Accessible Games and the OGL

OGL Controversy

Like many publishers in the tabletop RPG business, I’ve recently been stunned by the controversy surrounding the Open Gaming License (OGL). If you’re not familiar, the OGL is a license, originally created by Wizards of the Coast, that allows RPG publishers to use certain content in their games without seeking special permission first.

Many games use the OGL, including Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition (the game for which the OGL was originally designed), D&D 5e, Pathfinder 1st and 2nd edition, Fudge, Fate, and more.

Publishers big and small rely on the OGL to know what is safe to borrow for their own games and what’s off-limits.

If you’re not familiar with the controversy, here’s the short version. Wizards of the Coast is planning to revise the OGL and de-authorize the original license (version 1.0a) that publishers have been using for over 20 years now. Their aim is to restrict the OGL (making …
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Survival of the Able Now Available

After a couple Kickstarter attempts and a few short delays, Survival of the Able is now officially available. It’s the game that just won’t die.

What is Survival of the Able?

In case you’ve been hiding away from society (and after the last few years, we wouldn’t blame you), Survival of the Able is a survival horror RPG built using the Fudge™ System. You’ll play as someone with a disability living in the Middle Ages, a time when people like you were cast aside and destined to live off the charity of the …
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Survival of the Able Update 2

Introduction

Has it really been three years since the first (and only) Survival of the Able update?

A lot has happened in my personal life since then and progress on the game’s development slowed, but it hasn’t halted. In fact, the current draft of the manuscript has about 30,000 words and is nearing completion.

I plan on bringing a demo version of SotA to GenCon Indie this year, so I recently whipped up a spreadsheet to help me track my milestones and stay on top of how much time I have left to get everything completed. By my estimates, I have about two months to finish the manuscript so I can have something to share by August.

By setting a goal for myself, I finally took SotA off the backburner and brought it back into focus. For the next few months, it is going to be the focus of any time I set …
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New Beast for World’s Edge Arena

English: Goliath birdeater female – Dorsal side – 23,5 cm – Mounted specimen by Philippe Annoyer Locality: French Guiana, France
License: CC BY-SA 4.0

After watching a YouTube video about the Goliath Birdeater tarantula, I was inspired to make this new creature to add to the World’s Edge Arena’s bestiary. Enjoy!

Goliath Tarantula (First Round creature)

Terrain: Jungle
ODFs: +1 (Bite), +3 (Barbs); DDFs: +3
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Tags: our games, psi-punk, fudge

Fudge Wins the RPGGeek GLAIR Award

One of my favorite RPGs recently won an award from one of my favorite websites. Fudge, the system on which Psi-punk and Monster Kart Mayhem are built, recently received the honorable Geek Lifetime Achievement in Roleplaying (GLAIR) award for 2016.

GLAIR winners are voted on in a tournament-style competition, and this year it was Fudge’s turn to come out on top. It joins the ranks of such venerable RPGs as Dungeons and Dragons, Pendragon, Traveller, Call of Cthulu, Classic World of Darkness, and Paranoia. Truly, this is an esteemed position to be in.

For more details about GLAIR, visit the GLAIR Wiki on RPGGeek.

To read the official announcement, check out this news article.

Also, as a refresher, read my thoughts on Why Fudge is a Great Accessible RPG.

There are tons of great settings and hacks for Fudge. If you’re not familiar with the game, visit FudgeRPG.com for the official site where …
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Survival of the Able Update

Last month I launched a contest for Survival of the Able, and upcoming game I’ve been working on. Unfortunately the contest didn’t have any entries, but the character sheet was downloaded nearly two dozen times and I did receive a few pieces of feedback at least.

In the coming months I’ll talk more about the game and its design decisions. For now, here’s a brief overview.

Background and Goals

My primary goal for Survival of the Able is to give players an experience of what it’s like to have a disability. Most RPGs treat disabilities and drawbacks, hindrances, faults, etc. and assign them numerical penalties to ability checks–and that’s exactly what I wanted to avoid with this game. Being blind shouldn’t just be a -4 penalty to ranged attacks. Being deaf shouldn’t just be a 20% chance to miscast spells with verbal components. It’s so much more than that. And as for naming them …
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Monster Kart Mayhem Crosses the Finish Line

Just in time for your Halloween party, Monster Kart Mayhem is complete and is now available on DriveThruRPG/RPGNow.

For those of you who backed the Kickstarter campaign, your download codes are waiting for you in your inbox. For the rest of you, you can get your copy today for just $10.00 USD.

Monster Kart Mayhem is the newest (and only) Fudge™ System-compatible family-friendly kart-racing RPG, and it’ll soon be tearing up the tracks in game rooms all across the world.

For a refresher about what Monster Kart Mayhem is or to get more general info about the game, head …
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