Alexis Smolensk - Revision history

Bennettj: /* Houserule Making */

2026-05-28T16:16:28Z

Houserule Making

Bennettj at 16:04, 28 May 2026

2026-05-28T16:04:09Z

Tao alexis at 00:50, 24 April 2026

2026-04-24T00:50:40Z

Tao alexis: /* The Lantern */

2026-04-24T00:28:21Z

The Lantern

Tao alexis: /* The Lantern */

2026-04-24T00:27:07Z

The Lantern

Tao alexis: /* The Lantern */

2026-04-24T00:26:56Z

The Lantern

Tao alexis: /* The Lantern */

2026-04-24T00:25:44Z

The Lantern

Tao alexis: /* The Jousting Pig */

2026-04-24T00:08:20Z

The Jousting Pig

Tao alexis: /* How to Run & Other Books */

2026-04-24T00:07:35Z

How to Run & Other Books

Tao alexis: /* The Jousting Pig */

2026-04-23T23:54:48Z

The Jousting Pig

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 Having been raised from childhood by parents who did not hesitate to change the rules of boardgames when they failed to satisfy, by the age of 12 I was wholly comfortable with redesigned rules for Scrabble, Stock Ticker, Monopoly, Life, Careers, plus all the variations on card games that my parents had learned themselves as children, many of which occur in sources like Hoyle, reaching back more than a hundred years. Long before I'd ever heard of D&D, I was adjusting rules for the war games I'd begun playing in Junior High, like Panzerblitz, Squad Leader, RISK of course, Car Wars and so on. Rules in a game had never been sacrosanct in my upbringing, so when faced with the rules of D&D, and players dissatisfied with those rules, I did not hesitate to change them.
-In the first five years of my D&D game, I tested concepts like alignment, player-vs-player, weapon speeds, damage against large opponents, armour class adjustments, hit location, paying fees to level and so on. When I failed to find any benefit for game play in these concepts, I dropped them, receiving nothing but support from players who appreciated how freedom from these concepts permitted greater agency on their part while drastically simplifying elements of game play, especially combat. In 1984, following a series of conversations with players about how to fix the combat system, we — my players and I — hit upon "[[Stun Lock|stun rules]]," which smashed the old combat system of initiatives into pieces that ceased to be recognisable, while spectacularly improving my players experience of combat. I would argue that this was the first and perhaps the most beneficial game redesign I ever imposed. The rule reorganises a combat's tempo, threat, movement and control, turning the battle into a sort of escalating fragility, where the deterioration of hit points matter and a single decisive blow can change the trajectory of an outcome.
+In the first five years of my D&D game, I tested concepts like [[Alignment|alignment]], player-vs-player, weapon speeds, damage against large opponents, armour class adjustments, hit location, paying fees to level and so on. When I failed to find any benefit for game play in these concepts, I dropped them, receiving nothing but support from players who appreciated how freedom from these concepts permitted greater agency on their part while drastically simplifying elements of game play, especially combat. In 1984, following a series of conversations with players about how to fix the combat system, we — my players and I — hit upon "[[Stun Lock|stun rules]]," which smashed the old combat system of initiatives into pieces that ceased to be recognisable, while spectacularly improving my players experience of combat. I would argue that this was the first and perhaps the most beneficial game redesign I ever imposed. The rule reorganises a combat's tempo, threat, movement and control, turning the battle into a sort of escalating fragility, where the deterioration of hit points matter and a single decisive blow can change the trajectory of an outcome.
 === Trade System ===

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 My wish in writing this is to avoid being self-important while efficiently explaining my retrospectives, record, practices and work since 2008, as a dungeon master and designer of content specifically for dungeons and dragons. I'm writing this because my blog [https://tao-dnd.blogspot.com/ Tao of D&D] has now reached a length where it has become impossible to "know me" by starting at the beginning and reading up to the present... simply because the blog now has more than 4,100 posts, representing opinions about D&D that likely reach into the realm of three or four million words; about the equivalent of forty-five 300 page plus Forgotten Realms novels.
 __TOC__
-Thus I hope to provide a map for new readers, casual readers and even long-time readers a map with which to know me. For this, I'd like to provide a chronological foundation first, from my beginnings as a player and a DM before the establishment of my blog, my ideals of worldbuilding reaching back into the 1980s and then the overall progress of my blog these last eighteen years. From there, the next step would be the construction of my present world and it's maps, complimented by a discussion of my 1,500+ wiki page, featuring houserules and worldbuilding; and finally, a discussion of written books and other projects to date. I would hope these things can be covered in large strokes, enabling a comprehension of my gaming philosophy, designs and intentions for the future.
+Thus I hope to provide a map for new readers, casual readers and even long-time readers a map with which to know me. For this, I'd like to provide a chronological foundation first, from my beginnings as a player and a DM before the establishment of my blog, my ideals of worldbuilding reaching back into the 1980s and then the overall progress of my blog these last eighteen years. From there, the next step would be the construction of my present [[World (Alexis' game setting)|world]] and it's maps, complimented by a discussion of my 1,500+ wiki page, featuring houserules and worldbuilding; and finally, a discussion of written books and other projects to date. I would hope these things can be covered in large strokes, enabling a comprehension of my gaming philosophy, designs and intentions for the future.
 == Personal Background ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:50, 24 April 2026
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		+	[[File:Alexis Smolensk.jpg\|right\|560px\|thumb]]
	My wish in writing this is to avoid being self-important while efficiently explaining my retrospectives, record, practices and work since 2008, as a dungeon master and designer of content specifically for dungeons and dragons. I'm writing this because my blog [https://tao-dnd.blogspot.com/ Tao of D&D] has now reached a length where it has become impossible to "know me" by starting at the beginning and reading up to the present... simply because the blog now has more than 4,100 posts, representing opinions about D&D that likely reach into the realm of three or four million words; about the equivalent of forty-five 300 page plus Forgotten Realms novels.		My wish in writing this is to avoid being self-important while efficiently explaining my retrospectives, record, practices and work since 2008, as a dungeon master and designer of content specifically for dungeons and dragons. I'm writing this because my blog [https://tao-dnd.blogspot.com/ Tao of D&D] has now reached a length where it has become impossible to "know me" by starting at the beginning and reading up to the present... simply because the blog now has more than 4,100 posts, representing opinions about D&D that likely reach into the realm of three or four million words; about the equivalent of forty-five 300 page plus Forgotten Realms novels.
	__TOC__		__TOC__

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:28, 24 April 2026
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	It is a periodical prop, a setting supplement, an adventure vehicle, a rumour table, an ad sheet, a rules-culture object and a piece of graphic production all at once. That means every issue demands writing, layout, illustration judgment, continuity, tone control, utility and polish. With a response that has been almost entirely merely polite approval, the work has started to feel absurd.		It is a periodical prop, a setting supplement, an adventure vehicle, a rumour table, an ad sheet, a rules-culture object and a piece of graphic production all at once. That means every issue demands writing, layout, illustration judgment, continuity, tone control, utility and polish. With a response that has been almost entirely merely polite approval, the work has started to feel absurd.

−	I keep trying to find things that might appeal to a larger audience, but honestly, I think the truth of this whole description of myself is that I'm just too different to ever be popular.	+	I keep trying to find things that might appeal to a larger audience, but honestly, I think the truth of this whole description of myself is that I'm just ''too different'' to ever be popular.

@@ Line 102: / Line 102: @@
 This is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybWvjk26Q_g a menu concept] I imagined and created in 2021. It would have been a perfect table feature to sell at a game con... but unfortunately, try as I might, in the post-covid era, game cons have changed so dramatically that I am finding it impossible to get a table in an Artist's Alley anywhere. Such seems to be possible only through invitation or who one knows... and I don't know anyone. So I've been shut out from selling my books or this one product. I did not lose money on it; I was able to sell enough personally and with my kickstarter for it to cover my costs and make a small profit. I still have about sixty menus that I store carefully, but they are far too expensive to ship by mail (anywhere from $30 to 60$ apiece, and even more than $100 overseas, due to their physical weight), so I don't try to sell them online. The imaging within the menu is, as can be seen, excellent.
 == The Lantern ==
 '''The Lantern''' is a fictional 1635/36 broadsheet published in Devonshire in the west of England, depicting a Dungeons & Dragons world from inside the setting. For the editor and the writers, the existence of things like goblins, the undead or magic are simply a part of their world — not as a thing to be doubted, but as something simply lived with. Six issues, ranging in size from 24 to 32 pages each, have been designed and produced for sale on Patreon. At present, for personal reasons, the product is on hiatus.
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 Funny, the last thing I wanna do is talk about this thing. I started it in August of last year, just eight months ago. I did six issues of it, and I just fucking hate it. It's a very good product. It was such a rush initially to make, though difficult, tiring... yet despite the appearance and the obvious quality of it, there's been no serious interest in it on the internet at all. I can't understand why, because the product itself doesn't just look good, it is perfect for a DM and Dungeons and Dragons. Yet it has generated such a lukewarm response except for a very small subset of people that it's been the hardest thing imaginable to get myself to pick up and just do the next issue.
 It is a periodical prop, a setting supplement, an adventure vehicle, a rumour table, an ad sheet, a rules-culture object and a piece of graphic production all at once. That means every issue demands writing, layout, illustration judgment, continuity, tone control, utility and polish. With a response that has been almost entirely merely polite approval, the work has started to feel absurd.
 I keep trying to find things that might appeal to a larger audience, but honestly, I think the truth of this whole description of myself is that I'm just too different to ever be popular.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:25, 24 April 2026
Line 103:		Line 103:

	== The Lantern ==		== The Lantern ==
		+	'''The Lantern''' is a fictional 1635/36 broadsheet published in Devonshire in the west of England, depicting a Dungeons & Dragons world from inside the setting. For the editor and the writers, the existence of things like goblins, the undead or magic are simply a part of their world — not as a thing to be doubted, but as something simply lived with. Six issues, ranging in size from 24 to 32 pages each, have been designed and produced for sale on Patreon. At present, for personal reasons, the product is on hiatus.
		+
		+	Funny, the last thing I wanna do is talk about this thing. I started it in August of last year, just eight months ago. I did six issues of it, and I just fucking hate it. It's a very good product. It was such a rush initially to make, though difficult, tiring... yet despite the appearance and the obvious quality of it, there's been no serious interest in it on the internet at all. I can't understand why, because the product itself doesn't just look good, it is perfect for a DM and Dungeons and Dragons. Yet it has generated such a lukewarm response except for a very small subset of people that it's been the hardest thing imaginable to get myself to pick up and just do the next issue.
		+
		+	It is a periodical prop, a setting supplement, an adventure vehicle, a rumour table, an ad sheet, a rules-culture object and a piece of graphic production all at once. That means every issue demands writing, layout, illustration judgment, continuity, tone control, utility and polish. With a response that has been almost entirely merely polite approval, the work has started to feel absurd.
		+
		+	I keep trying to find things that might appeal to a larger audience, but honestly, I think the truth of this whole description of myself is that I'm just too different to ever be popular.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:08, 24 April 2026
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	== The Jousting Pig ==		== The Jousting Pig ==
	This is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybWvjk26Q_g a menu concept] I imagined and created in 2021. It would have been a perfect table feature to sell at a game con... but unfortunately, try as I might, in the post-covid era, game cons have changed so dramatically that I am finding it impossible to get a table in an Artist's Alley anywhere. Such seems to be possible only through invitation or who one knows... and I don't know anyone. So I've been shut out from selling my books or this one product. I did not lose money on it; I was able to sell enough personally and with my kickstarter for it to cover my costs and make a small profit. I still have about sixty menus that I store carefully, but they are far too expensive to ship by mail (anywhere from $30 to 60$ apiece, and even more than $100 overseas, due to their physical weight), so I don't try to sell them online. The imaging within the menu is, as can be seen, excellent.		This is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybWvjk26Q_g a menu concept] I imagined and created in 2021. It would have been a perfect table feature to sell at a game con... but unfortunately, try as I might, in the post-covid era, game cons have changed so dramatically that I am finding it impossible to get a table in an Artist's Alley anywhere. Such seems to be possible only through invitation or who one knows... and I don't know anyone. So I've been shut out from selling my books or this one product. I did not lose money on it; I was able to sell enough personally and with my kickstarter for it to cover my costs and make a small profit. I still have about sixty menus that I store carefully, but they are far too expensive to ship by mail (anywhere from $30 to 60$ apiece, and even more than $100 overseas, due to their physical weight), so I don't try to sell them online. The imaging within the menu is, as can be seen, excellent.
		+
		+	== The Lantern ==

@@ Line 90: / Line 90: @@
 '''[https://www.amazon.ca/Dungeons-Front-Door-Other-Things-ebook/dp/B093ZW114F/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2UDTN8NXHV11K&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NDimzdwbI2fosebAC0l-J4jkcVNrnILBFjl-bda1JTc.EoGrmiUp-tyXkTzTkLwvOi3iXKlU-asvodPKb-rvSzw&dib_tag=se&keywords=The+Dungeon%27s+Front+Door&qid=1776987628&s=digital-text&sprefix=the+dungeon%27s+front+door%2Cdigital-text%2C123&sr=1-1 The Dungeon's Front Door]''' is also a group of essays focused on dungeon play, ideology and concept. It is also fairly light reading.
-[[File:Jousting Piglet Page 1.jpg|right|490px|thumb]]
+== Podcasts ==
 == The Jousting Pig ==
 This is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybWvjk26Q_g a menu concept] I imagined and created in 2021. It would have been a perfect table feature to sell at a game con... but unfortunately, try as I might, in the post-covid era, game cons have changed so dramatically that I am finding it impossible to get a table in an Artist's Alley anywhere. Such seems to be possible only through invitation or who one knows... and I don't know anyone. So I've been shut out from selling my books or this one product. I did not lose money on it; I was able to sell enough personally and with my kickstarter for it to cover my costs and make a small profit. I still have about sixty menus that I store carefully, but they are far too expensive to ship by mail (anywhere from $30 to 60$ apiece, and even more than $100 overseas, due to their physical weight), so I don't try to sell them online. The imaging within the menu is, as can be seen, excellent.