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Beyond the rule book: Procedure and style tips for good GMing
(Dragon #75)How do you DM—not the mechanics, but the approach? Lew Pulsipher offers 20 tips in what may be his magnum opus for Dragon or White Dwarf.What’s it about?Lew stresses consistency, logical...
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The Dungeon Architect Part I: The Interesting Dungeon
(White Dwarf #25)Roger Musson argues that NPCs and their plots are the key to creating an interesting and fun dungeon.What’s it about?Musson critiques the “randomly generated dungeon,” where encounters...
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The Dungeon Architect Part II: The Constructed Dungeon
(White Dwarf #26)Roger Musson discusses dungeon layout—rooms, corridors, and traps - with an emphasis on disorienting the party.What’s it about?Musson favors large dungeons, settling on 200 rooms a...
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The Dungeon Architect Part III: The Populated Dungeon
(White Dwarf #27)Last in the series. Roger Musson tackles the challenge of filling a dungeon with monsters and treasure.What’s it about?Roger sees dungeons as a fallback when inspiration runs dry,...
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Town Planner - Part I: Designing and running villages
(White Dwarf #31)Paul Vernon kicks off this well-regarded series with a focus on authentic medieval village design.What’s it about?Villages need an economic base—usually agriculture, livestock, or...
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Town Planner - Part II: Designing towns and cities
(White Dwarf #32)Paul Vernon's 'Town Planner' series continues this time looking at the layout of towns and cities.What’s it about?Paul looks asks did the town grow from a village or is the town...
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The Naked Orc - A Study in Orcish Society
(White Dwarf #53)A short article on Orc’s with lots of evocative John Blanche artwork to fire the imagination.What’s it about?Art inspires the reader and elevates RPGs. Russ Nicholson and John Blanche...
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Monsters Have Feelings Too
(White Dwarf #38)Oliver opens with a story showing a contrast: a dull goblin ambush versus a well-planned evil party assaulting a merchant caravan. His point? There's no reason monsters shouldn’t be as...
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The 7-sentence NPC
(Dragon #184)I’m wary - Dragon #184 is deep into 2e. C. M. Cline’s short article on creating gameable NPCs gets lots of love online. Is it deserved?What’s it about?We put effort into major antagonists...
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Banditry Inc - A Referee’s Guide to Thieves Guilds
(White Dwarf #76)White Dwarf’s best era for AD&D-focused content spans issues 10–40, with later issues featuring broader system-agnostic material. Here, Olivier Legrand explores thieves guilds—an...
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That’s life in the big city
(Dragon #99)The Town Planner series in White Dwarf has worn me down—hopefully, Dragon’s take on cities is an easier read.What’s it about?The article emphasizes that fantasy cities shouldn't resemble...
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Oldhammer Rogue Trader - Imperial Guard
My first army was Space Orks, but I foolishly sold them to a mate I lost touch with decades ago. Along with them went my Imperial Guard—something I now realize I really liked, especially the early...
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A Guide to Dungeon Mastering. Part I: Setting up Adventures
(White Dwarf #34)Lew Pulsipher tends to repeat his advice, making it hard to track where certain tips originated. Hopefully, this Dungeon Mastering series offers some fresh insights.What’s it about?Lew...
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A Guide to Dungeon Mastering. Part II: Monsters & Magic & Part III: Some...
(White Dwarf #35 $)I’m combining two articles to wrap up the Lew Pulsipher articles I picked out to read. High hopes!What’s it about?In Monsters & Magic, Lew advises against random monster...
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Crude But Effective. Simple tactics for humanoids
(Dragon #199)Derek Jensen explores humanoid tactics with a side of fiction. I loved the Uruk Hai battle manual, so this kind of article is right up my alley.What’s it about?It opens with...
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Thieves’ Den
(Imagine #24)Imagine magazine targeted young novice players, and its main legacy is the rich city setting, Pelinore. Venetia Lee’s take on Thieves Guilds stood out enough that I figured I would take a...
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Mechwarrior 1e - Background - Part I
Some games become foundational to who you are. MechWarrior is one of mine—it’s a core memory and the reason I met my best friend in primary school.I owned the Red Box D&D set but had “played” it...
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Mechwarrior 1e - Creating Mechwarriors - Part II
Characters are all part of the same 'Mech unit, ranging from a four 'Mech lance to a full battalion or regiment. Everyone creates a mech-pilot, but you can also use character creation rules for...
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Mechwarrior 1e - XP and Character Advancement - Part III
You earn XP for passing skill rolls and making saves that genuinely contribute to the adventure—the harder the roll, the more XP you get. Damage dealt in combat also grants XP: ½ XP per point in...
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Mechwarrior 1e - Creating a 'Mech Unit - Part IV
The game sets some baseline assumptions around a typical Battletech campaign—you start with mostly medium ‘Mechs and maybe a few lights. After character creation, it’s time to generate your ‘Mech...
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Mechwarrior 1e - Scenarios - Part V
Scenarios are where MW1e shows its potential as an adventure game. Every scenario starts as a combat assignment. If the group are mercs, the GM can prepare multiple assignments for players to choose...
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Mechwarrior 1e - Man-to-Man Combat - Part VI
Man-to-man combat in MW1e is surprisingly crunchy. It follows structured phases: initiative, movement, reaction, ranged, melee, and damage. Winning initiative lets you move last, reacting to others. At...
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Mechwarrior 1e - The Periphery
The Periphery is a big book of names and dates, a history lesson focused largely on four of the main Periphery states, their founding, and, in particular, Stefan Amaris' treachery—which is worth the...
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Mechwarrior 1e - Mercenary's Handbook Notes
Mercenaries don’t become a thing until after the Amaris Rebellion, when his battered forces start hiring out. Soon after, Kerensky leaves, and the 25% of the Star League that stays behind ends up with...
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Article 0
Dogs of War(White Dwarf #86)Chris Fenton’s overview of merc life splits them into two types: experienced vets and bravos. Most are bravos, opportunistic fighters prone to looting when work runs dry,...
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