POCGamer

The Limited Guide to Ravenloft

Diving into the lore of #Ravenloft is always interesting, and this is my review of #VRGR, Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. #DnD
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Holistic World Building: Lost World Diversification

Lost World zones, in the mode of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Lost World” and/or Jules Verne’s “A Journey to the Centre of the Earth”, have become a staple of
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Going Generic: Savage Worlds Adventure Edition!

Diving into Savage Worlds in the first review post of the 2021 Year of the Generic RPG event!
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Going Generic! An Introduction to Generic RPGs!

2021 is the year of the generic RPG here at POCGamer, and it’s long past time to kick this series of posts off. And where better to start than by
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What is a Short Adventure?

What is a short adventure? Well, I dug into my archives and put one together based on my notes!
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Tasha’s Cauldron of No Change

It’s been a year for D&D. The year started strong, but rapidly devolved into scandal as their claims of diversity and inclusion came into question and began to collapse under
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Holistic World Building Part 1: Development in Stages

Building a world for play is, to many, one of the big attractions of playing a TTPRG. However, it can be a daunting task, especially if you get caught up
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Decolonization and Integration in D&D

So, I was driving home and tossed in The Rat Pack Live at the Sands for the ride. I was muttering to myself about Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy
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Four Anime to Inspire Your Fantasy Campaign

Posted on 31/05/2021 by Graeme Barber

Over the last few decades, fantasy anime has been taking huge strides in both traditional and creatively fresh takes on western fantasy. And while many still look to novels for inspiration, there’s a lot of great anime out there that might inspire a system, a setting, and/or a campaign. So in this post, I’ve selected a variety of fantasy anime shows that are currently available to watch that I think offer some great inspirational ideas and material. So let’s look at four anime series that really bring it home.

What Happened? Writing for Wizards Part 2

Posted on 23/03/2021 by Graeme Barber

The last post explored the stages of the writing process for work-for-hire freelancers at Wizards, based on my experience with it in 2020. This post is going to delve into my specific experiences and the differences between the Book of Cylinders that was submitted in the final draft and the Book of Cylinders that was released on March 16th. Bear in mind, this entire post is no-names, no-packdrill.

What happened? Writing for Wizards Part 1

Posted on 23/03/2021 by Graeme Barber

As you may have noticed, I did not get the “good ending” in terms of writing for the latest release from Wizards, Candlekeep Mysteries. In fact, things went so sideways that I respectfully requested my name be removed from future printings because what went in as a final draft and what came out in release were so wildly different that I do not want my name associated with the product. So consider this post and the next as a PSA for people aspiring to write for Wizards.

Wizards, Business, and Diversity

Posted on 23/02/2021 by Graeme Barber

Wizards of the Coast has just announced the release of a Ravenloft campaign book, much to the excitement of the internet. This came with a lavish release article by Polygon, citing the reimagining and the diversity of writers that expanded the Domains of Dread. And it’s no mild expansion, it claims to have 30 settings and 30 villains. Combined with the recent Unearthed Arcana release, it seems like they’re finally making good on their promises of diversity, right? Well, sort of. On the front of it, it all looks good. But looking back over the history of D&D, and how Wizards have evolved in their curation of worlds, the picture takes on a different meaning.

Shaky Steps in Unearthed Arcana

Posted on 30/01/2021 by Graeme Barber

For those not tracking, Unearthed Arcana is one of D&D’s oldest and oddest traditions. Originally released as a life line by Gygax for 1e AD&D after TSR’s early financial practices almost sank the operation, it has become a repository for experimental rules and concepts in 5e. Effectively an ongoing playtest effort, classes, subclasses, and more that are close to being publishable often see their first public appearances there. This month saw the release of “Gothic Lineages”, which may mark an actual step towards dealing with some of the issues around race in D&D.

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