Category: Game Design
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Dresden Manor: The Bitter Mother
Mrs. Grace Dresden (née Boddington) spent her life surrounded by her inferiors. Her only joys were her piano-forte and the dream of her son, Peter, marrying into another, even more noble family. Imagine her shame, then, when Peter announced his intention to marry a shopkeeper’s daughter! Surely, it was the terrible shock of this betrayal…
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Dresden Manor: The Unlucky Groom
Peter Dresden, last scion of the Dresden family, stands on the precipice of happiness. He is newlywed to his beloved Amanda. His spiteful mother, who devoted her life to keeping them apart, is finally dead, buried in the family crypt. The Dresden fortune is finally his to command. Yet is is undeniable that something conspires…
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Design Diary #002: The Haunting of Dresden Manor
The last few weeks have been busy, between summer vacation and work and life! However, I finally found time this morning to sit down and work more on The Haunting of Dresden Manor. I’ve now completed a first draft of my expanded list of clues, evidence, threats, and spooks (I’m not calling them dangers any…
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Design Diary: The Haunting of Dresden Manor #001
I’ve started a playtest draft of my next project, a gothic mystery scenario called The Haunting of Dresden Manor. I’m excited by this project because I believe that it pushes the boundaries of mystery scenario design in TTRPGs, because it will simultaneously be: If you’ve ever tried to run a proper investgative mystery scenario, you’ll…
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Game Review: Dungeons & Kittens
(In case anyone is wondering, I received no compensation for this post. I just played this game, enjoyed it, and wanted to tell y’all about it!) Last weekend, one of the players in my regular 5e Vecna: Eve of Ruin campaign (heavily modded, of course) was missing. Since we’re near the climax of the story,…
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Mystery Advice from a Master: Raymond Chandler
To help get me in the mindset for my new project, a mystery scenario called The Haunting the Dresden Manor, I spent a few days this month with one of the masters of the genre: Raymond Chandler, and specifically The Annotated Big Sleep, edited by Owen Hill, Pamela Jackson, and my esteemed colleague Anthony Rizzuto.…