The Culture: The Bros Deliver A Go-To Article On Making Exploration Easy And Fast

RDubs published a fantastic article on Twitter, "Exploring the Wilderness with Judges Guild".

Original Dungeons and Dragons (OD&D), released in 1974, laid the foundation for modern tabletop role-playing games, emphasizing exploration, combat, and storytelling in fantasy worlds. A key aspect of OD&D was wilderness exploration, often represented through hex maps; gridded maps where each hex represents a specific area, typically 5 miles across, filled with terrain, encounters, and secrets. These maps allow Dungeon Masters (or Referees) to create immersive worlds for players to explore beyond dungeon walls.

The process began with the Judges Guild Hexagon Campaign System, a 1977 supplement for OD&D that provided gamemasters with blank hex grids and random generation tables for creating wilderness terrain. Each hex in the system represents a 5-mile area; broken down into .2 mile subhexes, with tables for determining features like rivers (Hydrographic Terrain), movement obstacles, flora (e.g., trees), and fauna (e.g., monsters). This system was part of Judges Guild’s broader effort to expand OD&D with detailed campaign settings, such as the Wilderlands of High Fantasy Campaign Hexagon System - Wikipedia.

Read that. Use that. Applicable to AD&D1e directly, to other D&D editions less so as you get closer to Current Edition (and that goes for the knockoffs also). Other games will have more difficulty in applying this, but it can be applied. This is another example of how hobby culture should be: expert instruction--not opinion, instruction--given away because the hobby is better off by doing so.

The Culture: Funny Games For Funny Day

Yes, it's April Fool's Day.

First, let's get the obligatory joke out of the way.

Yep, OG Rickroll. (Go ahead, enjoy. Astley doesn't hate the royalty checks this garnered.)

Despite the long history of player reports being more like dark comedies than anything else (or Knights of the Dinner Table, Dork Tower, What's New With Phil & Dixie etc. would have no audience), sometimes some mad lad decides to try to make an explicit comedy game. Here they are.

• Toon by Steve Jackson Games ("I can't believe it's not Looney Tunes!")
• Teenagers From Outerspace by R. Talsorian Games ("I can't believe it's not Urusei Yatsura!")
• Star Riders by Dream Pod 9 ("I can't believe it's not Space Dandy!")
• Paranoia ("I can't believe it's not English Dystopian SF!")

I'm omitting so-bad-it's-(darkly)funny stuff like Senzar/Synnibarr, non-games pretending to be real games, and hit-pieces pretending to be games.

Yeah, that culls a lot from an already small number. As is routinely the case, the first mover is the go-to and there's then a few also-rans. That's how the list above shakes out and by now I'm not surprised that games going back decades remain on top; turns out that the Network Effect (once established) invokes the Lindy Effect.

(Yes, know what being Lindy is; it explains so much that just Network Effects do not.)

Turns out that most people don't want Funny as an explicit design goal. The joke, therefore, is on those who do.

The Culture: The Man From Hawaii Shows How To Give Back

Friend of the Retreat Jon Mollison had two good videos this past week.

Over at the Clubhouse, I've talked a lot about having an action resolution system that scales. En Garde is not one of them.

That does not mean that it is a bad game. It is not. It is a game that, at best, involves melees no larger than you see in one of Dumas' Musketeer novels; like SJ Games' Man To Man or The Fantasy Trip's Melee, this is purpose built for man-to-man or (small) skirmish-scale combat where the fine detail of individual combatants is what the game is about.

If you're looking for a specific, purpose-built game that does one thing well you're good. If you're looking for a cornerstone or core frame to build a machine around, this ain't it chief. A lot of the games Jon features are like this: very good at achieve a specific gameplay experience. You should watch those videos, see him play those games, and pick those that appeal to you to add to your library. You will enjoy playing them.

More people should also watch those videos to show how to present the play of a game. Jon's presentation style is in that sweet spot between TikTok/YT Shorts and Oh God Not Another Video Essay By A Reddit Retard That Goes On For DAYS! Gets to the point, show the receipts, doesn't cut out where he screws up (adds to autheticity and sincerity, both big things in building rapport with viewers), and GTFOs as soon as Mission Accomplished. More people on Youtube need to do this.

Then there's Jon giving attention other worthy folks.

Give those channels a shot.

• Mini WarMutt
• Battle of Prestonpans 1745 Museum
• Dragons Beyond
• The Crusty Colonel's Wargames Show
• Peter Pig Wargames

And if you're not subscribed to The Joy of Wargaming, do so. Follow him on Twitter too.

The Business: Confirmed That WOW Is To MMOs What D&D Is To Tabletop

I have stated for years that Official Edition competes with WOW, not with any other Tabletop product.

I stated that this is because WOW and D&D are the same thing in different media, and following Preach's video about how Blizzard copied Wizards' business model homework we now have this confirming it.

That's right, this is the Top Five:

1. World of Warcraft (Retail)
2. Final Fantasy XIV
3. World of Warcraft (Classic Expansion)
4. World of Warcraft (Season of Discovery)
5. World of Warcraft (Classic Anniversary)

That doesn't include just plain Classic Era. That's right, four versions of Classic. It also doesn't include the dozen or so private servers either, which would be equavalent to the OSR Retroclone movement.

Flat-out, WOW dominates the MMORPG business in ways that only those familiar with how D&D dominates Tabletop can comprehend. In both cases, their Network Effects are so strong that nothing short of a catastrophic Out Of Context event from outside the entertainment media sphere entirely--like a nuclear war--can do anything to damage it. Blizzard screwed up a few times, only to come back stronger every time. WOTC's screwed up more than once, only to come back stronger also. That Josh Strife Hayes video I linked to previously explains all of that, and it applies to both Tabletop and MMOs because what drives both media is the same thing.

This is why, despite the Sigil thing blowing up, I don't see this changing anything. There is no one in Tabletop able to capitalize on this like Paizo was for the 4e screwup, so this will pass with WOTC still on top and as soon as they gin up something Good Enough (not good, nevermind great, just Good Enough) for the disappointed to be mollified all sins will be forgiven (as we saw with D&D5e's release) and it will be as if nothing happened once more.

Like I said previously, I've seen this dance before. There's been no changes to the pattern; merely variations on trappings, and that is nowhere near enough to dethrone a king even if there were someone willing and able to usurp him and there is not, and at this point there never shall be.

The same now applies to Blizzard. Square Enix wasted their opportunity to do so when they had the chance (because man was Shadowlands a major mistake) but SE hesitated and Yoshi-P doesn't have the killer instinct required to play the Apprentice to Blizzard's Master. What could have happened didn't, and everything sucks harder for that failure to act.

The Colony Drop has come to Tabletop. Don't think MMOs are immune; it's just going to take longer, and you'll see the same collapse pattern appear (those on the fringes die first, with WOW at the center and likely to survive).

The Culture: Five Things That Improve Your Braunstein

BDubs has put down a thread on Twitter regarding running Braunstein.

With Jeffro gone to live out his Gatsby dreams of swing I just realized I am the foremost expert on #Braunstein online.

In my charity I will explain how to run a #Braunstein in this thread.

1. Have a good group of friends who understand proper hygiene. Disgusting people can NOT play Braunsteins. #BroXT #SoFreshSoClean
2. If you are relegated to allowing wemmen at your #dnd table (I’m so sorry) they can play in a #Braunstein as the evil sorceress or sneaky black widow style assassin. No armies for them! That’s not #appendixN
3. You’ll need at least 4 hours to run a proper #Braunstein. For you #dnd podcasters out there who aren’t #brosr think of it as about half the time it takes you to make an interesting point.
4. You’ll need to run ur #Braunstein w 1e advanced #dnd … all #ttrpg systems made since 2020 r fake, broken, and dumb. I know many of you, especially #osr love to give money to pdf peddlers (especially broads so you can feel less lonely) but that’s not Braunstein, it’s pathetic.
5. If you want to know how to play a #dnd #Braunstein just read #BROZER. The handsome and brilliant men of the #BROSR explained it all in there. Jeffro & myself have essays on how it works. And it’s free, bc we’re not tacky shills like the #osr.

Much thanks to BDubs for such sage advice.

"But that sounds insulting."

Yes, and?

Let's break down what is in the Rhetoric:

1. Serious pro-social people only. This is not for flakes and other unserious or insincere people.
2. Don't involve people that cannot commit to the bit; if you are compelled, confine them to what they can do competently.
3. This activity requires a time commitment; block off that time and do not schedule over it.
4. Use a tool that works; don't fake it by jerry-rigging things that don't- and we already have a tool that works.
5. BROZER exists. Play that first until you master it, then do something else.

"But that's still insulting."

Offense is taken, not given. Those who take offense are those that get filtered out; you don't pass through the gates to the Clubhouse.

This is good advice, even better with that additional Rhetorical layer, and you will have better Braunsteins by applying it.

The Culture: Total BROSR Victory Confirmed

Bet you all didn't see this coming.

total #Braunstein victory#BroSR #BroXT pic.twitter.com/kI4mPBg3RQ

— Gandalf the 🍔👑 (@WhopperWizard) March 27, 2025

Yep, that's right, the current Indie Darling Queen has bent the knee to the Bros.

We are now in the Normalization phase. The things that the Bros brought back from the Memory Hole are now being filtered back into the wider hobby through people who can say the exact same thing Jeffro and the Bros did, but be accepted because they don't hurt Soup Aisle fee-fees.

The danger here is that there will be watering down due to pressure from Soup Aisle Sadsacks, and that credit will be stolen. The latter is the easier to counter; Bros should be loud, proud, and insistant upon getting the credit that they are due for picking up that crown in the gutter and bringing it back to its proper place of prestige and prominence. The former will follow from the latter, bullying the Sadsacks back into line.

Do not worry, brothers. We have won. Now we conquer.

The Culture: The Best Dragon Awards Slate For 2025

We take this moment to remind you that (a) the Dragon Awards exist and (b) you can nominate for the finals now.

Jon Del Arroz has taken the time to put together a slate. See below.

We need YOUR help to make a big move for sci-fi and fantasy book culture.

The good news is, it’s easy.

Our goal: get great works by incredible authors nominated for major awards. This helps lift a lot of authors, and if we all work together, we have enough votes to ensure nominations.

Our first target will be The Dragon Awards.

After an extensive search, here is who to nominate for the Dragon Awards 2025.

• Best Science Fiction Novel: Tsunami of Turmoil by Blaine Pardoe
• Best Fantasy Novel: Shadow of a Smoking Mountain by Howard Andrew Jones
• Best Young Adult/Middle-Grade Novel: The Prisoner And The Pirate by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
• Best Alternate History Novel: To Turn The Tide by S.M. Stirling
• Best Horror Novel: Dark Bloom by Molly Macabre
• Best Illustrative Book Cover: Behold: Humanity!: The Inheritor's War art by Rick Ronor
• Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel: The Hidden Emperor by Jon Del Arroz and Miz Krimzon
• Best Sci-Fi Or Fantasy TV Series: Star Trek: Prodigy (Paramount)
• Best Sci-Fi Or Fantasy Movie: The Wild Robot by Chris Sanders
• Best Digital Game: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 by Focus Interactive
• Best Tabletop Game: ACKS II: Treasure Tome by Autarch

You can nominate through this form here: https://applyto.dragoncon.org/fan_awards/dc_fan_awards_nominations.php

The form will take about five minutes to fill out. Please make sure to put in the above list of works and this push will 100% work to get these great authors all nominated. If we all come in, this WILL work.

Once you’re done, email me at jdaguestposts@gmail.com to confirm you’ve submitted so we can track how many people have done so.

Thank you so much! Let me know if you have any questions.

Jon Del Arroz

Fandom Pulse Awards Committee Organizer

Don't come at me about organizing voting slates. This is how the enemy wins. Organized minorities will beat unorganized majorities every time, which is how the Death Cult seized and holds power (and doesn't give two shits about the people). In order to win the game, you play the rules better than the other guy; this is playing to win, and as no one has any better candidates to stand up these will be what we get behind this year.

You can stop being Normies and LOLberts and actually get some wins if you organized and discipline yourselves as the enemy has, or you can continue to be Normies and LOLberts and keep getting rolled. You cannot win and continue to be Normies and LOLberts. Reality does not work that way. The Sad and Rabid Puppies should have shown this conclusively by now.

Jon took the time to organize a slate. Vote it. Report your vote once you did so. Once the finalists are announced we'll do this again and do our best to get Our Guys wins.

Lather, rinse, repeat year-on-year until it's nothing but Our Guys collecting all the trophies. That's what the enemy does, and it works. You may not think that it matters, but it does because Normies take awards as shortcuts to meaning "Good" so they buy that stuff and (more importantly) their fellows in institutions use those awards to justify pushing it on to people in schools and workplaces.

This is about the culture, downstream of which is politics, but upstream of that is power and power demands organization and discipline to seize and hold. Stop being losers about this; do what it takes to win or you'll find your posterity denoucing you because your enemies seized their minds and poisoned them agains you.