I'm rejoining the blog revival, but this time as a games hobbyist.

Strange Places will be a tabletop roleplaying game blog where I discuss what I'm reading, the games I'm running, reviews of games and supplements, and whatever other thoughts may spring from that . Eventually I hope it will also be where I release TTRPG content of my own (supplements, adventures, etc).

It is also a promise to myself to commit time to this hobby. My life has been a bit hectic in the last few years (something I'm sure many can relate to) and it's easy to let hobbies fall to the way-side, despite the significanthappiness or fulfillment they offer me.

Who are you?

My name is Nick Cameron. I'm a Senior Level Designer at Respawn Entertainment where I've been lucky enough to work on both Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor. I really couldn't ask for more enjoyable AAA games to design levels for.

Over the last year and a half, I've also become a part-time political organizer. These days I mostly try to keep my creative and political lives separate, but it's worth saying that fascists will not find a home in any of my writing, my work, or any digital spaces which I moderate.

What is most relevant for this blog is that I've been a Gamemaster of tabletop roleplaying games since I was in high school, which unfortunately for my joints and hairline is well over a decade ago now. In those years I've run a number of campaigns, usually with "story" systems and fully custom built content rather than adventure modules.

In college I acquired a borderline obsession with designing TTRPG's. Though none have yet seen the light of day, I have designed and playtested at least three distinct roleplaying systems since. I've always found it quite easy to make perfect the enemy of the good when working on them, with each game finding itself in the bin whenever I was gripped with inspiration for the "best" way to handle a specific design problem. In my professional career I'd never belabor things so, but that's because I have deadlines and active collaborators! When it's my own hobbyhorse making perfect the enemy of the good has just always been on the menu.

What all that means I love to interact with tabletop roleplaying games not just as a player or gamemaster, but also as a game designer.

Okay, but what type of TTRPG enthusiast are you?

I'm going to be using some phrases below that are a bit in the weeds. If you're not familiar with them feel free to skip past it or check out one definition of these phrases from this blog post from the Retired Adventurer.

Two years ago or so I think I would have easily classified myself as a devotee of "story" style roleplaying games in the vein of Blades in the Dark or the game I've run the most, Dungeon World. My perspective has shifted a good deal since. I've found that no matter what story-style TTRPG I play, I always homebrew new systems to add more structure, particularly around combat. I also struggle with "bird's eye" perspective of systems like Blades in the Dark. While I respect it's design philosophy immensely, whenever I'm at the table I always find that level of abstraction loses a little something.

I'm quite interested in the OSR space (Old School Renaissance), but I always feel like I'm always an arm's distance away. I've never really been a fan of D&D (any edition of it) so I really lack any of that nostalgia that undergirds the culture. There is also generally a feeling that TTRPGs should be treated more as adventure games than as roleplaying game which I don't quite vibe with. However, there is so much great design in that space to appreciate and I've worked more OSR games into my rotation when I can.

What I am certain of is that I'm not "Trad" or "neo-Trad". The density of a game like Pathfinder is completely baffling to me and I chafe when too much of the narrative of a game is defined outside the table, either by players establishing an intricate backstory for their character or the Gamemaster planning a detailed three act structure for their campaign.

What am I playing right now?

I've recently revived a short Nimble campaign where we are playing through the adventure Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow. For those with keen eyes, yes this edition of Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow is built for Old-School Essentials which is not compatible with Nimble and yes, I am having to manually redesign every monster and every item. My group is enjoying the module quite a bit and I think there's a lot to love in Nimble, but I would not recommend this system/adventure pairing. When it's concluded maybe I'll put all the conversions I made up on this blog for others if folks would be interested. I'd also love to talk a bit about Nimble sometime, which I have enjoyed much more than I expected to.

My wife and I also just played through most of a session of A Land Once Magic, which I thought was pretty great though I hit a stumbling block with it pretty early on. I'll probably write something small up on the blog about it soon.

Give me your recommendations!

Like any TTRPG enthusiast I have a bookshelf absolutely jammed packed with games, but so much of my interaction with the hobby has been isolated, either talking to folks at my own table or designing things in my own bubble. As such I don't think I'm particularly well-informed about conversations happening within the hobby. In fact, I'm kind of not sure where all that chatter is really happening, so I would love suggestions of TTRPG creators or spaces to follow!

A few things I already do follow:

• I've recently started listening to Between Two Cairns.
• The Bastionland blog and podcast.
• The Questing Beast newsletter and youtube channel.
• A variety of Mothership creators, as I love that scene.
• Mystery Quest is the Actual Play I keep up with regularly.

And a few recommendations of my own...

I'll be trying to make it a practice to leave a few recommendations at the end of each post, some will be TTRPG related but often times they won't. Basically mini-reviews I think are worth folks time!

• I've been really enjoying going back and listening to the original Citizen Sleeper soundtrack. A really excellent soundtrack for when you need to focus and feel inspired. Also if you haven't played Citizen Sleeper or its sequel you must. (They're also both on sale right now!)
• If you're looking for a chill game to play with friends, I think you can't really do much better than Big Walk. Just finished a playthrough with some pals and it feels to me like sort of the pinnacle of this low-budget/low-fidelity multiplayer trend that's been happening the last few years.
• I'm about two-thirds of the way through Sovereign Tower and I've been having a great time with it. Interesting rogue-like mechanics, great art, and just enough systems to work without making it too dense and unapproachable.