Plot Points

We're back after an unexpected two-week hiatus with Dale Donovan, an editor, game designer, TSR alum, and Dragon Magazine veteran. He takes us through a career that made him a witness to some pivotal events in RPG history.  Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast.

How the deal to buy the world's first role-playing game company was negotiated and sealed. Ben Riggs has interviewed those who were there and can tell for the first time the whole story. Recorded live at Gen Con Online! Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast.

The 2020 version of my research on how TSR went from grossing $40 million a year to being bought by Wizards of the Coast. Performed live at Gen Con Online! Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast.

Imagine inserting Cthulhu, Aladdin, and the Easter Bunny in your 5E campaign. That is exactly the kind of role-playing madness allowed by Mythological Figures & Maleficient Monsters, on Kickstarter now! In this episode, we talk to Mike Myler and Russ Morrissey of EN Publishing about this fine new tome! Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Image courtesy EN Publishing.  

RPG designer WJ MacGuffin comes on the show to talk Paranoia, the dystopic/comic sci-fi RPG of clones and treason! They've got Project Infinite Hole on Kickstarter right now! Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Image courtesy Mongoose Publishing.

Mark Diaz Truman is one of the madcap masterminds of Magpie Games. Magpie's Zombie World, a card-based, Powered by the Apocalypse game of zombie survival is up for multiple Ennies. In this deep discussion, Mark and Ben chew over the role of writing in generating great games, playtesting, and different models of RPG companies.   Plot Points, and Ben’s book, Encounter Theory, are both up for Ennies! Please go vote now! To encourage you, Plot Points is going to be putting out an episode a day this week! Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as fa

David Larkins, writer of Berlin: The Wicked City takes us on a tour of Weimar Berlin, now with more tentacles! Learn more about Chaosium in the 21st century with this article Ben wrote.  Here's an episode on Greg Stafford from a few years ago. Plot Points, and Ben’s book, Encounter Theory, are both up for Ennies! Please go vote now! To encourage you, Plot Points is going to be putting out an episode day this week! Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Image courtesy Chaosium. 

Robin Laws had a dream, which led him to write a short story, and use that to create The Yellow King Roleplaying Game. Once HP Lovecraft dreamed of a book called the Necronomicon. Will Robin's RPG turn out to be as baleful as that unsettling tome? There is only one way to find out... Also, it's nominated for an Ennie, along with companion work Absinth in Carcosa! Go vote now! To encourage you, Plot Points is going to be putting out an episode every day this week! Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entire

John Tynes writes RPGs so good it makes me stutter. I've interviewed him twice. Each time, I've been fidgety and nervous beforehand. The man's games take up the #1 and #2 slots on the RPG.net game index! That's a frightening level of RPG chops. And now he has a new book out, The Labyrinth, and that's just as good as his other material? By Arneson's beard, how?  Plot Points, and Ben’s book, Encounter Theory, are both up for Ennies! Please go vote now! To encourage you, Plot Points is going to be putting out an episode day this week! Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics,

Michael Prescott is the motivating genius behind Trilemma Adventures, a beautiful book of two-page adventures for fantasy role-playing games. How did he go from writing a blog to Kickstarting a book so magnificent that it's nominated for an Ennie this year? Plot Point, and Ben's book, Encounter Theory, are both up for Ennies! Please go vote now! To encourage you, Plot Points is going to be putting out an episode day this week! Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Image courtesy T

Brad, Sarah, & Ben take a deep dive on Thousand Year Old Vampire, the lonely RPG where you live the life of an immortal undead!  Check out the bizarre gaming deeps at Tim Hutchings' Play Generated Map & Document Archive.  Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Image courtesy Petit Guignol LLC.  

Hear the 1st edition DMG read aloud with RPG academic Scott Bruner and host Ben Riggs!  Learn more about the conference Scott talked about, NarraScope, here.  Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast.

A solo game of "lonely role-playing" allows you to become an immortal drinker of lives! Ben Riggs interviews game-creator and total mensch Tim Hutchings in this interview about his seminal work, Thousand Year Old Vampire.  Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  Image courtesy Tim Hutchings.

Hear the 1st edition DMG read aloud with RPG academic Scott Bruner and host Ben Riggs!  Also, check out Ben's prior work on demons & devils & Dungeons & Dragons, and this 60 Minutes piece on D&D from the early 1980s. Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast.

Imagine a notebook with everything you need to create your own fantasy campaign already in it. Blank hex maps, pages set up for charts, even high-frequency fantasy words and eye-violating fantasy art, all between the same clothbound covers. This, is the Worldbuilder's Notebook, currently on Kickstarter. In this interview, Ben Riggs hears about the whys and wherefores of the product from ENnie-winning designer Jacob Hurst! Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Image courtesy Frazet

Worldwide Wrestling is the Powered by the Apocalypse game of furious sports entertainment! The game both highlights the strength of the Apocalypse Engine and simulates the bombastic drama of professional wrestling! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Music by 50 Breaks  and "Big Rock" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3436-big-rock License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Image courtesy NDP Design.

Bluebeard's Bride from Magpie Games is a revolution in RPGs. Players take on the role of one character, just one among the group of them, and experience the tragic horror of the Bride! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Image courtesy Magpie Games

Listen to history professor Glenn McDorman and ENnie Award-winning designer Jacob Hurst discuss "The Scarlet Citadel" by Robert E. Howard, and the story's influence on RPGs! You can check out Glenn's Elder Sign podcast here, and see Jacob's brilliant RPG design work here! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Music courtesy 50 Breaks and "The Descent" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4490-the-descent License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Image courtesy Lionsgate.

Academic Scott Bruner and Ben Riggs read aloud and comment on the 1st edition Dungeon Master’s Guide by Gary Gygax, an attempt by the game’s co-creator to instruct players, but also exert control over the burgeoning community of gamers.  Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now. Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast.

Emily Care Boss is the brilliant designer of games like The Romance Trilogy, and Bubblegumshoe. With Ben Riggs, she chews over game theory, her career, and how Ars Magica may have directly inspired some of the most important indie designers of the 21st century. Then, in a brief chat, Ben talks to Wizards of the Coast founder and Gen Con owner Peter Adkison about what quality may have led to his tremendously successful career in games.  Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume! Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  Image