
Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots
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A blog about tabletop RPGs - specifically, one-shot RPG games of the kind you might see at conventions or ad-hoc meetups. All systems, all genres covered.
Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots
2d ago
Following David Lynch’s passing, I’ve started rewatching the first season of Twin Peaks. It’s excellent, and I’d recommend it to everyone (I mean, watch the first ep – it’s possible you’ll hate it, in which case don’t watch any more). And, as you’d expect from something that casts such a long shadow in media, there’s ..read more
Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots
1w ago
It’s a hobby, really, not a craft. But sometimes it helps to think of it like one. I remember reading a book about writing years ago – when I was just starting writing fiction – quoting darts player Jocky Wilson, “If the team you’re in isn’t getting promoted every year, you might need to find ..read more
Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots
3w ago
I’ve blogged before about the 5-Room Dungeon here, and why its structure needs a bit of help sometimes to make it really shine in one-shots. I’ve been thinking about it more lately – inspired by this post which talks about 5RDs being scene sequences instead of locations. That post was talking about location-based design… but ..read more
Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots
1M ago
If there’s one TTRPG maxim I’d like to shout from the rooftops, it’s that we should play as many games as we possibly can. There’s no point half-assing this hobby – to paraphrase Ron Swanson, you have to whole-ass it. And one of the ways to take a solid look at your own game consumption ..read more
Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots
1M ago
Readers, 2024 has been a good year for the blog – both in terms of me keeping to a (fairly) consistent posting schedule of weekly-ish, and in terms of raw stats. When I started this I was sure I wouldn’t look at visitor stats, but you quickly begin to pay them some mind – and ..read more
Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots
2M ago
We can play TTRPG games better now. We don’t need to take a player aside into another room to share some secret knowledge with them. We don’t need to roll in secret behind a screen. Our players can happily separate player and character knowledge, without taking advantage – and enjoy both sides of the curtain.  ..read more
Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots
2M ago
I’ve been sick this past week. Nothing too major, just ongoing stuff that I should have sorted ages ago, mostly just requiring a full stop, and resting. My recovery period (and subsequent not being in work) has coincided with the explosion of BlueSky as a place where a lot of gaming chat happens – it’s ..read more
Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots
2M ago
Electric State is the latest setting / art collection to come out of Simon Stålenhag, the force behind Tales from The Loop and Things from The Flood – both TTRPGs published by Free League. The artistic inspiration fits really well in converting to a roleplaying game, and it gives a chilled-out post-apoc(ish) 1990s vibe that ..read more
Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots
2M ago
I’m always looking for new TTRPGs. I have a lot of different game styles I like to run, but I’ve come to think of what I’m looking for for games that really jive with me. I like games that have a mixture of crunch and player agency – 13th Age is in many ways my ..read more
Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots
3M ago
You can’t escape that there’s been a massive rise in Solo RPGs over the past few years. A glance at itch.io makes it look like the industry is drowning in solo journaling games, and there’s a whole culture of youtubers and streamers who play solo and share their thoughts and approaches. It’s true, it can ..read more