Gaming Archives : Page 2 of 3 : Untold Realms

Why I Chose Cepheus Engine for SF Roleplaying

When I decided to start moving from SF tabletop miniatures gaming to actual roleplaying, I had to decide on a ruleset to use. I wanted to use a SF version of The Fantasy Trip, but that proved to be unworkable. Here's why I chose Cepheus Engine as that ruleset.

Story Hooks for Horror In Modern Day Oklahoma

Oklahoma has a wealth of hooks for great horror roleplaying, from real-world history to real places that are supposed to be haunted. On top of that, there are a number of great places and neighborhoods that just ooze the supernatural.

Appendix N For Other Genres

Ever since the 70s, fantasy roleplaying has had a list of fiction that was used to inspire the creators of Dungeons & Dragons. What we need is that same list for other genres...

Gaming Controversial Subjects in History

One of the most difficult things about roleplaying is handling very real issues such as sexism, racism, intolerance, abuse and other controversial subjects. From one standpoint, they are great story hooks. From another, unless handled well, they can very easily offend people--a lot. Playing solo helps me avoid most of those pitfalls, but I still have to be aware of them.

5 Room Dungeons in The Fantasy Trip

One of the things I kept hearing about as I got back into gaming again was the term "5 room dungeon." But everything kept leading me back to Johnn Four's roleplayingtips.com site. And his concept for 5 Room Dungeons is perfect for The Fantasy Trip.

The Death of GURPS

It is probably a strong statement to say something like "the death of GURPS," but I generally feel like it (says the guy who likes the game that inspired GURPS, The Fantasy Trip). But I just see a general trend in how Steve Jackson Games is supporting GURPS over the last few years--and I'm not the only one.

Living & Dying in TFT Time

Death and dying. It is very easy to get killed in The Fantasy Trip. Many different people have put their house rules on the Internet--especially their rules for handling dying in TFT. Here are mine.

What I Want From the New Fantasy Trip

Now that Steve Jackson has the rights to The Fantasy Trip, Steve Jackson Games is pressing ahead very quickly to update the rules for a new release. There has been a lot of discussion on the SJG Forums about what people want to see changed or not changed in the new Fantasy Trip. I guess I am a purist at heart--I only want to change a few things...

Dueling in The Fantasy Trip

One of the things that I loved about The Fantasy Trip was dueling. The game was just geared towards it from the start--the whole idea of the arena was just obvious. But I always wanted to take it further. Not just the fight in the arena, but outside in the "real world." Is dueling common? Is it mundane or magical? What kind of rules are there to control duels?

Possessions and Exorcisms

Possession is a classic feature of fantasy and horror fiction and gaming. In The Fantasy Trip, possessions occurs when a wizard casts the Possession spell. "Exorcism" takes place when the Dissolve Enchantment spell is cast on the victim. That's fine--but there could be so much more to possession and exorcism than that...

Old Space Gamer Articles

I have been reading a bunch of old Space Gamer magazines, looking for articles about The Fantasy Trip. I got the ones I could find from Steve Jackson Games, but I also saw some issues of Interplay on Amazon. (Haven't bought those yet). They had a number of great articles, but they were more like a snapshot of the gaming industry in the late 70s and through the 80s.

Converting GURPS Skills to TFT Talents

Skills in GURPS started out as Talents in The Fantasy Trip. It is a little strange going in reverse, from skills to talents--but it is very important to game depth to have them.