Category Archives: World-Building

Dungeon Design 101, part 2

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Confanity

I’ve thrown around a lot of theory, but how does that come together in practical terms? Here’s the outline it implies when trying to create a dungeon. Decide the dungeon’s purpose in play. Decide the dungeon’s identity within the game … Continue reading →

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Dungeon Design 101

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Confanity

I was reading the Alexandrian post about the 5th Edition D&D announcement and was struck by a couple of commenters saying they wanted to see a guide to dungeon creation; that no such thing yet exists. This is a real … Continue reading →

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Four Realms: The Complete Experience

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Confanity

  Preamble In some ways the heart of role-playing games is that they are success-and-improvement simulators. (There are other hearts, of course, so RPGs are similar in that way to how certain dinosaurs are said to have been, but let’s … Continue reading →

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Four Realms: Introduction to Skills

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Confanity

  Apologia Alright, I thought that I’d do things in a logical order and move from theory to the math of attributes. What is their normal range? What are the maxima and minima to be used in play? Given that … Continue reading →

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Four Realms: Secondary Attributes

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Confanity

I can has PC! I, in fact, do has PC, and is currently using it to write. I therefore do hopes to be able to resume regular weekly-or-more postings on the Four Realms in addition to any other writing that … Continue reading →

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Four Realms: (To) The Best of Our Abilities

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Confanity

What abilities should define a character?  On one end of the spectrum are extremely simplified systems like the Mind-Body-Soul (cf.) of Big Eyes, Small Mouth or Echo Bazaar’s “Watchful,” “Shadowy,” “Dangerous” and “Persuasive.”  On the other, there are the thirteen attributes of … Continue reading →

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Four Realms: Mechanics Outline

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Confanity

Alright, we have a mission statement for Four Realms, but that and ten dollars will barely buy you a coffee.  How about a skeleton for the system. One element that is both a strength and a critical weakness of D&D … Continue reading →

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RPG system-building: Statement of Intent

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Confanity

In my very first post on this blog, I mentioned that I was – like many people in the hobby – working on my own gaming system.  And like many creative projects by many people who have yet to be … Continue reading →

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The Last Labor of the Titans

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Confanity

The Last Labor of the Titans (A creation legend of the Slakiv Empire, from Hloen’s Tales of Our Mothers) Listen to what I say, you young and old, for I tell of how our world was made and what its … Continue reading →

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Setting: A Cultural Miscellany for Fair Vickelt

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Confanity

Languages The large part of the Archipelago’s business is conducted in a pidgin tongue called Pata Ila.  Every island speaks a different dialect, but in general any one speaker can understand any other.  Pata Ila shares a number of points … Continue reading →

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