Hello! I'm Ben Terry.
Welcome to the Game Room!

Welcome to the Game Room. This is where I'll talk about all kinds of games, from RPGs to board games, to video games! Role playing games probably take up most of my gaming head space and when a game is good, RPGs are my favorite kind of game. I enjoy a good board game, but don't get to play all that often. I tend to enjoy myself more socially with a board game than most RPG sessions, as in, I enjoy an average board gaming session more than an average RPG session, but board games could never beat my favorite RPG sessions. Video games? I was obsessed with them as a kid, and have found I play them less as I've gotten older, but I still enjoy them from time to time.

My Taste in RPGs

I've played all manner of RPGs and can enjoy all manner of them from time to time, but I definitely have some preferences. Here's just a list of some of them:

• Broadly speaking, my favorite genre is something like "Cartoons and comics from the '80s & '90s."
• I generally prefer what are called "Traditional RPGs", as contrasted with what some call Narrative RPGs and Story Games.
• While I prefer "Traditional RPGs", I tend to prefer games that aren't structured in a Class & Level kind of way.
• In fitting with the "Cartoons & Comics" vibe, I'm not a fan of grimdark, or super sad-sack or oppressive settings where everything is shit.
• I enjoy in-game relationships and acting as my character in the moment, vs. Out-of-character planning.
• While I can play sci-fi, fantasy or otherwise, my general preference is for something generally "modern day", by which I mean the invention of the automobile up to, like, 20 years in the future.
• I like when a game has a returning cast of NPCs that your character can form relationships with.
• I dislike when an RPG creates sessions that spend hours in combat. Like, I can enjoy RPG combat, but if 50%+ of play time will be combat, that combat better be entertaining as an event in itself.

Some example RPGs that I'm more inclined towards playing include: White Wolf's Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game, Mayfair's DC Heroes, TSR's Marvel Super Heroes, Victory Games' James Bond 007.

Some of my Favorite RPG Articles

Here are a bunch of links to RPG related articles I've found entertaining over the years.

• Boot Hill and the Fear of Dice: An intriguing article about the old TSR gun-slinging western game Boot Hill, barely more than a shoot-out game, and how its sparse rules influence a wide ranging campaign based around a small western town and its surrounding territory. A nice reflection on how rules impact play in RPGs.
• HOWSCARUM: A Primer for Running Horror RPGs: A great article about setting tone and keeping players engaged in horror RPGs. Some of this advice is pretty good for just keeping any RPG on pace.
• Sandbox Superhero Campaigns (Part 1): This first of an excellent series (see also: Part 2, Part 3) of articles that detail how you can build out a city sandbox for super hero action. It has something like encounter tables for neighborhoods, factions, and ways to randomly generate activity involving factions you build out.
• How to Make a Traveller Sandbox: A nice checklist article for people seeking guidance on putting together the beginnings of a Traveller sandbox setting.
• Bat in the Attic: Robert Conley's blog, it mostly covers sandbox and OSR style play. It tends towards DnD, but also covers some Traveller and subjects applicable to RPGs more generally.
• The Alexandrian: It's hard to pick out specific articles on the Alexandrian, but the whole site is a wealth of ideas and guidance about running all kinds of RPGs, using all kinds of scenario structures, etc. You may also want to check out his November 2023 book, "So You Want to be a Game Master", which compiles a large chunk of what he offers on his site into convenient book form.
• Tales to Astound!: There are some pretty great Traveller articles on this site, but it is a general RPG blog. Dig around a little and gems are to be found.

I have a lot more to fill in here. But... this is my personal web site and I can be lazy!

Michigan Tabletop RPG Creators

The Mid-West US has solid representation in RPG creators. Seeing as I personally live in Michigan, I thought it might be fun to compile a list of Michigan based companies and creators in the RPG space. Hopefully I can dig up some more. Here we go!

• Palladium Books: From down in the Detroit area, Palladium is probably the best known RPG company in Michigan. Kevin Siembieda, Eric Wujcik and others. Among their many games we have - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness, Palladium Fantasy, Rifts, Beyond the Supernatural, Ninjas & Superspies, Robotech, Mechanoid Invasion, Systems Failure, and more.
• Sine Nomine Publishing: Diagonally across the state up near Traverse City, Kevin Crawford's Sine Nomine is known for producing games such as - Stars Without Number, Worlds Without Number, Godbound, Scarlet Heroes, Silent Legions, Other Dust, Wolves of God, Spears of Dawn, and a number of supplements.
• Tri Tac Games: Founded back in 1978 and in the Oak Park or Pontiac areas (Detroit). Bureau 13 and Fringeworthy are among the games they are known for.
• Superhero Necromancer Press: Based in the middle of the state in Mt. Pleasant, the main products from them so far have been a series of releases for a setting known as "The Rainy City". Disclosure: These folks are part of my gaming group and are long time friends.
• Guild of Blades: Small publisher that started in 1994 in Lansing.
• Glumer Games: I think these guys are originally from Gladwin, though one of 'em is in Battle Creek now. They have a game, Mystic Days, that is in production.
• Chaosium: Founded by Greg Stafford back in 1975, they were originally out in California, but have since moved their HQ to Ann Arbor (presumably related to the location of Moon Design, which merged with Chaosium I believe, this was all some time in the 2010s, they'd made the HeroQuest RPG, later renamed QuestWorlds). Huge company in the history of RPGs, known for Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, Stormbringer, and a number of other well known games. Notable designers included Greg Stafford, Sandy Petersen and Steve Perrin, among many others who worked there for a time, or for individual projects.