The Fellowship of the Thing

06/19/2025

Join ArneCon for epic gaming with legends! Panel on creating campaign worlds with Sandy Petersen (Call of Cthullu), Ken St. Andre (Tunnels & Trolls), & Alexander Macris (ACKS). Play Tunnels & Trolls, Call of Cthulhu, Dungeon!, ACKS, Mutant, & Braunstein with their creators.


Minneapolis, MN • October 10-12
More information at ArneCon.com

05/16/2025

Make Your Own Dungeon!

I make a dungeon in the next video in order to prove how simple it is to do.

I think prep work like drawing maps and populating them with critters is relaxing and fun to do.

More tips for gamers who are wanting to explore the original Dungeons & Dragons game, or any adjacent RPG spin off.

The link is in the related post.

Let us know what you think.

Since so many have asked for it, here is a long video! Today, I take some of my own medicine by making a basic dungeon while you watch. There is no reason wh...

05/09/2025

Continuing the series on dungeon creation: how to stock your dungeon.

I use OD&D as an example, as it is a good way to present generic RPG campaign concepts.

I talk about using the old charts as a reference source for monsters and treasure in a dungeon. I feel once you learn the general feel of OSR encounters you can create them without charts for more detailed situations that are much more customized to your own campaign.

I also address the issue of encounter balance. Encounters are balanced by players through their actions.

You can check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zap--PFFpE

05/09/2025

What do you use as Inspiration for your games?

Are you using RPG Splat Books, or some other source for your Dungeons & Dragons, or any other setting?

Another video in a series on creating DIY dungeons has just been posted.

Check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpn3TbudxwM

05/09/2025

ArneCon 3 Special Guest:
DAVID R. MEGARRY

Celebrating 50 Years of Dungeon!
The very first game that five-year-old David learned was the card game War, taught to him by his Grandpa Weberg. His father then taught him how to play chess. Once he learned to read, Scrabble was added to his list of games. In grade school, he enjoyed playing the Parker Brothers games Monopoly and Sorry. During high school, he discovered Avalon Hill games, and in college, he explored miniature figure gaming. Gaming has been a significant interest for him throughout his life.

In November 1972, he invented the fantasy game Dungeon!, which was published in June 1975. Remarkably, the game has gone through six editions and, after 50 years, is still in print today.

Pictured: David with his original prototype map for Dungeon!

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04/04/2025

DM: you come to a door - what do you want to do?

In this case the doorway is a link to a video where I talk about Doors in Classic RPG using the Old Rules of Dungeons & Dragons.

All I can say is it is a pet interest of mine, as I wrote an article on door symbols in RPGs for a research journal, Caerdroia.

The informal Game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM8RcFfxXnw

Let us know what you think.

03/28/2025

Character background is important for playing Dungeons & Dragons or any other RPG. They should be small and to the point. A character background should never...

03/27/2025

ArneCon 3 Special Guest Announcements!
Ken St Andre (Tunnels & Trolls)!
More to Come!
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ArneCon 3 Special Guest:
Ken St. Andre

Ken began designing games at age 8. His early creations being Monopoly Racing and Battle Chess. First encountering Dungeons & Dragons in 1975, he found the rules "dull", and decided to create his own role-playing game, leading to Tunnels & Trolls (published in 1975 by Flying Buffalo). In 1999, Pyramid Magazine called Tunnels & Trolls one of "The Millennium's Most Underrated Games" and "everybody knows this was the second ever fantasy roleplaying game ... But to dismiss it as just an opportunistic ripoff would be grossly unfair. ...T&T had its own zany feel – it was much less serious than D&D – and a less-complicated game system." His second game, Starfaring, was the first science fiction RPG published worldwide.

Fifty years later, he remains active in game design, exploring innovations like AI. His third game, Monsters! Monsters!, was groundbreaking as the first to allow players to assume the roles of the “bad guys”.

ArneCon 3 (October 10-12, 2025, Minneapolis, MN) Get your badges at http://ArneCon.com!

03/27/2025

ArneCon 3 Special Guest Announcements!
Sandy Peterson! (Call of Cthulhu)
More to Come!
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ArneCon 3 Special Guest:

SANDY PETERSON​
Sandy got his start in the game industry in 1980, on paper roleplaying games. His best-known work from that time is the cult game Call of Cthulhu, which has been translated into many languages and is still played world-wide.

In 1988, he left paper games for the computer game world. He has worked for Microprose, id Software, and Ensemble Studios, where he was involved with Civilization, Doom, Quake, and the Age of Empires series, among others. He has taught courses in game design at the college level.

His games have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide, and he has dozens of awards from the game industry. The award he is most proud of is his 1990 Gaming Hall of Fame plaque, which is given to only one person a year, and chosen by vote by the fan community.

He still loves and plays games. He has five adult children, eighteen grandchildren as of today, and various pet creatures.

ArneCon 3 (October 10-12, 2025, Minneapolis, MN) Get your badges at http://ArneCon.com!

03/27/2025

ArneCon 3 Special Guest Announcements!
Alexander Macris (ACKS)!
More to Come!
Get your badges at ArneCon.com

ArneCon 3 Special Guest:
Alexander Macris

Alexander Macris is a tabletop role-playing game designer, writer, and blogger. He has been lead designer on four complete game systems (Adventurer Conqueror King, Adventurer Conqueror King II, Ascendant, and Modern Spearhead) and has written dozens of tabletop sourcebooks, accessories, and modules. He has written a primer for GMs, Arbiter of Worlds, much of which has also been presented on the Arbiter of Worlds substack and Arbiter of Worlds YT channel. Prior to going full-time as an RPG designer, he was the co-founder of The Escapist, which he ran from 2005 to 2017.

ArneCon 3 (October 10-12, 2025, Minneapolis, MN) Get your badges at ArneCon.com!

More to Come!

03/27/2025

ArneCon 3 Special Guest Announcements!
Ronin Wong!
More to Come!
Get your badges at ArneCon.com

ArneCon 3 Special Guest:
Ronin Wong

Ronin started playing RPGs in 1980 when he found the Holmes Basic D&D set. Initially playing solo due to the lack of other gamers, he later became a DM for a group of AD&D players, despite having never seen a group play before. His unique DMing style, which involved fully portraying NPCs with voices and mannerisms, was initially surprising to the players but they ended up enjoying it. In the 90s, Ronin co-wrote the adventure "Paradise Lost" for Shadowrun 2nd edition with Nigel Findley and contributed to the Denver Boxed Set for Shadowrun. Instead of pursuing RPG writing full-time, Ronin pursued a career in music, film, and television, working as an actor, musician, composer, writer, and director. His acting career includes appearances in "Kung Fu," "Man in the High Castle," "Outer Limits," and "DC’s Legends of Tomorrow." He is best known for his role in season 4 of "The Sinner," now available on Netflix.

ArneCon 3 (October 10-12, 2025, Minneapolis, MN) Get your badges at ArneCon.com!

More to Come!