Tag Archives: Fantasy

Off the Tabletop and on to the Screen

The cover of Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting by Matthew Mercer

So for my last post, I wrote about TTRPG-inspired books and linked to a few rulebooks to help burgeoning GMs or players get started. What I only did once, and didn’t point out, was a link to a System Reference Document, or SRD. That was the Pathfinder link; there’s also a Pathfinder 2nd edition SRD, a D&D 5th Edition SRD, a Gumshoe SRD, and many others. These documents exist so that companies and GMs can create new adventures for existing systems or branch off these systems to develop their own games, as Pathfinder did from D&D 3.5e. They’re also an excellent place for Players and GMs to learn the rules of a game, and if all you can get hold of is a campaign book from our collection or you want to create your own adventure, these are a great, free place to start. They don’t contain all of your options and won’t have trademarked creatures in them, but they have enough to run a campaign or create a character; I know this first-hand.

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Tabletop Worlds and the Books They Spawn

The Cover of The Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned that I’m both a Game Master1 (GM) and a player of Tabletop Role Playing Games (TTRPG), specifically Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition (D&D) and Pathfinder 1st edition. But there’s a whole plethora of TTRPGs out there that aren’t D&D2, such as Shadowrun, Powered by the Apocalypse, Vampire the Masquerade, Deadlands, Honey Heist, Call of Cthulhu, and so so many more3.

I could go into excruciating detail on how each of these systems differs. I could wax poetic about how shared experiences at the table help form lasting friendships away from it. I could regale you with tales of the shenanigans that my library D&D group is getting up to trying to solve a murder mystery/stop a devilish pact4 while being entirely too chaotic for their own good5. Ask in the comments if you want some details, and I’ll see if the party is willing to share.

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Forty Years With the Force

Poster for Return of The Jedi by Matt Ferguson
image © Matt Ferguson

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, so this post will feature all things Star Wars for all ages, whether you’re new or seasoned fans! The franchise is galaxy-spanning, so I’m not going to be able to recommend everything, but if I miss a favourite of yours, chime in in the comments!

Also, expect to see minor spoilers, though I will try to avoid major ones.

We’ll start things off with the original trilogy featuring Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, which you can borrow individually or as a trilogy set.

Follow it up with the prequel trilogy (or don’t, if you hate them, although I personally enjoy them) in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith for insight into Luke’s origins and why and how he came to be the Jedi’s new hope.

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