Lethality as Design Language: What Character Death Actually Communicates Usually there is this funny moment that most players who has cross from modern D&D into OSR territory experience. A sort of rite of passage, if you will. It usually happens in the first or second session. The character they built, the one with that nice backstory and all those personality notes and the carefully chosen starting equipment, walks into a situation that, in a more forgiving game would have resolved with a dramatic near-miss and a depleted hit point total.

Character death in OSR isn't simple cruelty. I posit it's a design language. This piece explores what lethality actually communicates about your game world and why it matters. 🎲💀

#OSR #TTRPG #DungeonsAndDragons #RPGBlog #OldSchoolDnD #GameDesign #TheRPGGazette

What a Documentary About Mass Killers Taught Me About Playing Vampire: The Masquerade Some ideas come uninvited. At my university classes this week I attended an analysis of perpetrator trauma theory under the context of Erin McGlothlin's essay Perpetrator Trauma published in The Routledge Companion to Literature and Trauma with a corresponding viewing of the documentary film The Act of Killing by Joshua Oppenheimer. The course had nothing to do with TTRPGs. The connection was not planned.

A uni lecture on mass killers cracked open something unexpected: a better way to roleplay Humanity loss in VtM. Perpetrator trauma theory at your gaming table. 🧛📖

#VtM #WorldOfDarkness #TTRPG #RPGBlog #GameStudies #PsychologyInTTRPGs #TheRPGGazette

The TTRPG as Oral Literature: Storytelling, Memory, and the Ephemeral Campaign Around this time last year, I wrote what is one of my favorite articles from the blog. An article about why TTRPGs feel so special to me. And part of the argument rested on the idea that these games belong to the tradition of folk art: communal, informal, passed hand to hand through enthusiasm rather than institution, truly alive only in the act of doing them.

Your campaign will be forgotten. No recording captures it, no transcript preserves it. And that's exactly what makes it matter. TTRPGs are oral literature - ephemeral, communal, and more alive for it. 🎲📖

#TTRPG #RPGBlog #TabletopRPG #OralLiterature #GameStudies #TheRPGGazette

How Dragonlance Invented the TTRPG Novel and What That Cost the Hobby In 1984, TSR released a module written by Tracy Hickman, Dragons of Despair. Hickman was a writer and designer who has been working at the company for about 3 years. However, even with the short time spent in the company, he already made his mark when, a year prior, he wrote alongside his wife, Laura, the original Ravenloft, for the 1st edition of AD&D.

Dragonlance gave us some of fantasy's greatest characters. But unfortunately, it also taught D&D that railroading was storytelling. A love letter with receipts. 📖🐉

#DnD #Dragonlance #TTRPG #RPGBlog #DungeonsAndDragons #TheRPGGazette

The Reaction Roll, the Morale Roll, and the Monster That Doesn’t Want to Fight Here is a scene that has played out at countless tables running D&D since, well, I think at least from the 3rd edition days. The party rounds a corner and lo and behold, here are goblins. The goblins are there because the encounter table said goblins, or because the adventure module placed them in this room, or because the GM simply needed something to fill the space between the last fight and the next plot beat.

Not every monster wants to kill you. Two dice rolls can completely transform how your table handles encounters. 🎲⚔️

Full article in the link in bio!

#OSR #TTRPG #DungeonsAndDragons #RPGBlog #GameMastering #OldSchoolDnD #TheRPGGazette

First Among Thieves: A Review of Two Sides to the Coin To be completely honest with you, initially, I did not pay that much attention to this game. Gods, what a fool I was. Because out of the trifecta released by Osprey last year, Two Sides to the Coin is perhaps the best of them, and not only is it a great TTRPG, it is, at least in my eyes, their most innovative title yet.

Your party. Your mission. Your secret agenda. Two Sides to the Coin is the TTRPG where cooperation and backstabbing aren't mutually exclusive. Our full review is up — and yes, we loved it. Link in bio.

#OspreyGames #TwoSidesToTheCoin #Review #IndieRPG #TTRPG #TheRPGGazette

Beyond Good and Evil: The Paths of Enlightenment and the Alien Morality of Vampire: The Masquerade From my experience, there is a moment that happens at almost every Vampire: The Masquerade table, usually somewhere in the first couple of sessions. A player's character does something monstrous. Not dramatically monstrous, no torture or senseless mass killing, but instead something a bit more quiet, even practical in the moment. But still monstrous to a normal human. They drain a human completely cause they are in dire need of Blood Points/wanna get rid of their hunger.

What if the monster isn't a bastion of pure evil, but rather just incomprehensible abd alien? The Paths of Enlightenment are VtM's most fascinating design space and this article dives deep into them! 🧛‍♂️🔮
#VampireTheMasquerade #WorldOfDarkness #VtM #TTRPG #RPGBlog #TheRPGGazette #Tzimisce

Prestige Classes: The Best Design Space D&D Ever Abandoned There is a specific type of character fantasy that was achieved by 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons better than any other edition before or since. Not the fantasy of making your character up as you go. The fantasy of knowing what you want your character to be from session one, having a goal in mind, knowing that you are working toward it and putting in the effort and time to work toward that goal, and knowing there would be a day…

I feel like 5.5e kind of buried multiclassing. So I went back to 3.5 - where character building was an art form and multiclass was king. Prestige classes are part of the reason for that. And they deserved better. 🎲⚔️

#DnD #DungeonsAndDragons #TTRPG #DnD35 #PrestigeClass #RPGBlog #TheRPGGazette

The Book That Built the World of Darkness (Whether White Wolf Admits It or Not) There is a version of Vampire: The Masquerade that does not exist. In that version, the vampire is still fundamentally a predator. Gothic, certainly. Brooding, perhaps. But essentially a monster: something took directly from folklore, something cold and inhuman that wears a human face as a disguise. That version of the vampire has a long literary history - Stoker's Dracula…

VtM didn't invent its iconic take on vampires alone. Anne Rice played perhaps the biggest role in that — White Wolf just never said so. 🧛📖 A critical look at the unacknowledged debt behind your favorite RPG.

#VampireTheMasquerade #AnneRice #WorldOfDarkness #TTRPG #RPGBlog #TheRPGGazette

Shadowdark vs. OSE: Two Visions of OSR Accessibility When first looking into OSR games, many people ask themselves the same question: "Which one do I start with?" In my experience, nowadays, the majority of the time, there are two systems that people will tell you to start with: Either Shadowdark or Old-School Essentials. Both of these games were created with a lot of love, care and attention to detail, with strong communities backing them up.

OSR curious? Two games, two philosophies. Shadowdark vs. Old-School Essentials — same door, different keys. Which one's right for YOUR table? 🎲⚔️

#TTRPG #OSR #Shadowdark #OldSchoolEssentials #DungeonsAndDragons #TabletopRPG #RPGBlog #OldSchoolDnD #TheRPGGazette

How To Enrich Your D&D Experience: The Importance of Trying Out New Systems Familiarity brings its own kind of peace of mind. For most of the tabletop RPG industry, this peace is represented by a specific structure - one rule system, one set of assumptions and one common language which allows players to easily sit down at a game table with no barriers to play. For many of today's groups, that structure is defined as…

Trying new RPG systems is not about abandoning what you love. It is about learning new tools for play. From Cthulhu to Blades to worldbuilding games, every system teaches something D&D never will.

#ttrpg #dnd #rpg #indierpg #tabletopgames #roleplaying #gmadvice #worldbuilding #TheRPGGazette

Behind the Veil: Why Kult Works Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in multiple sessions of Kult: Divinity Lost (shoutout to V3rtigo from Taverna Aventurilor), a game I have been somewhat interested in before. Afterward, I downloaded the PDF version of the game to take a closer look into it for my own knowledge. While the rules for the game are an acceptable new edition of a modified version of the…

What if The Devil’s Advocate was a TTRPG? 🩸
I dive into why that film captures the seductive, gnostic horror at the heart of Kult—and why its appeal is so hard to explain… but impossible to ignore.

#KultRPG #TTRPG #HorrorRPG #PoweredByTheApocalypse #IndieRPG #TheRPGGazette #TheDevilsAdvocate

Animal Space Comando – A Review of Untamed Worlds To be perfectly honest with y'all, on paper, Untamed Worlds sounds… a little silly. You play genetically uplifted animal operatives working for a paramilitary organization that effectively acts as a space UN, sent to do the dirty work humanity would rather outsource. Talking animal space commandos is a premise that very easily veers into parody, and I will be honest and say that when I first heard about the game, I expected something far lighter, perhaps even gimmicky.

Genetically uplifted animal agents working for a space UN sounded silly at first. Untamed Worlds proved me wrong. A crunchy, ambitious sci-fi RPG with excellent worldbuilding, deep character creation, and some rough edges. Full review up now.

#UntamedWorlds #OspreyGames #Review #TheRPGGazette #RPG

The Tyranny of the Party Composition There is sometimes a moment that tends to occur with nearly every group of players, and typically happens before the players have even made their first roll. Someone from your table will ask, "What's missing in our group?" Someone else will reply, "We don't have a healer." Another player will say, "Do we have a tank?" Once all of these questions are answered, your party becomes just a checklist of characters who have no backstory, character development, or personality.

Do you really need a tank, a healer, and a DPS? 🤔
“The Tyranny of Party Composition” explores how roles shaped D&D, from early editions to 4e and MMO influence, and how they quietly narrow creativity at the table. What if the “perfect party” is the real constraint? 🎲

#D&D #TheRPGGazette

Malkavians Are Not (Just) Comic Relief It seems as if very few clans in Vampire: The Masquerade have been subject to so much tonal shift as have the Malkavian clan. Initially they were the Cassandras of the Kindred world - seers, prophets, cursed to be ignored, but due to a much saddening reason, that of course being their madness. Even with their madness (or perhaps thanks to it), they still manage to reflect the truths of the world around them, but over time at many people's gaming tables they morphed into comedy punchlines.

Malkavians were never meant to be jokes. They are not “lol so random” vampires, but cursed seers who see too much and cannot filter reality. A look at madness as horror, not gimmick, and how to play a Malkavian without fish-malking.

#Blog #VTM #Malkavian #WorldOfDarkness #TheRPGGazette

The “Post-OSR(evival)” Identity Crisis Welcome back everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a great start of the year! As for us, both me and Yuno managed to catch a cold right before our exam session so things could be better. But nonetheless, I wanted to take some time to write this article to relax my brain a bit before delving right into uni projects and my dissertation.

Old School isn’t what it used to be and that’s kind of the point. From Shadowdark to MÖRK BORG, the OSR has fractured into something stranger and more interesting. A look at the post-OSR identity crisis and what “old school” even means now.

#TTRPG #OSR #TheRPGGazette #RPGBlog #GameDesign

From Basement to Broadcast: D&D After Critical Role Tabletop roleplaying games have historically taken place in very private settings, with the stories and experiences of those playing the games being kept, for the most part, in the minds of those individuals. Advice on the playing of a roleplaying game has been handed down through various mediums, such as rulebooks, anecdotally, through forums and blogs. In addition to limited advice, the manner in which a particular roleplaying game is played has varied drastically even within the same game system, as there has been limited awareness of similar play styles being experienced by anyone outside of those in your immediate circle.

Critical Role didn’t save or ruin D&D. It changed how the world sees it.
Our latest article looks at CR as a cultural moment, not a controversy and closes a year of 116 articles at The RPG Gazette.
Thank you for reading. Happy holidays and happy rolling. 🎲

#CriticalRole #D&D #TheRPGGazette #TTRPG

The Sabbat as Counter-Culture: Punk, Cults, and the Fear of Freedom Hmm, yeah... Am I threading on dear Horia's ground with this article? Yes, most likely. Is it a peculiar point to make when the first thought you have when you say "Sabbat" is bloody rituals, shovelheads and that fucker, Sascha Vykos? Yes. But, I do believe there is some degree of irony when it comes to the Sabbat. In the past few decades, …

The Sabbat were never just villains. They were a cultural snapshot of 80s and 90s fears: punk rebellion, cult hysteria, and the terror of absolute freedom. New article on RPG Gazette exploring the counter culture roots of the Sword of Caine.

#VTM #WoD #TTRPG #TheRPGGazette

A Review of DIE RPG: A Game About You, But Not About You There are roleplaying games that let you escape your problems, and then there are the rare few that gently take you by the chin, lift your gaze, and say: “No dodging. Look”. DIE is one of those games. Developed by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by Stephanie Hans in tandem with their comic by the same name, DIE does not offer wish-fulfillment so much as an invitation to confront the versions of ourselves we abandoned along the way.

Just wrapped my review of DIE: The RPG, a game that asks more of you than most and gives back something raw, strange and unforgettable. If you like your fantasy with emotional teeth, give it a read.

#TheRPGGazette #DIE:TheRoleplayingGame #Review #TTRPG #IndieRPG

Why Every Clan of Vampire: The Masquerade Is Its Own Unique Brand of Tragedy By now you know I very much enjoy Vampire: The Masquerade. In the past couple of months however, I have realized something about the game. I think to some extent, Vampire: The Masquerade is not about playing a monster that looks like a person, but rather it’s about playing a person who slowly realizes they are a monster. And the Clans embody this conflict more than any other aspect of VtM.

Every Clan in Vampire: The Masquerade is a tragedy. New article up now.
Also, RPG Gazette turns one and we are running a giveaway. Follow us on Instagram and tag us in a story telling us your favorite TTRPG for a chance to win! Winners announced December 24th.

#giveaway #TheRPGGazette #VTM #WoD

Dragons Without Dungeons: When D&D Forgot Its Own Name When you hear the term Dungeons & Dragons, it should feel a little raw and mythic. The creaking of a heavy wooden door opening, the scent of moist stone, the quiet, faint scratching of something that isn’t a rat (or you hope it isn’t). It’s a scene nestled firmly in pop culture, a party braving the underground with torches lighting their way.

Somewhere along the way, Dungeons & Dragons forgot its own name. 🕯️ The dragons got bigger, but the dungeons — the mystery, danger, and grit — slipped into the shadows. I wrote about why the crawl still matters, and why we should descend again. 🐉 #DnD #OSR #TTRPG #TheRPGGazette

Forget about Neo-Gothic, this is all about Neon-Gothic: Why Vampire: The Masquerade Is Still the Most 90s Game Ever Written There’s a certain kind of cool that is genuinely authentic, and cannot be faked. Call it the style that wears sunglasses indoors, quotes Nietzsche between puffs of a clove cigarette, and writes bad poetry about love and damnation at three AM. This is Vampire: The Masquerade - the most unapologetically 90s role-playing game ever written, and somehow, still cool, decades later.

Blood, neon and angst - In my opinion Vampire The Masquerade is the most 90s game ever written, and somehow also one of the coolest. From Anne Rice's romance to cyberpunk decay, it has made tragedy stylish and monsters all the more human. Read the full article today! #VTM #TheRPGGazette

The RPG Gazette just hit 100K views!
Huge thanks to everyone who’s been part of the ride: readers, players, GMs, artists, all of you.
Let’s keep building this TTRPG community!

#TTRPG #TheRPGGazette #100KViews

The Importance of Focus Or why D&D now feels bland Once upon a time, Dungeons & Dragons had a clear identity. It was a game about daring adventurers plunging into the unknown, looting ancient tombs, slaying monsters, and probably dying to a cle…

#TheRPGGazette:
THE IMPORTANCE OF FOCUS OR WHY D&D NOW FEELS BLAND

Interesting article about the #game's lost identity, which other systems (including #OSR clones) seem to be working out more.

#ttrpg #DnD

therpggazette.wordpress.com/2025/03/21/t...