Sword's Edge

RPGs, Movies, Comics, y'know: nerd stuff!

RPG Thoughts: Genre As Window Dressing?

A picture of a wizard on a dark seacoast by cliffs approaching a castle and a young person overlooking a bright, futuristic city

Right now I have a couple of playtests happening as I work on a robust role-playing game system—a game that is complex, with many pre-defined components that is more about player choice than player creativity when it comes to character Read more…


Song of the Week: Under Pressure

The single for the Queen & David Bowie single, "Under Pressure" which is just plain black with title and artist

I’ve already mentioned that one of the first albums I ever bought was Queen’s “Greatest Hits.” Part of that was because of Queen singles my sister had—”Somebody to Love” and “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions”—but much more important Read more…


Powerless Ringing

Title card for TV series The Lord of the Rings: the Rings of Power

I’m a Tolkien fan. I used to be a Tolkien fanatic, but now I think I’m settled down into a fan. There’s a difference. It wouldn’t exactly be wrong to write that I wasn’t excited about Rings of Power, the Read more…


Song of the Week: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

The cover for the Police single "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" which has all three members sitting in a relaxed pose on a floor covered in interesting image of houses.

This isn’t the first Police single I remember, but it’s the first one I bought. I later ended up getting all the Police’s albums—and if I remember rightly, my sister had a few also. It was a year or two Read more…


RPG Thoughts: Borrowing the Choson Dynamic

The gates of Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul , South Korea

When writing a fantasy RPG setting, I think we all borrow to some degree. There is borrowing from other creative works, and then there is borrowing from history. When borrowing from history, we are also often borrowing from other cultures. Read more…


Song of the Week: So Easy

The cover for the Fazerdaze album "Soft Power" which is kind of an out-of-focus blob of bluish & purplish & white colour on a dark background

I’ve been on a kick with singles and songs from my earliest days, but taking a detour this week as Fazerdaze has a new album out and a new single—”So Easy.”


Mr. In Between Days

Wallpaper of Mr. Inbetween with the main character awash in purple tones smiling maliciously and holding an autoloader pistol pointing just below frame.

Mr. Inbetween is an Australian TV series following criminal Ray Shoesmith who both works security at a club for a low-level boss and doing freelance assassinations—while also delving into other crimes. It follows not only his criminal escapades but also Read more…


Song of the Week: Another Nail in My Heart

The cover for the Squeeze single "Anonther Nail In My Heart" which shows the band looking like it's breaking through the cover.

Apparently, this song was only a middling hit in Canada—Wikipedia says its peak position was 56—but somehow I found it. And in 1980, that means I heard it on AM radio. This is a song that introduced me to a Read more…


RPG Thoughts: Lighting the Darkness

Person in the foreground overlooking a ruined metropolise wreathed in threatening and dark clouds

So, I’ve already pointed out my dislike for the “Points of Light” campaign concept. Protecting the status quo might be somebody else’s idea of a good time, but I’d prefer to organize that underclass of goblins and help them start Read more…


Fallout 76 Falling Down

Cover of the Fallout 76 computer game, which shows the helmet of a set of power armour

I am way, way late on this. I play a lot of computer games but I never buy them when they come out. I pick them up two or three years later when they are 75% off. Rarely am I Read more…