Category Archives: Dungeons & Dragons

Do Dungeon Masters roll magic dice?

Posted on May 20, 2016 by robertpkruger

Tony Daniel at Baen commissioned this article from me. I’d been thinking about the role of self-deception in both creating and appreciating stories.

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Habitation Generation, for Stories and RPGs

Posted on November 29, 2014 by robertpkruger

I’m generally not very disciplined in creating living spaces for my characters, so I decided to make a checklist and protocol both to save time and to ensure I don’t miss critical details. The following is an example of a … Continue reading →

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Low-Resolution Fantasy, a Defense of “Bad” Art

Posted on November 7, 2014 by robertpkruger

I’ve always felt I missed something important about why my first encounters with Dungeons & Dragons were so powerful to me. When I wrote my essay for Baen early this year, I began to fit some pieces together, but as … 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 →

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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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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 →

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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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