Back when I still used Facebook, I used to argue politics on the internet. A lot. A lot a lot. Like, Id be late to a social event because I “needed” to reply to someones wonky political take on something. Or Id stay up late for the same reason. Or Id have trouble falling asleep…
I’m gonna start a Patreon, probably in December 2022. Partly because I want people to be able to find me if Twitter stops working, and partly to incentivize myself to post more articles (I do post them here on this WordPress blog now and then, but I’m the sort of person who gets a lot…
(Trivia & Anecdotes is a series of blog posts about weird and sometimes funny behind-the-scenes facts about various books I worked on, in chronological order of when they were published. If you see a number in brackets like this [1], it’s referring to a footnote at the bottom of this post.) Welcome to part two…
(Trivia & Anecdotes is a series of blog posts about weird and sometimes funny behind-the-scenes facts about various books I worked on, in chronological order of when they were published. If you see a number in brackets like this [1], it’s referring to a footnote at the bottom of this post.) This is the first…
I just got back from Gen Con 2022, and I’ve received a few messages from people who saw me at the show, but decided to not come talk to me because I was running a game or in a conversation with other people. I appreciate everyone who is respectful about approaching others and not wanting…
If you wanna see me in person at Gen Con 2022, here’s my schedule. And I’m bringing dice from home and giving away, one per person who asks, until I run out. :) (At the bottom of this post I’ve included a modified map of the exhibit hall showing the location of the MCG booth…
(The owlbear in the D&D movie trailer prompted me to finally write this article, which I’ve been meaning to do for over a year now!) Back in 2012, there was a discussion on the Paizo boards that led to talking about shapechanging spells, specifically ones that let you turn into an animal, and what those…
This is a story about the very first 3rd edition D&D Forgotten Realms adventure, Into the Dragon’s Lair, and wow it’s a doozy. It’s the year 2000. Wizards of the Coast is about to release the 3rd edition of D&D. We’d had a lot of positive excitement about this edition, helped by some great Gen…
In 1999, I was the first person outside of the 3e design team who got to write monsters for the new 3e Monster Manual. At the time, the 3e design team was Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams; Jonathan was the lead on the PH, Monte was the lead on the DMG, and Skip…
I’m teaching a once-a-week class on “adulting” at a Seattle middle/high school. This is the outline I’m using for the class. As a person who considers himself an “extremely competent adult,” everything on this list is something I think a reasonably competent adult should know how to do (barring some sort of illness, injury, or…
Back in 2014, I ran a Kickstarter for the Five Moons RPG, which I intended as a simpler take on the 3e/PF rules and focusing more on the “sweet spot” of adventuring (levels 1 to 12 in 3e/PF terms, before the math really starts to break down for high-level characters), flavored with some of my…
This is a true story that happened to me on December 19, 2012. I had it posted on my Facebook and now I’ve migrated it to here. (First of all: I am unharmed.)This morning [December 19, 2012], I went to Starbucks as usual.There was a guy right outside the entrance smoking.As I walked through the…
My previous T&A article was about Cloak & Dagger, my very last 2e design project, so it makes sense that my next book, the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, was my first 3e design project. The plan for 3e D&D was that the core D&D books would “nominally” be set in the World of Greyhawk (WOG), meaning…
(Years ago I wrote this memory of a dream, and at the time I posted it as a FB note. Anyway, I’m slowly cutting stuff from my FB page and putting it on my blog, so here we go…) I have problems sleeping.Sometimes I take melatonin to help with that.I don’t usually remember my dreams.Melatonin…
Right around the time that Paizo employees decided to form a union, WIRED journalist Cecilia D’Anastasio (hereafter abbreviated as “CDA”) contacted me to ask about my experiences working in the tabletop RPG (TTRPG) industry and whether I had witnessed or experience any harassment at various companies. She used my responses and those of other people…
At this year’s GameHole Con I ran several sessions of a one-shot Ptolus adventure[1] using the Cypher System. I brought pregenerated characters so we could get right into the gaming. Two different groups had a player ask, “some of these say ‘Dwarf’ or ‘Elf,’ does that mean the other characters are human?” Specifically, three of…
[This was originally a rant on my old website, written back in 2001, I’m just migrating it here. Originally this was called “RPGs Are Too Expensive,” because that’s what people were saying, and my rants were arguing against it. I don’t have more recent data on printing costs, designer costs, and so on, so this…
Back in December, MCG had a Kickstarter to create some RPG books about superheroes. The first of those books, a high-action MCU-style rulebook and setting called Claim the Sky, is now on preorder. On the last day of that Kickstarter, I posted a whole bunch of things on Twitter talking about my own history with…
(This used to be a Note on Facebook, thought I should move it over here where others can see it, especially as I’ve left FB because they’ve played a big role in enabling fascism and the alt-right these past few years.) When I do game convention panels about how to be a good freelancer, I…
(Trivia & Anecdotes is a series of blog posts about weird and sometimes funny behind-the-scenes facts about various books I worked on, in chronological order of when they were published. I stopped doing these articles in 2015 when my life went off the rails for a bit, but I’m starting them back up again!)This feels…
My friend and colleague, Peter Archer, passed away unexpectedly last night at age 67. Here’s the (very short, not particularly exciting) story of how I got to know Peter. As best as I can remember, summer/fall of 1995 was the last time TSR hired anyone. For RPG R&D (the team that worked on D&D), that…
(Trivia & Anecdotes is a series of blog posts about weird and sometimes funny behind-the-scenes facts about various books I worked on, in chronological order of when they were published. I stopped doing these articles in 2015 when my life went off the rails for a bit, but I’m starting them back up again!) 1999…
Two important points to know about the Cypher System before I explain what I’m doing here, just in case you’re not familiar with CS: • Players make all rolls. The level of the target is the level the player needs to roll. Level 6 creature attacking? Player makes a defense roll against level 6. Player…
(Hey, GMs, please read to the end of the next sentence before deciding to close this tab!) GM intrusions are a game mechanic for the Cypher System game, but you can use them in other RPGs too, and in this article I’ll explain what they are, how they work, and how to use them in…
(cover image of Beyond Science: A Guide to FX) (Trivia & Anecdotes is a series of blog posts about weird and sometimes funny behind-the-scenes facts about various books I worked on, in chronological order of when they were published. I stopped doing these articles in 2015 when my life went off the rails for a…
Sean K Reynolds 