RPG Archaeology

Dungeons and Dragons has shifted dramatically in terms of tone over the years. The very first editions of the game were effectively direct lifts of popular fantasy fiction, from Tolkein and Moorcock to Lovecraft and Howard. As the series went on, its tone shifted through space-faring science-fantasy, gothic horror, surrealist planepunk, before settling on its current cosy, fairy-tale, Winds in the Willows by way of Lord of the Rings vibe.  But occasionally, amongst all those

The year is 1990, and Steve Jackson Games, Inc. is set to publish its debut sci-fi GURPS expansion GURPS Cyberpunk . The genre is still at its zenith: Just two years earlier, Mike Pondsmith’s legendary Cyberpunk TTRPG was published by R. Talsorian Games, which was shortly followed by Iron Crown Enterprise’s Cyberspace and FASA’s Shadowrun ; Test screenings of the Blade Runner director’s cut were in the ether, ultimately leading to a renewed excitement in the franchise; and, w

You have been wandering through the Underdark for days now. At least, you’re pretty sure it’s been days: It’s hard to tell, given the lack of sunlight and the ever-present glow of these damned mushrooms. The smell of subterranean gasses float up from deeper, darker levels of this cursed labyrinth, snagging in your throat and clinging to your nostrils. Every now and then, a lizard the size of a horse lumbers by, fixing you in its lazy purple gaze. Sometimes, you think you hear

I recently took part in an interesting conversation on Reddit about ableism in TTRPG design. Specifically, the thread was about how to...