The Hall of Scrolls

Image by Michael Christensen

"Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. Certain flowers, a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell, musty and rich. Knowledge gained from a computer is...it has not texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, the getting of knowledge should be tangible, it should be... smelly."
(Rupert Giles, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I Robot – You Jane)

To be completely frank, I actually am a huge Buffy: the Vampire Slayer fan. However, this is where I just must draw the line. This page is where I tend to prove Giles completely wrong.

Roleplaying and Game Mastering

What Are Roleplaying Games?
Two Heads are Better than One?
GMing in Pairs
One Shots
How to survive one night stands.
Faster, Higher, Stronger
Dealing with Munchkins
The Sound of Music
How you can incorporate music in your roleplaying.
Boo!
How to run an effective horror scenario.
Statistical Tables for Dice Rolling
A mathematical analysis of the probability of getting any result on a 3d6 roll.

Creating Campaigns, Scenarios and Characters

So What's This Story Worth Anyway?
Different Types of Scenarios
Following Conventions
How Following or Breaking Conventions Can Benefit Your Campaign
An Introduction to Roleplaying Engineering
How the Principles of Engineering Can Be Used in Roleplaying
One for the Dark Lord on His Dark Throne
Creating Interesting Villains for Your Campaign
Bring the Magic Back to Your Magic
How to The Magic in Your Campaign Feel Magical
The Loneliness of the Strider of the Paths of Magic
How to Integrate a Mage with a Mundane Group
The Gods go to War
What Happens When The Gods of Your Fantasy Campaign Go To War?
Till Death Do Us Part
Adventuring From Beyond the Grave
Welcome to Hell
What is hell? And how to construct one for your campaign world?
The Alternative Hell
Eternal Suffering Doesn't Necessarily Mean a Burning Pit
It's a Plane. No It's a Bird. No, It's a...
How to Create a Good Super-Heroic Campaign
Of Cyber and Punk
How to Create a Good Cyberpunk Campaign
Roleplaying in a Ruined World
How to Create a Good Post-Apocalyptic Campaign
The Sensible Dungeon
How to Create a Reasonable Dungeon Scenario
And Yet, It Does Move
Constructs, and Granting Life to the Inanimate
A Red Cloak? That's Like So Last Moon-Cycle...
Fashion, Fads, Trends and Status Symbols in Your Campaign's Service
Of Wizards, Sorcerers and other Magic Users
A short linguistics study of the different names those who wield magic are called in fantasy literature and in role-playing games.

The Sweet Smell of Roses

The Ogmios Genre Guide

Gamer Classification

Players - A Guide to their Characters
A semi-satirical guide to the worst kinds of players possible.
GMs - Coping with their Campaigns
And the counterpart article that does the same with GMs.
Elders - Flexing their Fixtures
A semi-satirical guide to the worst kinds of people old roleplayers become when they age.
Conventionists - Categorizing their Conventions
A completely-satirical guide to the people you might meet at roleplaying conventions.

Game Reviews and Introductions

Be a HERO
An introduction to HERO System.
Creatures of the Night
An introduction to Vampire: the Masquerade.
Wake Up to Reality
An introduction to Mage: the Ascension.
Take Back the Night
An introduction to Hunter: the Reckoning.
Decrepit Dragons
An introduction to AD&D 2^nd edition.
Of Cathedrals And Cyberpunk
An introduction to Mutant Chronicles
Swords and Sorcery
An introduction to Advanced Fighting Fantasy.

HERO System Specific Articles

Bits and Pieces
Sectional Defense for the HERO System.
Styles of Martial Arts
The different ways martial arts can be incorporated into a campaign.
Results of Rolling 3d6
A statistical table tailor made for all you HERO-philes out there.

The Armory

Comic and Cinema Related Articles

Same Mask Different Identity, Same Identity Different Mask
A listing of comic book characters that changed their secret identities.
Names in the Key of X
The worst X-Men names you'll never see in print
Faraday's Laws
An incomplete collection of Faraday's Laws as featured in Divine Right™.
Stardust
A list of movies and TV series that won mainstream awards.

Return to The Ogmios Project

Image by Joseph Barnhard