So hopefully you’ve had a chance to play test Claustrophobia!, the game of suicidal garden gnomes on a journey to the Earth’s core. If you’ve been following my Twitter and DeviantArt accounts, you’ll have seen the engine that is Rising Phoenix Games is hard at work churning out more gnomic chaos. Today’s no exception. So, sit back, relax, open a cold one and enjoy…
Continue reading To Gnometopia in a Trash Can – Claustrophobia!
I love teaching English in Japan. It’s a great learning opportunity… even if the stuff you learn is sometimes totally random. Such as when I asked my students to draw a robot and I got back pictures of Doraemon, a little blue robot cat. This is the home of Asimo right?
If you’re on DeviantArt why not check out my other deviations: cptphoenix.deviantart.com.
Meet Momo Kobito, or Peach Dwarf.
Kobito, in Japanese, means dwarf, but these guys, Kobito Dukan, have all the qualities of gnomes. YouTube says it best:
Two weeks ago I released Claustrophobia!, the game of gnomish insanity that’s currently in play testing until the end of July 2012. Since writing the game I’ve been thinking back on how gnomes became a part of my life, and indeed Western culture. Gnomes have enjoyed different levels of popularity throughout the ages. Nowadays gnomes even embrace elements of geek culture, as last week’s collection of gnomes illustrates. But what exactly are gnomes, and just how did they become so popular?
Continue reading Claustrophobia! – A Short History of Gnomes
Recently I released Claustrophobia!, the game of gnome mayhem on-board a terrestrial submarine headed for the Earth’s core and certain doom. The game is currently in play testing until the end of July this year. In Claustrophobia! you can use garden gnomes found in the wild (or bought at a store) as your “character sheet” and so today I’ll review some of the coolest garden gnomes out there.
I love creative role-playing design competitions, like the One Page Dungeon Contest. They’re a great way to push the creative envelope and get work out there for the world to see. I’ve just finished work on my gnome-tastic RPG of subterranean mayhem for the 1KM1KT 24 Hour RPG Competition.
Of course, a competition like this one calls for some out of the box thinking because, as was the case in this years competition, the box was literally and figuratively rather small…
Continue reading Claustrophobia! – 1KM1KT’s 24 Hour RPG Contest 2012
A Gundam is a gigantic, human controlled, fighting robot and the stuff dreams are made of for many Japanese men. I teach Japanese high school boys, and they can’t get enough Gundam. You can’t say Gundam’s are big in Japan. They’re huge! A recent ad on Japanese television (YouTube Link) shows just how big they are, literally and figuratively. Continue reading Gun Dammit – Inspired In Japan – Giant Japanese Bots
Our first guest post on Rising Phoenix Games is from a good friend of mine, the great GM, home brewer and scholarly gentleman MushroomAlien. MushroomAlien is one of those super intelligent guys who doesn’t make you feel like a moron when you talk to him, but rather like a bit of a genius yourself. He also has a cool user name. Please don’t get him started on Dungeons And Dragons Miniatures and how many times he has thrashed me at the game.
In virtually every pen and paper RPG, you will find a box or skill labelled “languages” somewhere on the character sheet. In most cases, the only time you would be requested to consult this box, is when your GM confronts you with the question, “do you speak west cobarian under-orc?” The answer is usually a simple yes or no, and in many games the issue of language becomes moot as soon as the negotiator in the party gains the ability to cast “comprehend languages”, or the equivalent thereof. Recently, however, I based an entire game session on learning a new language.
Inspired in part by another post and the work I’ve done on my own solo campaign, Sentinels Watching, I decided to run a little free style solo campaign and share it with you to inspire your own adventures. I’ll walk you through the process and share some insights along the way so that you can play out your own campaign.
The system you choose should reflect the type of game and genre you want to play. It’s no use starting out with the Mouse Guard Roleplaying Game
Stuffer Shack recently announced the winner of the 2012 Site Of The Year award. Well done to The Id DM on a job well done. Head on over and check it out. Also, well done to everyone else who entered, you are all giving something to the community and for that you deserve to be noted!
Your favourite Phoenix took part in the competition and was up against some big names in RPG blogging. Unfortunately we didn’t make it into the finals, but I feel proud just having been a part of the fun. We’re putting together a bigger team and looking forward to competing again in 2013.
You can read our interview with the creator of Stuffer Shack, Tourq Stevens, right here on this blog.