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My D&D Character: Barbarian
My name? I do not have a name. I am called The Heinig. My people were a peaceful tribe living in the mountains. We abhorred violence, but we understood its necessity. That is why I was chosen to carry the wrath of the tribe. When I was old enough, I went with the other children…
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Gencon 7th Sea Larp
At Gencon this year, I ran a 7th Sea LARP for about 40 people. Afterward, I got a lot of positive feedback and people asking me exactly how it worked, what game design process I went through and a bunch of other questions. Since I’ve gotten so many questions, here are some answers. Now,…
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My Superman
(With acknowledgement to Mike Curry without whom this story wouldn’t exist.) A bank robbery. Six suspects, all with incredible, inhuman speed and strength. Their eyes glowing an eerie cobalt blue. Fortunately for them, they decided to rob a Metropolis bank and not a Gotham bank. If they had chosen the latter, they’d all have…
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Unreview: Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
I think it’s safe to say that one of the reasons I love Tarrentino movies is because he always seems to be ahead of me. Catching me off guard. Start with Reservoir Dogs. A bunch of clearly criminal elements sitting around in a diner talking about Madonna. I did not see that coming. Then, the…
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The Map is Not the Territory
Someone asked me about my Unreview rules recently: I have to pay for it, I have to like it, I do my best to use E-Prime. Well, here’s why. Imagine someone who reviews movies after only seeing the trailer. Or reviews books after reading the back cover. Or reviews games after only reading the…
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[REDACTED] Died For Your Sins: A Reflection on Avengers Endgame
I was at a game convention somewhere and a young lady was talking to me about Legend of the Five Rings and 7th Sea. Specifically, she was telling me about characters she loved and how her GM put those characters in their game so she could interact with them. She not only got to…
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Unreview: Captain Marvel (No Spoilers)
Unreview Rules: I have to like it, I have to pay for it, I try my best to use E-Prime (avoid using any iteration of the verb “to be”) whenever I talk about the thing. The thing I liked most about Captain Marvel and the thing I liked least are both liked to such a…
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Weird Weird West: A Hack of the World’s Most Popular Weird West RPG
Introduction I turn fifty this year. Wow. Five-Oh. This weekend, as part of my birthday celebration, I had the opportunity to run Deadlands for Shane Hensley. We were chatting over the internet a couple weeks ago and I said, “I’d really like to play Deadlands.” Shane said, “You should run it. I’d drive up (from…
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Presuppositional Apologetics: An Apology
“So, those with depression and schizophrenia can just choose to not be depressed and schizophrenic?” — Me, debating freewill I suffer from depression. All my life. Actually, it’s more than depression. Recently, I was re-diagnosed with bipolar disorder because the older you get, the faster your body breaks down. And that means there…
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Unreview: WWE 2018 Survivor Series
Vince McMahon has committed many sins in his life (And by “sin,” I mean the original meaning of the word: “falling short.”), but this is perhaps the one sin for which a wrestling promoter can never be forgiven: he has lost control of his audience. Everything you see in a wrestling show leads to…