STAR TREK – The Re-Watch

I’ve decided to do a complete re-watch of the original Star Trek series from 1966. This is the show that made me into the science fiction fan I remain today. I was fortunate enough to be able to see the show in its original airing, although I don’t remember much in the way of specifics …

Classic Traveller Weapon Cards

When I was running a Traveller game last year, I was thrilled to find a post on the Tales to Astound! blog by Chris Kubasik (link on the sidebar). He had created these little index cards with all the info for a single weapon on them. The idea being that you could print them out …

Running 1st ed AD&D — Where to Begin?

Following are my recommendations to a new 1st ed AD&D DM that I met online a while back. I thought it might be useful to others, if I post here as well. And if you’re a player in one of my games, you should just skip right over the list of modules I recommend, since …

Neverending Story: Play Style in RPG Worlds

Today’s post is about the nature of role-playing games. Not the rules, not some esoteric factor. But simply about the boundaries, what is “in” the game, the nature of a “campaign.” Maybe I’ll just call it a style of play. Back in my heyday, the late 70s - early 90s, each DM in my extended …

Whaddya Mean, You Don’t Play 5th Edition?!!

I just read an article that carried a tone of amazement that there were people playing Original Dungeons and Dragons, instead of Hasbro’s “D&D Next,” the latest re-write by people I’ve never heard of. I also read the comments, where someone basically trashed anyone who would play the original game. So I actually created an …

The Elder Scrolls: My Life with Skyrim Mods

Let's talk about the Elder Scrolls. I started with Daggerfall, and played it many, many times. The sandboxing was a godsend. Then I located Arena. I was a bit frustrated with the older interface and gameplay, but I played through the main quest (with the help of a walk-through when I got stuck). Then along …

On Fan-Made Mods to PC Games: Modding

This is my first time playing Fallout 4. I got the latest version on Steam with all the DLC but haven’t made time to play until now. I’ve waited a long time and as a fan of the series, I’m pretty excited. Before I started I scoured the NexusMods.com site and pulled the most popular …

The Man in the High Castle

I just finished watching season four of this show, and I thought I’d write a post about it. Overall I give it four stars out of five, and recommend you catch it. Especially if you're a younger viewer without a good working knowledge of World War II. But I’ll try to avoid spoilers. First of …

Dave Arneson, and Internet Feuding

Today, October 1st, is Dave Arneson's birthday. He is credited as the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons. I wrote a post early in September in which I reacted to the resurrection of a very old argument about who contributed more to the creation of D&D, Arneson or Gary Gygax. I was more than a little …

Yeoman Rand, Female Lead of Star Trek

From what I've read, Grace Lee Whitney was hired to play Yeoman Janice Rand as the "female lead" on Star Trek. The female lead! The original concept, Wagon Train to the Stars, had the cast as analogous to the cast of Gunsmoke, and Rand was supposed to be Miss Kitty. She was supposed to provide …