Star Trek: A Reminiscence (Flashback Post)

Star Trek. I grew up watching this. I loved the actors, the costumes, the sets, the props, the music, the stories, and the Enterprise. I went to conventions in New York City in the 70s. I watched the animated series and considered it the remainder of the "five year mission." Even though it was a …

The End of Customer Service

I was in Vons buying groceries. When I got up to the cashier she ignored me and started scanning my items. So I decided to initiate our “friendly” encounter myself by brightly saying, “Hi! How are you?!” She mumbled a bit and kept ringing things up. So I asked, “Can I have a book of …

Game Review: The Captain is Dead

We recently purchased a boardgame, “The Captain is Dead,” from a little company called The Game Crafter. It's a great game, a beautiful value, and we expect to enjoy it for some time to come. Also, the company itself has the very highest level of customer service. That's not easy for a small company. They …

The Sorcerer, a Tékumel Spellcaster for 1st ed AD&D

In recent years I've actually placed my 1st ed AD&D games in Tékumel, the campaign setting from TSR's old Empire of the Petal Throne (EPT) Dungeons and Dragons variant game (created by Professor M.A.R. Barker). I've tweaked the rules to bring things more into line with my own tastes, as any good Gamemaster should. One …

1st ed AD&D House Rules

These are the house rules I've been using for the past several years. They've worked out rather nicely. After over forty years, I was trying to distill things down to simpler mechanics but with a focus on characters. Player Handbook – for 1st Ed. AD&D Compiled from various sources, with additions by Shelby Michlin. No …

Sanity for Dungeons and Dragons

Last year I subjected my Dungeons and Dragons players to situations that I thought might test their sanity. This is an idea borrowed from the Call of Cthulhu game, stripped down to its simplest form. I put this page together as a cheat-sheet so that I could manage their sanities and have them go a …

Voting With Your Wallet. Or, Public Vs. Private: A Guide to Consumer Ethics

I think it's pretty clear that there are consequences to our actions, and we are responsible for the choices we make. Your purchasing dollars are votes of approval, and support that business. Given that, I think it's clear that we should choose to support that which we approve of, and not support that which we …

Simplified Space Combat for Your RPG

I wrote the following up as a simple, stand-alone set of rules for dogfighting with little zippy fighters in space. This was intended for use with a set of rules that doesn't normally include such a thing. Like, for instance, if you're running a game and suddenly dump your players into a space environment. It's …

I Want It Now!

Ah, Veruca Salt would fit right in with today's culture. This is why we have Amazon, not to mention Doordash and Grubhub and Postmates and all the rest who are trying to jump onto this particular wagon. People can't be bothered to go shopping for themselves, or even haul themselves to a restaurant when they're …

House Rules for the Classic Traveller RPG

  The Classic Traveller role-playing game is right up there with Dungeons and Dragons in my estimation. The game allows you to play science-fiction characters who are off having adventures of one type or another. Originally published in 1977, this is the game I still play to this day. In spite of many subsequent re-writes, …