Game balance is basically the idea that whenever an adventuring group has an encounter, they can be assured that they can win, even though they may suffer some losses. I don't believe in Game Balance. It is a ghost that everyone chases but none have captured on film. Even if it were possible to balance… Continue reading Game Balance

Get your mind out of the gutter. What I'm talking about here is the number of sides on a die. Specifically, how the number of sides on a die can affect task resolution and game play. I recently wrote a post on Traveller, and soon after I posted it I of course went off to… Continue reading Does Size Matter?

I've always been a huge fan of science fiction role playing games. The first one I ever played was the original "little black book" version of Traveller. Traveller really set the bar, in good ways and bad. The depth of the background, the core mechanic if 2D6+, the comprehensive yet simple starship creation, using, and… Continue reading The Past of Science Fiction

Most RPG's have a point buy system for character statistics or attributes, such as Strength, Endurance, etc. The names of the attributes differ from system to system, but most cover basically the same types of attributes, both physical and mental. Some systems, however, ask you to roll dice to determine the attributes. Dungeons and Dragons… Continue reading Attribute Array Alternative

This post, folks, comes from Big Joe, who previously posted an article on this site: So I have noticed that the vast majority of games these days, at least the ones people are talking about, are so different from the way they used to be as to become almost unrecognizable. Dice towers or dice rolling… Continue reading Early Onset Grump

We need a new language.  More specifically, we need a new name for the mangled mess of what English has become in The Mutant Epoch.  It's hundreds of years in the future, humanity has been mostly destroyed and thrown to the four winds, mutants and monsters roam the blasted wasteland, and most of the culture… Continue reading A New Language for a New Epoch

Happily, today I can announce that DiceMechanic.org is still here and will remain open for business for at least another year.  Due to taxes coming in, I was able to renew my WordPress account as well as the domain registration. The fear that this site was about to fold is one of the reasons I’ve… Continue reading The Continuing Adventures of…

I’ve been reading the role-playing game Dragon AGE (Adventure Game Engine) by Chris Pramas this morning, preparing to start the big comparison I mentioned in my last post.  Near the beginning of the book (page 6 of the PDF), there’s a page or two describing a conversation between the GM and the players, told as… Continue reading Tabletop Fiction

I’ve decided to do a bit of a project.  Recently, I was going through all my books and PDF’s looking for that “perfect” spy thriller RPG.  There’s a LOT of them, and I’m really having a hard time deciding which game to use.  So I’m going to do a big comparison of each of the… Continue reading Spy Thriller Comparo

I've recently discovered a game engine by Green Ronin (https://greenronin.com/) called the Adventure Game Engine, or AGE.  It's currently being used in several games, such as Dragon AGE (based on the video game series), Fantasy AGE (similar, but not tied to any specific video game), Modern AGE, Blue Rose, and The Expanse. It's a great… Continue reading Adventure Game Engine