Articles
Rules in Practice, part 2
Tabletop RPGs were born from rulebooks like the original 1974 Dungeons & Dragons, yet the real game emerges at the table. Early OD&D’s sparse guidelines fostered improvisation, house rules and a “player-skill over character sheet” ethos, laying the groundwork for today’s diverse play cultures. Over time, tensions grew between “system matters” design and “rulings not rules,” fueling movements such as the Old School Renaissance that intentionally revived rulings-heavy, challenge-oriented play.
Rules in Practice, part 1
This first installment explores how tabletop role-playing games unfold in practice, asking how every TTRPG system—from Dungeons & Dragons to Powered by the Apocalypse—is shaped by play style, group dynamics, and the broader culture of play. We investigate why “rules as written” often morph at the table, how mismatched assumptions can upset a session, and what designers may intend when they codify narrative authority, risk, and reward.
Excuse Me: Who Are You?
In a world where we are expected to play a variety of conflicting roles, in which our lives are all interconnected, broadcast and dissected, we invariably develop situational identities. We are not one person, we are many people who go by the same name.
A Long Road Out of Hell
Despite its somewhat lurid imagery, Jacob’s Ladder is not horrifying because of what it shows, like Hellraiser, not even because of what it doesn’t show, as with Hitchcock’s Psycho. It is horrifying because you never know how solid the ground beneath you is.
Modern Mythology foundations
Myths speak to our need of stories and images, both grand and mundane, for us to relate ourselves to. However, they’re often introduced as a childish thing that must at some point be put aside.