On January 16, 2024 Randomworld TTRPG Chatroom hosted Loren Small, designer of Born from Ice, for a Q&A session on their Discord server. This chat is archived on the Hardboiled GMshoe’s website, and has also been transcribed here. Included are name and time stamps, to help keep it clear who is typing. It has been lightly edited for readability on … Read More
Why No Magic? Making a No-Magic Setting
Moving on from Magic Magic is a cornerstone of most fantasy tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), especially Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). The allure of casting fireballs, healing wounds, and transforming into fantastical creatures is an integral part of the D&D experience. So, why would anyone want to remove such a compelling component from the game? That’s the question I grappled with … Read More
Designing New Classes for Born from Ice
Creating a new 5e game without magic created some major hurdles. The first major hurdle is that classic D&D is entirely tied to the magic systems, and all of the classes are built around magic as a core of the game. To that end, it became clear very early on that Born from Ice needed entirely new classes that could … Read More