Author Focused Play

The Conversations The Thing

Learning from some relatively recent rpg reading I've learned the quality of my rpg experience is all about the meaningful conversation at the table.
Ian O'Rourke
5 min read

The Challenges of Online Play

Since the death of the gaming group, my pattern of actual play is changing. It’s switched from regular, long-form play to two alternate methods....
Ian O'Rourke
12 min read

The Nature of World Building

One of the things I find myself saying occasionally on #ttrpg Twitter is we don’t do world-building. People are often shocked by this. Some...
Ian O'Rourke
4 min read

The Importance of a Meaningful Why

The importance of why in tabletop role-playing game stories for meaning, emotion and fateful conversations.
Ian O'Rourke
10 min read

After The Dice Drop

The tools, techniques and key moments after the dice dropped that contributed to a campaign's success.
Ian O'Rourke
7 min read

Before The Dice Drop

The tools and techniques we used before the dice dropped that contributed to a campaign's success.
Ian O'Rourke
10 min read

The Railroading Myth

An intentional story in a role-playing game by definition cannot involve railroading.
Ian O'Rourke
10 min read

Where Is The Author?

When you run a TTRPG, one of the key things you need to be conscious of is where the role of the author resides....
Ian O'Rourke
12 min read

Delivering On Homo Fictitious

Delivering on your player characters being Homo Fictitious depends on following a handful of principles.
Ian O'Rourke
9 min read

How The GM ‘Plots’

How the GM 'plots' when all the table is authoring!
Ian O'Rourke
13 min read