Playtesting and Other Extreme Sports

So the first Martian Muckraker playtest was a little rough. Maybe more than a little rough. A lot rough. It was rough. Solidly rough. So the first part of this post is to state that when you are designing a game: PLAY TEST PLAY TEST PLAY TEST. And be not discouraged. The chief areas of […]

Where The Dark Magic Comes From

They wonder where dark magic comes from as if they themselves cannot see any passing familiarity, strange reminiscence, recognizeable peculiarity, in the howls and the screeches and the screams. As if they no longer recall . . . Or cannot bring themselves to recognize the bright sunlight magic they spurned, with mockery scared and shallow […]

Muckraker RPG in Playtest

For a little over the year, I have used this blog to explore science fiction scenarios. The short fiction format of these posts allow me to play with a wide variety of ideas and overtime I have started to get a sense of a “Muckrakerverse,” a world of science fiction whimsy populated by mild-mannered Alien […]

Crisis of Faith

Written by Sp’Rark, Cultural Editor of the Martian Muckraker Nothing shook the religious foundations of Ancient Mars more than the discovery of Earthlings. For generations Martians regarded Mars as an Oasis in an otherwise uninhabited universe. Then scientists started hearing the transmissions from Earth. Two planets, Mars and Earth. Practically sisters. Each oblivious to the […]

Writing Your First RPG Session

Planning the adventure for your RPG session is easily the most daunting task of being a new Game Master. This helps explain the popularity of pre-made adventures. Indeed many prefer to just run a pre-written and play tested adventure strait out of the box to writing their own. But just as much of the fun […]

Facing Fate Core

Many RPGs are known for their tomes and tomes of rules. The recent Pathfinder Player’s Handbook runs 600 pages (and I can’t wait to dive into my copy!) This allows the game designers to craft and simulate a detailed and fascinating world, and provide lots of meat for players to strategize with. There is a […]

Micro RPGs

Many people think of tabletop roleplaying games as requiring books and books of rules. However in recent years, there has been interest in rules-light systems. The limit case of this is the Micro-RPG or One-Page RPG. A Micro-RPG can cover its rules in four-pages or less and is designed when players want a quick-and-easy game […]

The Invisible Man

“Adrian’s true genius was how he got in people’s heads . . .” The Invisible Man will be one of many movies hitting digital release early due to the quarantines sweeping the US. I was lucky that my little brother encouraged me to see it before the Covid-19 crisis was on either of our radars. […]

G-Forces

“Hello Muckrakers, this is Technology & Space Cruiser Reporter Sp’Rark!” “And this is Editor-In-Chief C’therax!” “And this sweet ride is the new and improved NeonNebula Optimex!” Sp’Rark said. “AHHHHHHHHH!!!” As Sp’Rark said the name of the starship, she fired its fusion thrusters, causing a sudden and heavy wave of G-forces to crash into C’therax. “CUT!” […]

The Introverts Will Be Their (Dungeon) Masters

The best place for an introvert at an RPG table is . . . as the Dungeon Master (or Game Master or Master of Ceremonies). It may seem like a bold statement given the amount of responsibilities the Game Master (we will use this as a catch-all) has. Doesn’t being the GM require leading others […]