Game Time
From 1981 until 2005 or so, my primary pastime was roleplaying games — the kind you play with pencil, paper, dice, and imagination. I enjoyed regular play, and when I lost that outlet, I began writing for publication. I’m pleased to have contributed to magazines, reviewed a fewscore products, assisted with the running of one of the first companies with products distributed primarily online, and created some projects that have been well-received.
This page collects my gaming works that I’m proudest of and which I imagine would actually be missed if removed from the net. (If you remember something else I did that I used to have online and don’t any more, feel free to write me about it.)
STAR TREK GAMING
With Star Trek being so important in my growing up, it’s no surprise that I’ve put a lot of energy into adapting it to adventure games, with an eye to capturing the spirit of the universe without drowning it in rules and details.
Final Frontier — far and away the most successful of these little ditties, a deployment of my original home rules using the GURPS Lite (3e) rules set (included!).
PlainLabel Final Frontier — distills out the details of the setting while drawing on the strengths and energy of the PlainLabel Game System.
EZFudge Final Frontier — probably my final exploration in this arena, melding my personal preferences for rules using the Fudge system with even-further refinement of the ideas developed in earlier works. Includes EZFudge Standalone version and all goodies — 1.7 MB
Contact Team Bravo — a “below-decks” campaign setting in an exploration ship, suitable for conversion to any Star Trek era.
Speed Trek — some house rules to streamline and speed up character generation for FASA’s Star Trek: The Role-playing Game (1982-1989).
PLAINLABEL GAME SYSTEM
From 2001 to 2007 I had the pleasure of working with Guy McLimore, Greg Poehlein, and Gary Williams to develop products for MicroTactix Games. Most of my work involved editing and organizing, with the biggest job being rearranging the character creation chapters of Simply Roleplaying! and Compact Combat for improved usability and flow. But occasionally I’d sneak off and write something off-the-wall for my own amusement.
PlainLabel Secret Wars — An add-on bringing uber-competence of the kind found in the Men in Black films and conspiracy genre to PlainLabel.
PlainLabel House Rules Kit — Includes the variant “higher-is-better” rules engine and character sheet for PlainLabel.
FUDGE
Once I finally got the hang of what Fudge was for, I became obsessed with the notion of a game with all the features I like best, none of the stifling details, and all the rules incorporated right into the character sheet. EZFudge was the result.
EZFudge (Standalone Version) — I was going to see about selling this online as a complete game book, but I decided I didn’t want to get anywhere near the hassle. And then I lost the master documents. This version includes all the rules to play, plus character sheet, tactics cards, substitute randomizers, and referee sheets (in three-panel landscape orientation).
EZFudge (Essay Version) — After losing the original masters, I wailed and gnashed, and basically recreated the whole thing as an essay. This version assumes you already know Fudge, have the core rules in some form, and won’t be thrown by the insider terminology. It also includes additional rules for magic, for super-powers, and three campaign seeds I really like. Special thanks to Robert J. Garitta for his contributions. (It also has all the fun sheets, cards, and screens.)
WHY GAMES HAVE RULES
