About this blog

I grew up in the burbs trading fantasy novels with my friends. When my best friend's older brother wasn't around, we would look through his AD&D Monster Manual binder and wonder what it would be like to fight umberhulks and beholders.

Of course we wanted him to let us play D & D, but I can see now that running a game with two annoying 9-year olds wasn't an interesting proposition to him.

So I did the next best thing. I asked for my own red box for Christmas. And I got it. I remember opening it up in the living room on that cold afternoon. I was lying on the rug next to the fire. I began reading the Player's Manual and felt utterly... confused.

I had no idea that playing D & D was such a series of calculations and writing and erasing numbers on a sheet. I thought it was just rolling dice and talking.

So I didn't play much as a kid. I moved back to reading fantasy novels and playing Nintendo. Only as I got older did I start playing tabletop RPGs again, but I still didn't like all the number tabulation.

I liked the stories, though.

I ended up majoring in literature in college and then getting an MA in English composition and rhetoric. I taught college essay writing for the next 6 years. Teaching writing to students who didn't necessarily want to learn it helped me to look at writing as problem-solving. 

I'm in between stable RPG campaigns these days. The last few starts haven't continued for very long. It would be great to get another one going, but I'm moving to a different country soon.

My tabletop gaming is influenced mostly by the awesome fantasy and science fiction novels I've read, but also equally by those few books of critical theory that stand out above others. I've also been reading table-top game blogs lately and my interest in blogging and free time has led me to start this one. 

I don't like to just recycle standard tropes; I prefer to use my own material and procedures, like the combat system I've designed for fun, brevity, and simplicity. 

Please use my material as you see fit. For now, I don't want to claim any rights because I liberally borrow stuff from other people too. 

I'd like to hear your comments, especially your criticism.

-San