief has been down on his luck. He’s worried about where his next meal is coming from. He needs a score. At the local inn, a shady guy is recruiting adventurers to plunder the monster-haunted multi-level Labyrinth of … Continue reading →

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The Half-Baked Guide to Better D&D, Part 1

Posted on October 5, 2014 by robertpkruger

The title of this series probably needs work, but I did give it more than two-seconds’ thought; I gave it ten-seconds’ thought. All guides to “better D&D” are going to be half-baked, because there are so many variables to consider: … Continue reading →

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The Craft and Art(?) of Roleplaying Games

Posted on October 4, 2014 by robertpkruger

Since I wrote my essay for Baen early this year, I’ve continued to navel-gaze about rpgs. I’m far from having exhausted the topic for myself. Here are some of the strongest conclusions about them that I’ve arrived at:

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The Fallacy of Politics

Posted on October 4, 2014 by robertpkruger

If we really want progress, we should recognize a much more fundamental and deep divide than conservative versus liberal: those who use logical fallacies in argument and those who don’t. Liberalism and conservatism are the poles of constructive debate; as … Continue reading →

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