Testing 1... 2... 3... [taps microphone]... Is This Thing On?

What's Purpose of this blog?

This blog is a repository for my gaming ideas that I think others will find useful or at least prompt creations of their own. From story hooks, plot threads, arcs and twists, puzzles, traps, home-brewed magic items, encounters, NPCs and villains, and dungeon concepts; there should be something in here for every GM’s campaign. It's food for thought. Fodder for your mental cannons. It's that dark, crumbling crypt, rife with mysteries, waiting to be resurrected. It's the ammo dump, the one right next to the foul-smelling mess tent, where space trash and mech pilots come to recharge their batteries. I may occasionally wander off into gaming theory or philosophy, (guest writers are very welcome for this department,) but mostly I would like to focus on nuts and bolts. That's probably all you're looking for, so don't feel obligated to read further. However, as a proper introduction, I will include my gaming background below, and attempt to explain why (I think) I have chosen this hobby.

Wanna take walk down memory lane?  Do 
an image search for 'DnD Jeff Easley' or
 'Larry Elmore'... Tears of joy will flow.

Why do I play RPGs and Tabletop Games?

At age 11, I played my first game of Dungeons & Dragons. Yes, I’m a child of the Red Box. That was also the age of the “Satanic Panic” and before too long, my parents threw my beloved game into the wood-stove. They swore they could hear the demons screaming as the books burned. Literally. It was a large collection from hard-earned money and the whole affair was huge kick in the nuts, but it taught me an important lesson: the people in charge aren't always right.

My friends and I moved onto FASA’s Star Trek game (super fun), and a home-brewed science fiction role playing campaign using GURPS. We also started a historical-pirate campaign… and then Donny moved away. I will never forgiven him.

The maps from this game series were so well researched
 and crafted, it is unlikely that any of the actual Generals
on Civil War battlefields knew their equal.

I've enjoyed several different military tabletop games by Avalon Hill and other companies. At age 18, a friend and I joined the Gettysburg three-box-set together and played the whole damn thing over the next two months. It was huge, and the maps were nothing short of beautiful. I was winning too. I had pushed back Lee and my forces surrounded Jackson. At the moment of truth, Meade failed his leadership check and half my army assaulted across a creek while the other half cleaned their riffles. Then it rained, (got to love those random events tables). The creeks swelled and Meade was cut off. By summer's end, Lee was riding for Washington. A disappointing loss, but I will never forget the experience. 

We also picked up another game called Battletech, again by FASA. The novels were exciting and we had joined the Army National Guard so I think we related to the military fluff of the game on another level. My uncle was a model railroader, and I was good at putting models together and painting the figures. The landscapes we built were realistic and when I went to college and stopped playing games, everything was carefully boxed and put away. By the way John, if you’re reading this, I still have your Phoenix Hawk LAM.

The Infamous Christmas Day Massacre of 2017, Classic
Battletech with my sons. Thousands of innocent fictitious
civilians died in the collateral damage!  

Work, kids and life kept me from any serious gaming for years. Then Dave, an avid gamer and close friend moved next door and suggested I end my fifteen-year dry spell and start up a D&D or Pathfinder campaign with my two sons, Collin and Sam, who were eight and ten respectively. “Cost too much,” I complained. (I could still hear the howling from my Dungeon Master’s Guide as the fiends that gave the grimoire its dark powers were forced from the burning pages!) “Jon, there’s an open gaming system online. You can spend as little or as much as you want on it.” I looked at the D20pfrd site and holy moley… mind blown. We’ve been playing Pathfinder together for ten years now and we dusted off those Battletech figures and enjoy that RPG as well.

I've been starting to collect the Star Wars RPG by Fantasy Flight Games as well. The dice system is unique and it both amazes and intimidates me. I might begin a story in that universe as well...

That’s enough of my nerd-cred.

Maybe I play RPGs because I’m too lazy to write a novel, (I can’t seem to stay motivated beyond 20,000 words). Maybe it’s the escapism; the mental refuge of a world where I am the hero. It certainly feeds my ego, (why lie)? I love showcasing my ideas to the group and seeing them simultaneously smile and cringe at a clever encounter or unexpected plot twist. I love character backgrounds and trying to seamlessly blend all the player-threads in a setting together. It certainly feeds my creative fire. I enjoy my villains and NPCs, mulling over their motivations, plotting, practicing guttural, monstrous voices in the car while driving, (it’s OK, the dude next to me at the light singing Adel at the top of his lungs looks far more insane than I do).  Simply put, those writhing demons trying to escape the flames, still possess my mind.

Having said all that, I acknowledge that I stand on the backs of great writers to whom a great debt of gratitude is owed. The ideas our group loved the most were usually re-skins of someone else’s original tale, a tried and true TV trope or my spin on a classic adventure module. I will accredit these ancient masterminds as often as possible, and PLEASE, by all means, pillage this blog for all the ideas you can and modify whatever you see fit for your game, - that's what it's for. Finally, I would love nothing more if you occasionally messaged to tell me how it went.