Recent content by Mark Sabalauskas

Interesting, I hadn't realized it was quite so many episodes. I think I'll to cut it a bit more slack when it comes to continuity and tonal shifts, with so many episodes.

"Note: for the purposes of this discussion, I think the G part is important." What gets ruled out here? Dread? For the Queen? Neither? Because their are plenty of people who would consider these wonderful RPGs for one shots. So, if they are out of scope, my answer would probably be "these...

Generally, I'd say my friend's practice varies depending on the nature of the game. If it's a campaign, we'll all bring food and drink to share to wherever we are playing. If it's a one shot, it's typical for the GM to be the host and to want to treat this like throwing a party, where they...

I was very excited to have a chance to talk about my space opera RPG Return to the Stars, hopepunk and gaming generally on the Functional Nerds podcast. They often have more literary SFF guests like Becky Chambers, Catherynne Valente, or Cat Rambo, so it was nice to talk about my Fate based game...

Excited to share that a new issue of The Stellar Beacon 'zine is out, featuring: Resources: Accessibility in Tabletop Producer, writer, actor, and streamer Jennifer Kretchmer introduces an extensive set of resources that address accessibility in gaming, streaming, live events, writing, and...

Traveler is a really fun game, and I've spent endless hours in it designing ships and systems. It is a great that it endured, just like it's great that that Glorantha has endured. But it is clearly just one of many SF games at the moment, likely to be mentioned if someone asks about a SciFi...

Comparing this article to the fantasy list really makes clear that there isn't anything at all like a baseline assumption for SF RPG. Which isn't surprising. SF itself is naturally broader and more varied than fantasy--you can at least imagine a generic high fantasy novel. or a fantasy novel...

Yeah, Balikbayan is so cool. Looking forward to Apocalypse Keys

Thanks! I can't wait until we get the pandemic under control and we can try this at cons!

I released a tiny new game. Icebreaker was created as part of the Pleasure-not-Business Card RPG Jam a contest where you create an “RPG related thing” that can fit on a business card. Icebreaker is micro RPG where you play newcomers to science station on a frozen planet. It is designed...

Really cool. As a tiny indie RPG creator, it's it is especially fascinating to see the costs of bringing a game into the world, in the days before PDFs and Print on Demand.

Yes, there is no disputing about taste.

And that's really cool. You can do really neat things with that sort of expertise. It is an interesting part of the hobby. Part. I've been saying that the players who aren't interested in the impact that rules can have are not saying anything unimaginable, inconceivable or untrue when they...

I'm saying people are deeply and genuinely involved with the hobby while being profoundly indifferent to the fact that you can't use wildly different systems to achieve an identical play experience. That people using DnD to play the "wrong thing" for "which it is not designed" may not simply...

Some people do in word and deed asset that system does not matter, or matter much to them. If other people find this to be an almost inexplicable denial of an obvious and inescapable truth, they might consider if their understanding of the breath of purposes within the hobby is incomplete in...