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PCs are Not NPCs
It’s no secret that 3rd Edition D&D made player characters more complex. With the goal of making them more customizable and individualized, characters…
Mar 8
•
Monte Cook
32
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PCs are Not NPCs
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February 2024
Keeping to the Theme
I’ve written about the importance of how you describe the rules being as important as the rules themselves before, but it’s worth revisiting. As I…
Feb 5
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Monte Cook
30
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Keeping to the Theme
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December 2023
Rules With Multiple Purposes
One of the great challenges of writing a rulebook is that you’re creating both a teaching tool and a reference work.
Dec 1, 2023
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Monte Cook
26
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Rules With Multiple Purposes
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October 2023
Design Toward Rather Than Away
Encouraging good play is better than prohibiting its opposite.
Oct 5, 2023
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Monte Cook
26
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Design Toward Rather Than Away
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August 2023
Just a Quick Note...
The crowdfunding campaign for my current work-in-progress design, The Magnus Archives RPG, has launched. Check out in particular the rules primer that…
Aug 29, 2023
•
Monte Cook
12
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Just a Quick Note...
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Intentions Before Actions
A few entries back, I said that when you start to design a new game, you start with the heart—and the heart of an RPG is, “What do the characters do…
Aug 14, 2023
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Monte Cook
37
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Intentions Before Actions
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July 2023
Succeeding at Failing
Immersion and Participation in Games
Jul 13, 2023
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Monte Cook
40
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Succeeding at Failing
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May 2023
Player Success Versus Character Success
It’s easy to think that when a character succeeds—whether it be an action from a successful die roll, discovering a great treasure, mission, or quest…
May 30, 2023
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Monte Cook
31
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Player Success Versus Character Success
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April 2023
Success
Task resolution serves as the crux of most RPG designs. How do the PCs do things and how do you know if they succeed or fail? In answering that…
Apr 26, 2023
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Monte Cook
21
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Success
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Designer Anxiety
I know, I was going to keep going with part two of the series about creating a brand new game. And I will. That article will be coming along shortly…
Apr 12, 2023
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Monte Cook
29
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Designer Anxiety
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March 2023
Start With the Heart
I’m getting ready to start designing a brand new game. If you’re curious, it’s the Magnus Archives Roleplaying game that we just announced. When I…
Mar 6, 2023
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Monte Cook
37
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Start With the Heart
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January 2023
Designing for [Bleep]
It was around 2010 or 2011. I’d been asked to lead the 5th edition D&D design team, but it was very early days. And I was on a panel at a convention. A…
Jan 23, 2023
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Monte Cook
28
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Designing for [Bleep]
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