On occasion I get the urge to sit down and mash together favorite bits of rules from different systems.  This article covers a mash-up that starts with 2ed D&D and adds in some Hackmaster Basic, Savage Worlds, and 3.5ed/4ed.  The actual rules doc is presented in PDF format and a direct link can be found at the bottom of this article.  The article itself serves partly as a summary of the rules changes, and partly as a designer diary into my thinking behind the changes.  The PDF is a first draft and is just a dump of information–there isn’t much formatting or pretty layout.  It was written with the idea that the reader is at least familiar with the 2ed rules set.  Since your tastes will likely vary anyways, you might just want to use this as a jumping-off point for adding some of your own radical rules ideas. read more »

I’m putting together a list of stereotypes for character ideas.  I’m building the list using iconic characters from movies and fiction.  It is my intention to use this list to build personalities for characters that will be used in some one-shot games, but I’m sure the list could also be used for instant NPCs and such.  Here is my list so far: read more »

I recently donated $20 to Haiti at RPGNow and got the free $1500 PDF bundle.  In that bundle was “3:16, Carnage Amonst the Stars“.  It is a game about trigger-happy human marines venturing out into the galaxy and killing every life form they come across.  I haven’t played it yet, but it is a tight little rules system that seems tremendously fun for some low-prep gaming.  Of particular note is the simple combat system that still manages to produce rather colorful results.  In fact, the whole game is simple–simple enough that younger kids could play it.  Of course, the genocide of the entire galaxy seems a bit of a heavy subject for children.  Even if you toned down the violence, I think the underlying theme and statements might go a bit over their heads.

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James Raggi over at LotFP has issued a request:  Come up with a devious trick to unleash on your players.  One so dirty and evil that it will undoubtedly make them want to quit your game.  Here is my idea:

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Just a couple of short ideas I’ve used recently. They both worked well, so I thought I would share.

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Left 4 Dead is a fun game. It isn’t an incredibly deep game, but what it does have, it has in spades. This intense shooter is ripe for some sort of tabletop game. While an RPG would be fun (and my pick for system would either be All Flesh Must Be Eaten or Savage Worlds,) there is something about a tabletop miniatures game that appeals to me. It requires no prep time, can be played relatively quickly, and focuses on lots of frantic combat. My go-to game for that right now is Warhammer 40K.

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I have seen some attempts at firearms for 4ed (and some good ones, at that,) but they all tend to focus on the black powder variety.  That is just fine for running games about pirates, steam-punk, or other period pieces.  What if you want to represent modern technology?  Here is the goal of this rules attempt:
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The Shotgun Diaries is a zombie survival RPG by John Wick (RPGNow link.)  It is a minimalist presentation, with only 18 pages and absolutely no art.  It was originally written as a birthday present to one of John’s friends, and only recently was made available as a commercial product.

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This is mostly a systemless idea, although I envision it as a Don’t Rest Your Head or Call of Cthulhu game.

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This article will discuss how to take some readily available information and use it to estimate the undead population of a town after a zombie apocalypse.  To do this in a way that doesn’t require copious amounts of research, we are going to have to make some broad generalizations.  In addition, because zombie and human interaction trends tend to determine their most likely location, we are going to make and discuss some assumptions about that interaction.

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