For those of you wondering what I’ve been doing, I have a big roleplaying project in the works. I’ll be making an initial announcement about that here in the near future, and I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign later in the year to raise funds. In the meantime, when it comes to card and board games, 2012 is all about Lovecraft. Cthulhu Fluxx comes out this August, and I’m very excited about it. And right now a new company called  The Forking Path is running a kickstarter campaign to launch a board game that’s been on the shelf for a few years:  The Doom That...

It’s time for more quick questions. Let’s jump right in. This may be a bit of a personal question, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on the effect of winning the setting contest on your life. From the outside, it looks like your life took a major turn at that point. Do you think so as well? What do you think you would have done if you had not won that contest? Do you think you would have been on the same path, just slower and more fraught, or do you think you would be doing something completely different? I knew I wanted to make games for a living when I was in high school. I just...

The concept of magic as an industrial force is at the heart of the Eberron campaign setting, and the dragonmarked houses are an integral part of that. From the start, the idea was that the dragonmarks were hereditary traits that had allowed the families that possessed them to gain monopolistic power over a particular aspect of the magical economy. Tied to this is the idea that back in the day, a united Galifar was able to impose sanctions on the dragonmarked houses… but that with the advances in arcane sciences and the collapse of Galifar, it is an open question whether any nation is prepared...

After years of build-up and post-credit teasers, The Avengers is finally coming to theaters. Joss Whedon is at the helm and interviews swear that there’s character drama in addition to big explosions. We want to know… WHAT’S THE BIGGEST SURPRISE IN THE AVENGERS? With last week’s question we looked at something that’s sure to be the next big thing: Television Mash-Ups. My thirteen favorite answers can be found below – for the full set, check the comments on this thread! 4/24: What TV Mash-up do you want to see? 1. The Match Game of Thrones 2. The Good Wife Swap 3. 21 Sesame...

My original plan was to do a lightning round of short answers this week. However, between the release of the Bloodsails Eye on Eberron article today and the fact that this question gets asked every few months, it seems like a good time to get my answer in an easily accessible place. As always, this isn’t canon and I’d love to hear what you’ve done in YOUR Eberron. If you’ve got comments on the Bloodsails article, post those here too! If you’ve got other questions or topics for future posts, ask in this thread. So, the subject of the day: when I was working with Bill Slaviscek, James Wyatt,...

Welcome to my website. My goal is to publish a new Dragonmark every Wednesday (by evening, Central time) with occasional time off for good behavior and travel. If you’ve got a question or topic, this is the place to ask it. However, I’d like to clarify exactly what Dragonmarks are and what they aren’t. These articles aren’t canon in any way. This is NOT a place for me to provide the sort of Eberron material you’ll get on the WotC website. The Eye on Eberron articles I write for WotC are essentially content you could find in an Eberron sourcebook. By contrast, Dragonmarks...

As always, this blog is about how I run Eberron in my home campaign. It’s not canon in any way, and certain elements may contradict canon sources such as Faiths of Eberron. Use the version you like or come up with your own. “They’re cheating!” My mother read The Iliad to me as a child. I loved the story… right up until Poseidon and Hera interfere with the battle after Zeus specifically told them not to. Apparently this outrage remained with me over the years. One of the distinctive elements of Eberron is that the gods are distant. They do not directly intervene in the affairs of mortals....

Over the course of the last few years, I’ve been doing something I call Have Dice Will Travel: staying with people around the world and running a game in exchange for shelter and entertainment. The arrangement is simple: I stay for two days. One day, I’ll entertain you; I can run Eberron or Over The Edge, play Gloom, playtest a prototype game, or talk about whatever interests you. One day I want you to entertain me. Show me your favorite things in your home town – preferably, something I wouldn’t see on my own. And, of course, I need a place to sleep, whether it’s...

Imagine you have a time machine. Jump forward a year, roll some dice, and let us know: WHAT’S THE BIGGEST SURPRISE IN D&D NEXT? Need inspiration? Consider this blast from the past… WHAT’S THE BIGGEST SURPRISE IN FOURTH EDITION DUNGEONS & DRAGONS? 1. All the product placement. “Haste” spell changed to “Do the Dew™”. 2. Now 80% Dungeons, 20% Dragons 3. Chinese gold farmers can get you to 20th level in 6 days! 4. Iron rations are made out of PEOPLE! 5. Revolutionary new THAC1 system! (It’s one higher, isn’t...

First, the standard disclaimers: All of this is just my opinion and how I run my personal campaign. For official Eberron support, check the material on the WotC website (as highlighted in this handy list of links). And it’s always worth remembering that the Eberron you know is the shared work of many authors and designers – James Wyatt, Chris Perkins, Ari Marmell, C. A. Suleiman, Jason Buhlman, Bill Slaviscek, Rob Schwalb, and many more. My goal is still to post a Dragonmark every Wednesday – we’ll see how it goes. Please go ahead and ask new questions in the comments. Questions...