Yak-Hack

It is a well understood, but little expressed fact that the "theory" behind roleplaying games has very little to do with academic inquiry and the establishing of truths. Instead, most of our theorizing rely on pure guesswork, marketing gimmicks and internalized industry standards. Even if someone approaches a theoretical truth about what Games are (or should be), there is no established and accessible way for the rest of us to know whether what they are talking about makes sense, except an abstract, formal logic. As a result of this vague framework, game developers usually get up hung up on this or that specific, usually highly personal thing. It's their own Theory Heartbreaker, coincidentally related to the new game they are selling. The most common among these Theory Heartbreakers are XP. There's a popular school of thought that posits that RPG mechanics are a form of mind control, and believe this is a good thing. Most commonly, they refer to XP as a key pr...

SO I ONCE AGAIN DID A THING SKØVD - A GOTHIC AND GLOOMY GUIDE "SKØVD  is a Weird Gothic fantasy mini-setting for Black Hack 2nd Ed. and similar pen-and-paper systems. Exiled from the Empire of Flenn, your adventurers have been stranded in the city of Skøvd (pronounced however you wish), a vile place full of crime, injustice and supernatural occurrence. It is a single A4 Pamphlet, ready to Print and Play! It is not fully fleshed out - on purpose. Take the ideas, tables and plot hooks and flesh them out yourself, or place them in an entirely new context. The narrator is unreliable - you decide the canon of the setting." AVAILABLE AT ITCH FOR $2.50 https://wolf-eel-games.itch.io/skvd ______________________________________________________________________ It's been out for a while and has recieved some great feedback. The central concept of it is to provide GMs with a world that is distinct enough to inspire play, but ambigious enough to make your own. All P...