Fuck cancel culture.

Sadly, last weekend at Gary Con, a bunch of idiots (I'm watching my language here, I'm tempted to use much stronger words for those cretins) have pushed Chirine ba Kal over the edge, for a couple of non-reasons that don't belong here. Chirine is one of the original rpg grognards, one of the original twin …

Forgotten gems, part 1: Karmic Cycle

In the long and outrageous history of our hobby, there have always been designers who revolutionized gaming. Many innovations made it into the mainstream, like dice instead of chits, or dice pool systems. Other ideas were every bit as revolutionary, but still don't get the attention they deserve. Today:Let's talk about Dan Bayn's Karmic Cycle. …

Once and for all: FKR Bones – how I roll dice in my games

The first FKR rules I used…

…had the mysterious title "Wyaul Hyoiwto" (a name I rolled randomly on tables for Tekumel name generation, written by the good Prof. himself). I think (though I'm not entirely sure) I invented them shortly after we started playing Amber Diceless in 1991. The first time I used them was in a Shadowrun campaign, then in …

Numbers or immersion?

Do you remember the rpg buzzword of the early 2000s? "Immersion". The theory went something like this: the less obvious the game mechanics are, the deeper is the immersion of the players into the setting. This has been my credo for 40 years (has it really been that long?) . But lately, I have come …

Thank you again, St. Expedite!

This time, as the many times before, you really saved our collective asses. Thank you, mighty warrior. It amazes me, every time, how quick and decisive and good your action is. Thank you, sir.