Welcome to my second series of Monster-themed deep dives. In these posts, my son Xander (7), and I will dig down into what's good and great in the Fantasy AGE Bestiary. Each week you'll see some original art from Xan alongside observations, plot hooks, and other miscellany about each creature. As a byproduct of my … Continue reading Let’s Talk Monsters – Fantasy AGE Bestiary Deep Dive – The Letter C
Author: charlespicardgames
The Mecha Hack Actual Play Ep. 6: The Raid
If you haven't read my previous posts from this series, I'm playing The Mecha Hack, an OSR take on BattleTech-style games, with my wife and our 7-year-old son, Xander. Here's the setup... We're using the off the shelf Mech Hack "mini-setting," Lodestar Alpha. There are three main factions from Old Earth. Our scrappy heroes, Thumper … Continue reading The Mecha Hack Actual Play Ep. 6: The Raid
Let’s Talk Monsters – Fantasy AGE Bestiary Deep Dive – The Letter B
Welcome to my second series of Monster-themed deep dives! In these posts, my son, Xander (7), and I will dig down into the what's good and great in the Fantasy AGE Bestiary. Each week you'll see some original art from Xan alongside observations, plot hooks, and other miscellany about each creature. I made some cool … Continue reading Let’s Talk Monsters – Fantasy AGE Bestiary Deep Dive – The Letter B
Weekly Round-up: Clement Sector, Game Pitches, Ryuutama, & All the D&Ds
It's been awhile since I've done a round-up, but there's a lot of a little bit going on these days in my gaming world... Clement Sector Just when I was thinking it might be fun to try to add another weekly game to my life, my buddy Brian Isikoff mentioned he had an opening in … Continue reading Weekly Round-up: Clement Sector, Game Pitches, Ryuutama, & All the D&Ds
Let’s Talk Monsters – Fantasy AGE Bestiary Deep Dive – The Letter A
Welcome to my second series of Monster-themed deep dives! In these posts, my 7-year-old son Xander and I will dig down into the what's good and great in the Fantasy AGE Bestiary. In each post you'll see some original art from Xan alongside observations, new plot hooks, and other miscellany about the monsters of the … Continue reading Let’s Talk Monsters – Fantasy AGE Bestiary Deep Dive – The Letter A
Prince Valiant: The Storytelling Game – Actual Play – Ep. 2, Homecoming
Reset: In Prince Valiant: TSG you play knights of derring do in the "time of King Arthur." My wife, Deanna, plays Lady Elyse Dulane, "permanently" in disguise as her murdered twin brother, Envil. My son, Xander, plays Sir Gareth Jewelwing, a knight virtuous and bold. In her guise as Envil, Elyse is Gareth's squire. Gareth … Continue reading Prince Valiant: The Storytelling Game – Actual Play – Ep. 2, Homecoming
Let’s Talk Monsters – Fantasy AGE Bestiary Deep Dive – Opening Observations
Welcome to my second series of Monster-themed deep dives. In these posts, my son Xander and I dig down into what's good and great in the creature compendiums that power fantasy role-playing games. If you want a sense of what we'll be up to, please have a look at our work on the 5E D&D … Continue reading Let’s Talk Monsters – Fantasy AGE Bestiary Deep Dive – Opening Observations
Hell on Treads: Indie Game Review: Stormin’ Normandy with Erika Chappell’s Tanks and Feelings RPG
One of the great pleasures, probably the greatest pleasure, of writing my blog is shining a light on an obscure design. Hell on Treads may be the most obscure yet. While the game may be unheralded, the designer isn't. Erika Chappell has carved out a niche for herself with RPGs that include old-school grognard concepts … Continue reading Hell on Treads: Indie Game Review: Stormin’ Normandy with Erika Chappell’s Tanks and Feelings RPG
Irreverent Reading – 5E D&D Monster Manual Deep Dive – Full Series
Welcome to the Series "Post of Posts" for Irreverent Reading, my epic Monster Manual read-aloud with my son Xander. During the first half of 2020 we read every word of the 5E Monster Manual and recorded our thoughts. It was quite a journey. My boy Xander made a custom piece of art for every post. … Continue reading Irreverent Reading – 5E D&D Monster Manual Deep Dive – Full Series
No Prep? No Problem. Running The Black Hack on a Wing and a Prayer.
It was one of the those weeks. There was the bedbug scare. (Just a scare.) The fender bender. The COVID tantrum. But what the hell am I telling you for? You're alive in 2020, so you know the drill. When our regular GM needed to travel out of town for work, I was sure to … Continue reading No Prep? No Problem. Running The Black Hack on a Wing and a Prayer.