Hippogryph Issue Seven

In This Issue:

• The Soft Reboot
• Revisiting the Black Box Movement
• RPG Manual Cost as Barrier to Entry
• Game Design: The Man in the Arena
• Do What You Can
• Black Box: Everything is a Remix
• Politics in Roleplaying Settings
• Black Box and Remix Culture
• Freebies, Trolls, and What Have You
• Guide Instead of Gamemaster
• System Rather Than Rules
• Why “Player” Is In But “Game” Is Out
• Dancing Lights Press Forums
• Current Print-on-Demand Problems
• Making Alignment Useful
• Opposing Character Death
• Writing a Fantasy Heartbreaker

A hippogryph is the poster child for two things that, by all logic, should not go together. Yet somehow, they merge into a new entity that not only works, but elevates both components. It’s a strange hybrid creature, combining elements of a giant eagle with a horse. Various cultures over time have used the hippogryph as a symbol for everything from the perplexing nature of religious belief to the immeasurable power of romantic love. For me, it represents how the whole can be more than the mere sum of its parts. It’s lofty yet grounded, poetic yet practical.

I named this project Hippogryph because it’s full of such dichotomies. The hobby at its core is the melding of wargaming and storytelling. My strongest influences are both heavier legacy games like Dungeons & Dragons, and lighter, free-form systems like Fate Accelerated. My goal is to leverage the strengths of each element, use them to compensate for their collective flaws and drawbacks, and create something singular, entertaining, and useful.