Three members of the Gauntlet Community teamed up to make one spooky Halloween themed Dungeon World adventure!

Three members of the Gauntlet Community teamed up to make one spooky Halloween themed Dungeon World adventure!

Three members of the Gauntlet Community teamed up to make one spooky Halloween themed Dungeon World adventure!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/257447/Sword-Breaker-Presents-Castle-in-the-Mist?manufacturers_id=11205

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/257447/Sword-Breaker-Presents-Castle-in-the-Mist?manufacturers_id=11205

12 Jinn, 5 Monsters, 5 Items, 1 Compendium Class, 1 Thief Variant, and a mysterious setting to play with them in!

12 Jinn, 5 Monsters, 5 Items, 1 Compendium Class, 1 Thief Variant, and a mysterious setting to play with them in!

12 Jinn, 5 Monsters, 5 Items, 1 Compendium Class, 1 Thief Variant, and a mysterious setting to play with them in!

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/247457/Name-Not-Found?src=newest&filters=44819_0_0_0_0

Help us come up with flags!

Help us come up with flags!

Help us come up with flags!

Hi All,

We’re working on Sword Breaker issue #7 (our DW zine) and it will be aimed at younger players. We want to provide options for flags that will be super clear and actionable. I expect there will be a wide range of ages at each table because families often try to play with siblings who are spread out in age and ability. Here are some examples:

* Make me mad so I can act crazy!

* Make me do the talking because you know it freaks me out!

* Treat me like the boss!

We’re open to suggestions and alternative opinions as well.

We will, of course, give credit to anyone who contributes.

Ray Otus has done it again!

Ray Otus has done it again!

Ray Otus has done it again! If you don’t support him on Patreon yet, It’s time! Plundergrounds is more than just a Dungeon World zine. It’s a finely crafted work of art!

Journey into the afterlife and struggle against gods and monsters as you courageously tempt death by inching closer and closer to the final act!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/beyond-black-18358372?utm_medium=post_notification_email&utm_source=post_link&utm_campaign=patron_engagement

https://www.patreon.com/posts/beyond-black-18358372?utm_medium=post_notification_email&utm_source=post_link&utm_campaign=patron_engagement

My workplace did a story on my zine!

My workplace did a story on my zine!

My workplace did a story on my zine!

I mentioned Codex and Discern Realities by name but that didn’t end up in the article. The Gauntlet is in the story though!

https://cafnr.missouri.edu/2018/02/after-hours-the-zine-scene/

https://cafnr.missouri.edu/2018/02/after-hours-the-zine-scene/

Brian Holland is the Evel Knievel of Dungeon World zine creators!

Brian Holland is the Evel Knievel of Dungeon World zine creators!

Brian Holland is the Evel Knievel of Dungeon World zine creators! Even after down time forced by a terrible vehicular accident, he bounced back and managed to produce issue 6 before two zine makers who had a multiple issue head-start on him!

All this with no loss of flare! This is another issue chalk full of cool ideas and delightful tools for randomizing your adventure!

https://www.patreon.com/BrianHolland/posts

RPG Art

RPG Art

RPG Art

I was thinking about the new coloring books and how they are different from the ones I grew up with. The majority of the coloring books you see today are packed full of lines so the person coloring them in will have a million tiny spaces to fill. There used to by larger fields to wrestle with. You had to decide whether to color them in with one color or be adventurous and try some kind of shading or mixing.

That got me thinking about the old D&D manuals versus all the new glossy books. Ray Otus and I have talked about this a little before but I’m still struggling to understand it completely. For some reason I prefer a lot of those old B&W images when it comes to gaming.

I really admire the art in the Pathfinder, D&D and other fancy-schmancy books of today. There is no question that the artists are very skilled. In some way, I think they’ve taken away my agency. When I look at some full-color, glossy image depicting a scene I might encounter in the game, I feel like an observer. When I look at something with fewer of the details filled in for me, I find it easier to project myself into the action.

What do you think?

Dungeon World Magic Items

Dungeon World Magic Items

Dungeon World Magic Items

I was chatting with Brian Holland and was thinking I would share some thoughts with the rest of the community to see what people think.

This year, instead of writing a novel for NaNoWriMo, I’ve been writing a project that may possibly be released as a “Sword Breaker Presents:” product. The basic idea is sort of a journal full of descriptions of magic items and where they might be found. Jesse Ross and I thought it might be cool to release it as a stand-alone book with no stats. That way, it could be given directly to the players and they could decide if they wanted to pursue any of the entries. We would have downloadable stat books for various systems that the GM could reference.

Here’s where all this is going. Robert Bohl once posted that he didn’t like system neutral stuff because game materials are always influenced by the gaming preferences of the creator (correct me if my paraphrasing is off Rob). That holds up in this case. As I’m writing these, even as just prose journal entries, I have thought about how I might write them up for Dungeon World. Jesse and I talked about possibly hiring or recruiting “experts” to write up the stats for other systems. I have to admit, I think a lot of my entries would be hard for some systems to deal with.

An example of this is a powerful item with numerous abilities. In a lot of games this kind of thing would be annoying. It would either be too “O.P” or the GM would have to negotiate the slow reveal of each power. In DW you can simply make a Compendium Class out of it. The player can unlock the awesome as they level up.

A lot of the items aren’t really easy to use. Unlike a lot of game systems where powers are sort of on, off, one-shot, or pay-as-you-go, I can build in iffy results and consequences with a few easy lines for DW.

The New Sword Breaker is the biggest and best looking one yet!

The New Sword Breaker is the biggest and best looking one yet!

The New Sword Breaker is the biggest and best looking one yet! Check out the fantastic art and layout by Jesse Ross! This one is a Thundarr inspired, science fantasy mashup! There were contributions and some helpful guidance from several Gauntleteers. Special thanks goes out to Jeremy Strandberg, Charles Gatz, Jeremy Scott, Michael G. Barford, and James Etheridge!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/226588/Sword-Breaker-Issue-No-5–The-Folded-Lands

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/226588/Sword-Breaker-Issue-No-5–The-Folded-Lands

I just got around to listening to Andrew Huffaker’s latest Psychology of Gaming Podcast.

I just got around to listening to Andrew Huffaker’s latest Psychology of Gaming Podcast.

I just got around to listening to Andrew Huffaker’s latest Psychology of Gaming Podcast. Jeremy Strandberg had a lot of interesting things to say. Now I’m super excited to see more of Stonetop! Great questions and fascinating insights!

I particularly loved Jeremy’s answer to Yochai Gal’s question about great game mastering. The thoughts on constructing moves were also really helpful.

https://thepsychologyofgaming.com/2017/10/18/collective-unconscious-with-jeremy-strandberg/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-3

https://thepsychologyofgaming.com/2017/10/18/collective-unconscious-with-jeremy-strandberg/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-3