Category: Gaming

  • When the Cupboard’s Bare

    It happens to every game master at one point or another. Game night is here, players are expecting a continuation of your Super Fun Time Awesome Campaign™ and you’ve got nothing. Maybe it’s been a particularly busy week at work, or you’ve been caught up in your studies. Heck, maybe it’s the “centipede’s dilemma”, and…

  • What’s on my Laptop

    Monday I talked about my GM kit and contents thereof, and I mentioned my laptop as the second part of my game mastering load out. Ever since my friend David (Hi, David!) gave me this laptop, I have been adding, tweaking and expanding its potential for tabletop use. And while I can still GM without…

  • Like to game a lot? Come to GameAlot!

    Yeah, okay, time to let one of the other multiple personalities write blog titles for a while. But in all fairness the title says it all: if you like games and you live with reasonable distance of St. Albert, you need to be at GameAlot this weekend. GameAlot is the annual in-store gaming convention run…

  • My Game Master Kit

    I’ve had a few folks ask me, here and at Gen Con, what I carry with me to GM. So I thought I’d give you a virtual tour of my GM kit. First thing to note, I don’t always carry this full kit with me to every session. What I take depends on the game…

  • Edge of the Nest

    I took the bus to Gen Con this year. That choice was motivated largely by a lack of funds, but also by a desire to have a bit of isolation. My trip was three days there and three-and-a-half days back, which gave me plenty of time for reading and reflection. Okay, and a not insignificant…

  • 3 Tips for Running a Con Game

    Summer con season is in full swing, and that means con gaming! I love playing and running RPGs at cons. It gives me a chance to try out new ideas and game with folks I don’t see or have just met. If you’ve never tried gaming at a con, I highly recommend it as a…

  • My Dice Obsession

    I love dice. “Well duh, Brent. You’re a gamer, of course you love dice.” Well sure, but I reeeeeally love dice. When I was 12 I typed a program into my VIC 20, in Basic, that allowed me to apply a chi-squared test to my dice. I then rolled each of my dice 100 times, entering each…

  • Free RPG Day Reviews, Part 2

    In Part 1 of my Free RPG Day Reviews, I looked at my three favourite small press offerings.  Today I want to look at what the big publishers brought to the table. If you are sitting comfortably, and even if you’re not, we’ll begin. Star Wars Edge of the Empire RPG Quickstart/Shadows of a Black…

  • Free RPG Day Reviews Part 1

    If you aren’t a gamer, you might not be aware we just celebrated the closest we get to Christmas this past weekend: Free RPG Day. Inspired by Free Comic Book Day and started in 2007, Free RPG Day works with participating gaming retailers and RPG publishers to put new and exclusive RPG quickstart rules and adventure modules into…

  • Time May Change Me, But I Can’t Trace Time

    Bowie lyric in the title aside, there are some changes afoot at Renaissance Dork World Headquarters.  I’ve had a long, hard think over the past few months and I’ve come to a conclusion. I’m not that much of a renaissance geek any more. Don’t get me wrong, I still love all the things I loved…