Articles written by Joel P. Shempert

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About me - Joel P. Shempert

I grew up a preacher's kid in the country, my only breath of artistic air the Chronicles of Narnia in the church library. As I built on that literary foundation (while also pursuing the parallel activity of roleplaying), I began to grow beyond the shadow

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Hobbies & Games > Role Playing & War Games How to get the most out of role-playing games: 1 of 6

To get the most out of roleplaying games, you should know what you want out of them in the first place. This is probably the single most neglected step of organizing and playing an RPG, based on the vague notion that everyone will just do what they want to do and it will all come together somehow. The idea that everyone "jus...
Hobbies & Games > Role Playing & War Games Understanding the basic principles of role-playing games: 1 of 3

To understand tabletop roleplaying, you've got to look beyond the dice and hitpoints and spells per day, beyond the dragons and elves and kobolds, and examine roleplaying itself, as an activity. This isn't as easy or obvious as it might sound. Many people, when they set out to define it, end up describing the trees rather th...