Look, there’s plenty of ways to run a game and the only wrong way is what doesn’t work for you and your players.

I know I talk a big game about player agency and avoiding railroads. But hey, if you want to send the players along a linear path from A to B and they are into it?

Don’t listen to me. Go have fun, you rascally kids.

That’s all to say, make of this upcoming advice what you will.

There, disclaimer placed. Onward with the show.

Cheap used mass market fantasy paperbacks are an absolute joy of mine. There’s a book chain here in the midwest (which is probably larger than the midwest, but I never noticed it in the PNW) called “half priced books.”

It’s pretty much all used book. It’s where I got most of the Black Company series from and some of the Kushiel novels.

I LOVE a novel. I love that long term escapism that dives deep into a fantasy world with slow character arcs and much world building.

But hey, you know what? I love comic books too.

I’m not even saying just the “serious” comic books. I love trashy, no continuity super hero stories too.

It all depends on what I’m in the mood for.

When it comes to RPG campaigns, I like to think of them on a sliding scale that exists somewhere between the two of them.

There’s the years long D&D campaign with an indepth story and lots of world building. There’s plenty of time to construct an epic story with all kinds of emotional ups and downs.

And then there’s the meat grinder one shot dungeon with aliens riding dinosaurs. 😂 And they are every bit as fun.

But take Call of Cthulhu – I only really run it as one shots, but it’s also pretty serious. I just feel horror often lends itself better to those shorter runs. Keeping the tension up gets more difficult the longer the campaign goes.

That’s why my zines like “Tower of the Devil Born Magister” are relatively short. It’s certainly more toward the comic book end of things.

For it’s size, it packs a punch. All the random tables makes it deceptively long.

But all in all, it’s just a lil guy. These fourteen pages of adventure won’t last you more than a few sessions.

And that’s the point. Use the Mork Borg character generator, grab some snacks, and get the crew together for a low effort game. Get into absurd situations and roll some dice.

It’s what comic book games are good for.

Talk soon,

-James