Just helpless Pieces of the Game He plays
Upon this chequer-board of Nights and Days;
Hither and thither He moves, and checks, and slays,
And one by one back in the closet lays.
            - Omar Khayyam, The Rubaiyat

I’ve read various analyses of the political content of KILLER7, and, while I don’t disagree much with the points made, I don’t find it a ( Read more... )

THE FOUR WIZARDS

The king needed a new court magician.  The previous one had blown himself, along with two pages, a chambermaid, a horse, and three geese, to hell and breakfast in an unfortunate and tragically avoidable accident of alchemical origin.  Therefore, a replacement was in order.

The summons went out to all corners of the kingdom, and it ( Read more... )

So, here's a thing.  It starts here at the Forge where I start comparing SAN! to American Wizards, and then there's Mo's blog a couple years ago.

Two sorts of actions in RPG play:  Push and Pull.  Note here that I'm talking about actions on the player level.  Push is sorta where I say, "It's like This," because I want it to be like This.  Pull is ( Read more... )

The following is an excerpt from an old post from my friend Clint's blog.  He's talking about improv, and about the Tao, but what he's saying is applicable to roleplaying also, and  any other collaborative creative endeavour:

Consider - If everyone onstage is supporting your delusions - that you're a space pirate
on a ship, with the experience and ( Read more... )

American WizardsShark an' spider, windmill tower ( Read more... )

He asked, “How would you like to play a game?”

“Sure, I’m down for that.”

“Do you like pool?”

“Sure.  Not much good at it though.”

“That’s irrelevant. Come along.”

He led me into a room with a pool table.

“This is not an ordinary pool table,” he explained, “This is a wizard’s pool table.”

“What makes it a wizard’s pool table?”

“It’s ( Read more... )

“Amen to the Thunderbolt in the Dark Void” - Gary Snyder’s translation of Om Mane Padme Hum, according to Kerouac ( Read more... )

Had a dream today. Trying to write it down into a story ( Read more... )

Attending the American College of Wizard Arts
taking notes in Prof. Blastwick's class:

How to Draw Like a Wizardbeing a list of principles, precepts, concepts, and tricks to create the spell of being an artist ( Read more... )