I can’t begin to explain how groundbreaking this summer has been for us creators of the Ealdsmyth TTRPG system. Roger Speer, Greg Peterson, and I spent a few days together on a creative retreat, and what we emerged with is an intentional, even more immersive and meaningful system that we call “Ealdsmyth 2026.”
I regularly work with teenagers as a high-school theatre teacher. Though I wish I could just lecture them into learning life skills, it’s unfortunately not that easy. Teens, like all humans really, need a story worth stepping into to effectively learn how to live.
There’s something really vulnerable about sitting at a shared table and communicating what you think should happen in a story you’re telling together. There’s potential for judgment, for resentment, and for genuine discomfort when someone takes the story too far.
Have you ever introduced an NPC at your table that just really clicked with your players? Maybe it was a gobliness left behind by a war party that was supposed to foreshadow their bloodthirsty nature but instead became a recipient of their empathy. As Stewards, we can’t always predict what NPCs will connect with our…
One thing I learned quickly after getting into TTRPGs is that I love playing games infused with chaos. Whether I’m a player or a Steward, I want to bring chaos to the table, and I want to be challenged by chaos.
Conflict is absolutely essential for great storytelling. At the gaming table, it can create drama, tension, and growth… as long as everyone’s onboard. Sometimes, though, what starts as roleplay could actually reveal personal discomfort, and that discomfort is easy to weaponize.
I once had a student that we’ll call “Leo.” Leo was tall, Leo was compliant, and Leo was largely nonverbal. This provided difficulty in the classroom, because it was his senior year at the autism center where I taught, and I wanted to do everything I could to prepare him for adulthood.
Encouraging Compassion Through Narrative Choices Your players are at the inevitable moment of battle. The rogue draws her dagger and slinks into the corner. The barbarian kicks down the door between the party and their enemies. The bard determines whether he can distract a footsoldier long enough for the rogue to slit its throat. How…
Imagine for a moment that you’re in a dark-but-candlelit room, across a modest table from a wizened woman. She squints at oversized cards spread across the navy-felted table, and she begins to speak: “Ah yes… I see a decision weighing on you…” You hang on to her every word. What if this same narrative trick…
Below is the eulogy I gave at my grandmother’s funeral today. She was a special woman who lived a long life filled with purpose and self-discipline.