As you folks know, I play a lot of TTRPGs — or tabletop roleplaying games. It’s the genre that Dungeons and Dragons is contained in. I thought it would be fun to go through every TTRPG I remember playing and give a couple thoughts on them.

All the TTRPGs

Dungeons and Dragons: Fifth Edition (2014)

We are just going to ignore all the silly versioning of D&D for now. D&D was my first lover, the first game I played way back in eighth grade during lunch hour. That was a bit of a rough campaign, and I look back on it with so many regrets, but it got me into this great hobby. Since then, I’ve run much more 5e, including a 2-18 campaign and a 2-20 campaign, as well as played in a handful of games and one 9-13 campaign. I’ve grown a contempt for a lot of the design of D&D, but I have many a fond memories of playing it with my friends. I don’t plan on running any more games with D&D 5e — except for potentially continuations of existing campaigns.

Lasers and Feelings

Lasers and Feelings is a one page RPG by John Harper. So… really simple rules! It’s basically my go-to suggestion for an entirely new group: especially for the theatre kids. It’s a sci-fi game where you have one stat that determines your competencies. It’s really quite fun. I played a session of this over zoom during COVID and it was very fun. My main memory is my ex-boyfriend explaining a bunch of nerd space shit and me just nodding and going “sure that makes sense totally. Just… make a roll I guess”

Unnamed RPG

This isn’t named Unnamed RPG, I just don’t know its name — in fact, I think it may not even have one. It was a really short game ran by the faculty sponsor at my school’s D&D club with just me and my ex-boyfriend as players. I think it was… basically the lasers and feelings system. There was an alien invasion of our high school and we had to stop it? And faculty were put into weird goop chambers. No complaints, was a fun hour.

Microscope

Potentially one of my all time favourite RPGS, in Microscope you collaborate with the other players to jump back and forth along a time stream creating a history. You can add really broad periods (“The Bloodborne society develops experimental mind control technology to try and control it's citizens”), more specific events (“Officer Jenkins, now the leader of the Citizen's Rebellion, convinces Commander Costco to leave the Bloodborne society and become the second in command of the Citizen's Rebellion.“), and scenes that you play out with your fellow players to answer a question (“Why does Costco leave the Bloodborne Society?“). This is a no-prep game that creates a rich world stored on index cards. I ought to return to it some time soon. I’d love to play microscope to create a world then set a one shot/mini series in that world.

Chomp

Also in the age of Zoom games, I ran CHOMP! which is a zombie apocalypse survival game. I ran it when most of my D&D group was out except for one of the players. So I ran the game for her and her younger brother. I honestly don’t remember much, but I think the system was decent enough for the young ‘un. It was a bit tough for me since I think we set the apocalypse at/around their house and I wasn’t super familiar with the area as a GM, so it was a lot of thinking on my feet. I don’t plan on playing this one again, but it served its purpose me thinks.

Tearable RPG

Truly an amazing name, the Tearable RPG is built off of the mechanic of tearing bits off of a sheet of paper. You write your characters traits on the paper, and when you do something involving that trait, you have to rip a letter off of that word. I’ve only played this once (it’s kind of gimmicky) with my roommates at the first non-UBC place I’ve lived here in Vancouver. I think there was a rave in our landlord’s indoor pool and he was hearing a lizard costume??? Maybe I’m misremembering. Overall, a fun look at the zany places TTRPG mechanics can go.

8-bit Haxorz

I designed this one! 8-bit Haxorz is inspired by a NordVPN sponsored Critical Role oneshot (which I never finished — I got inspired 30 minutes in, designed this, and never returned to finish it). Its gimmicky dice mechanic is rolling a bunch of d8s and then having to sum the numbers up to 8, 16, or 32 to determine your level of success. And when you roll, you can make up some technobabble to get an extra die. Potentially my favourite part of the system is this table to generate a hacker name:

I think the premise of the one shot was basically breaking into Elon’s tower and stealing some McGuffin. I think it’s fun for a one shot. Honestly? I’d play it again. I should totally get around to publishing it, too. It’s basically done.

Avatar Legends

Avatar Legends is the branded RPG off the Avatar the Last Airbender IP. And honestly? It kind of cooks. It’s really geared towards pushing characters into emotional situations in a way that’s very fun (it’s Powered by the Apocalypse, for those who know/care). And there is a bending combat system with a whole boatload of cool elemental moves. I’ve only run one session so far. It was set in the Korra Era and the party had to take A Thing from the Triple Threat Triad and deliver it to Varrick. At least I think that’s what it was. I’d be down to run a 5-8 session campaign of Avatar legends.

Shadowdark

The poster child of the Old School Renaissance group, Shadowdark is a gritty and deadly fantasy game that’s less bullshit than actual old school D&D. I’ve run one session of Shadowdark which was incredibly lethal in a stupidly fun way. I think we went through like 10 characters that evening, but since each character was simple, it didn’t take long for a player to make a new one after their 2 hp rogue got killed. I have ideas for a Shadowdark campaign, but probably won’t run it anytime soon.

Blades in the Dark

I really love Blades in the Dark. It’s a heist game that is incredibly well done. When “planning” a score, you only declare your initial approach (whether you're sneaking in, pretending to be a visiting noble, etc) and you’re in the action. During the score, you can have a flashback where you describe that actually, last week you blackmailed this guard’s family, so she’s here to help you open the door, not turn you in! You also can just… decide what equipment your character is carrying when you need it making you feel like a bad ass criminal. I’d love to run a campaign of Blades at some point. I genuinely really love this game, but there’s other things I’d like to explore first.

Dungeons and Dragons: Fourth Edition

Oh boy. You know, I really hoped I’d like Dungeons and Dragons: Fourth Edition, and I think it’s possible we would have were we playing another adventure. But we played a quickstart adventure that was just one big dungeon of combat. And there was… a lot of missing attacks. Simply so much, it became almost comical. I think if we were playing D&D: 4e essentials, it might have gone better. Or if we played a one shot that wasn’t just story less combat. But as it was, it wasn’t a super enjoyable experience.

But at least 4e contributed a lot of its DNA to Draw Steel. And, 4e had some fucking hilarious promotional videos. This one is them going through the different editions of D&D and making fun of their rules before getting to 4e and chanting “the game will remain the same. the game will remain the same!”. They also make Chris Perkins wear so many wigs it’s hilarious.

Or this animated ad where a gnome says “I’m a monster. Rawr”. Chris Perkins is credited as the “badger wrangler”

Or this animated one where there’s a Beholder X Owlbear love scene. And this silly little reporter interviews a Beholder about the removal of Save or Die mechanics. Chris Perkins is credited as the “owl bear wrangler”

God 4e had absolutely stellar ads.

Pathfinder 2e

Oh boy. I’ve written a lot about Pathfinder 2e (Pathfinder 2e Doesn't Yum My Yuck Anymore). I’m running a campaign in it that will span levels 1-15, I’ve run one that was 1-3, and I’ve played a 1-4 (?) campaign so I’ve been in it for quite some time. There’s some things I like and a LOT of things I dislike. Mostly, it’s just very crunchy and noodly in a bunch of ways that… aren’t helpful to me as a GM and that don’t really improve the game for anyone. I swear if I hear “I’d like to take my goggles off and replace it with my crafter’s eyepiece so I can have a +1 item bonus on Crafting checks instead of a +1 item bonus on Perception checks” I’m gonna lose it.

I don’t plan on ever revisiting this one, but at least the first couple months of playing Pathfinder 2e (before we got to the higher levels) was fun.

Definitely Wizards

A fun little zine game, Definitely Wizards is a game about partaking in a wizardry competition… but you’re not actually wizards. So you might play as 9 familiars in a trench coat, a vampire, a collector of random magic shit, or much more. I think I really struggled to run this kind of game where the challenges amounted basically to roll skill checks until you succeed. But… hopefully it was an alright time for the people who played? It felt like a little bit of a flop on my end, but I think I just wasn’t on the same wavelength as the game expected me to be.

Draw Steel

Now my native system, Draw Steel is a heroic fantasy game with a focus on tactical gameplay. It’s just… everything I could want out of a fantasy game. Great combat, deep character building, and fun ways to engage with the world outside of beating shit up. I’m also such a fan of the lore presentation in Draw Steel. The human lore page is just…. inspiring, which seems a little silly to say about a fighting monsters game, but alas.

I’m currently playing in 2 Draw Steel games, and I am sure I will start my own in the near future. I love this game.

Paranoia

The funniest game around, Paranoia is an absolute hoot. You are clones in a falling-apart base run by the all powerful Friend Computer — who is paranoid about terrorists, mutants, secret societies, and any disobedience. I’ve played this game a couple times (including with my partner’s father) and it’s been a blast every time. The character creation is incredibly chaotic, the rulebooks are stupidly fun to read (though it is treason to do so if you are a player), and the setting is just so daft you can’t not have a good time. In the first game of Paranoia I played, it ended with everyone having their actual hands covered in strawberry jam, paperwork sprawled across the floor, and gold treason stars dotting everyone’s face. I can’t wait to play Paranoia again (Sam Low 👀)

As a treat, here’s one of my favourite sidebars from the rulebook:

And here is one of the thirty pieces of paperwork I had my players fill out:

Also, every time I get off the SkyTrain I say “thank you Friend Computer” in reference to this game. I just wanted to share with the class.

Call of Cthulhu

You know, even though Call of Cthulhu is on its seventh edition, no one specifies the edition. Strange. Anyways, Call of Cthulhu is in many ways the quintessential cosmic horror investigation game. It’s an oldie and it shows. You have like 30 skills ranked between 1 and 100. Which is frankly a level of granularity no one needs. I’ve played two games of Call of Cthulhu — both GMed by a friend — and they were so fun. I think in both of those games I tried to minmax my character to go insane by the end of the session, and I think one of those times I fucked up my min maxing and made myself unlikely to go insane. The games I played were really fun and tense, but I think that was more our GM than the system itself.

Candela Obscura

A modernly designed cosmic horror game, Candela Obscura adds some welcome additions to the genre: people being the bad guys and a more sensitive approach to mental health. The book really strives to emphasize the cruelty and impersonality of profit-seeking institutions. Its premade scenarios are based on real world events — and it gives you the context about them. It also has a very cool system for scars where instead of just Going Insane, you gain a lasting effect: either mental, physical, or supernatural. And when you take a scar, you shift your skill points around. If you decide a mind scar means your character struggles to find words, you might decide they get worse at compelling people to actions but better and intuiting their motives and intentions. It’s very fun. I’d play in a Candela campaign, but don’t currently have plans to run any more. But it would be my go-to cosmic horror system, so I’m sure I’ll revisit it at some point. Also the layout aesthetic is great.

Daggerheart

A more narratively driven fantasy RPG, in playtesting Daggerheart I found it had a lack of identity. It wants to be a story-first narrative game that’s quick and loose but also have a granular and tactical combat system. The one game of Daggerheart I’ve run was fucking batshit hilarious, but little of that was due to the merits of the system. They had a rule that instead of rolling your dice and adding a numerical bonus to the result, you also roll tokens and count them each as a +1. So as a GM, when I rolled 3d8 + 7, I rolled three 8-sided dice alongside seven individual tokens, which I added together one at a time. The character description prompts are also kind of funny, asking you to describe your character as having “eyes of endless ocean” and “skin of falling snow” (I’m genuinely not making these up). But… I dunno, I still kinda liked it? My go to for fantasy is still Draw Steel, but if I’m playing with theatre kids who don’t like combat (affectionate), I’ll definitely be considering Daggerheart. Also the art in the final book is incredible.

The One I Forgot

I’m sure there’s at least one TTRPG I’ve played that I’ve forgotten about, but 18 isn’t a bad number. Luckily, I’m pretty sure that someone on this newsletter has been in almost every game I’ve ever run. So if I’m forgetting one, I’ll be expecting a correction to be sent in :D.

Other News

No Since Line :(

I’ve been told by a reputable source that someone cough aisha cough TOOK THE SINCE LINE OUTSIDE AND PUT IT DOWN LIKE YOU DO A SICK DOG. This is terrible. A true tragedy. Why would I go to The Ubyssey except to see if the since line has updated???? Don’t worry, I’ve come up with a handful y’all can use:

• Redacting Home Addresses since 1918

• Jumpscared By Cap and Gown Spencer since 1918

• In a Rubik’s Cube Phase since 1918

• Cops in the Sheets since 1918

• Sam Low’s Storystreams Look Really Fancy and Cool since 1918

• We Have RSS Feeds!!!! since 1918

• We Slap ‘Em In Hard and Fucking Greasy since 1918

  • (in reference to the old Ubyssey article from the previous issue of the TWDNB)

• Gooped and Gagged since 1918

• Proud Tradition of Pissing People Off since 1918

• Romantically Pursued by a Bee since 1918

Continued Dune Supremacy

So probably my favourite board game of all time is Avalon Hill’s 1979 Dune Board Game — which is now being published by Gale Force 9. This game is absolutely mental. You’re a bunch of factions fighting over Arrakis. There’s like 10 phases to each round, and so many rules — all of which specific factions have exceptions to. For example, there are treachery cards which give you an edge in battle. The Atreides get to see the card before the table bids on it, The Emperor is paid the bid money, and if the Harkonen win the bid, they get a second treachery card for free. It’s like this… for every fucking rule. It’s wild and mind melting and so fucking fun.

(my favourite rule is that if you’re playing the Bene Gesserit, you can predict a specific player to win on a specific round. then if they do, you win instead. so then as a player you’re trying to manipulate the entire game to conclude how you want it to. which is… so bene gesserit. I assume. I’m not a huge Dune lore person)

Anyways, we played earlier this week and I won :). The first game, I won round 1 with the classic Ixian triple and in the second game, I won round 2 with an Ixian/Atreides alliance.

In For a Copper…

We’re already doing so much nerd shit, I might as well show you a mini I painted!

This is my first time trying to do Object Source Lighting (OSL) where there’s an item on the miniature that is casting light. I don’t think I got all the way there, but I think it’s pretty decent for a first attempt. I will say, I didn’t make it easy for myself by trying to do a weird magic purple-pink light.

From the Archive

I really do feel like we fight the same battles time and time again. “Until the [housing] crisis is over” is the exact opposite of a prescient phrase. So… a postscient phrase????

March 28, 1969 (not gonna lie, I was hoping for a very funny ‘69 spoof issue)

That’s All!

I had a ton of fun with this one. I’d like to also do something like this for RPGs that I’ve read/really want to play, but I’ll wait a couple issues so Tom doesn’t get too nerded out. I just really want to talk about the wild world of itch.io’s MS Paint sapphic TTRPG scene because it goes kinda hard.

Until Sunday at 10:03 pm, buzz on, my busy bees!

(Applications: 4 [+3] / .14 per day)

Not beating the nerd allegations since 2025