AI is a tool. You have to learn to use it correctly. This post is intended as a guide for GMs who want to try using it that way. This post has been lurking in my to-do list for so long that the ground has shifted beneath it, and not all the original advice that […]

The US Midterms are <100 days away, so these two real-world original political tools might be useful – and in RPGs, too. My goodness but a lot of elements went into creating this logo! Tile effect by Melanie Simon. Background by StockSnap. Atom by Gerd Altmann, Earth by Alexander Antropov, Jupiter by Adis Resic, Rubick’s […]

Relating the anatomy of a skill roll to the difference between learned technique and natural ability. A short post. I know I’ve addressed the subject before, but this short piece offers a different ‘take’ on the question. I’ve actually set this one aside for more than a year, thinking that there should be more to […]

Far-future action on the trail of a serial killer in Star Marshal: The Paper Trails, this is the final weekend for the Kickstarter and we've one more stretch goal to reach - can we do it?! Blends Judge Dredd style action with Blade Runner ethos. Lots of information, images and downloadable content on the campaign page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thegrinningfrog/star-marshal-the-paper-trails Our next Kickstarter will be for Final Quest: Odyssey. Set prior to the first two games,...

Some problems are so serious that they threaten the viability of the entire campaign. All is not lost – here are your choices. The Elephant In The Gray Room is a metaphor that I have created to represent Plot Holes. These are matters of huge significance or importance that everyone is overlooking because they are […]

New additions to the webstore

Design Diary where we explore the design process of creating a sequel to an existing Pocket Game

GMs can take a lot of the strain off by worldbuilding within their encounters. It’s easier than it sounds! Any genre. I’ve been increasingly frustrated lately by dramatic headlines that offer two choices, neither realistic, only for the whole of the content that follows to knock down one of the two and assert that this […]

Three roleplaying tips for both players and GMs regarding the conveying of emotions. A short but universally applicable post. Tip One: Tone A basic roleplaying tip for anyone at the game table, today, especially useful for beginners. Tone of voice can be used to convey all sorts of emotional states, including quite complex ones. When […]

Discomfort niggles, nags, distracts, and exhausts – for everyone. Until now, there have been no rules for simulating this. If it’s good enough for elite athletes to take into account, it’s good enough for an RPG. Another quick World Cup -inspired post today. During the Qatar v. Switzerland match (in Portland, I think), played in […]

This post offers a way to create unique original names on the fly, selecting for cultural relevance as you go. It’s another shortish one to help me stay on-schedule while devoting time to the bigger articles to come! I was half-watching a FIFA world cup preview on YouTube when the hosts flashed up a list […]

This quick post offers an adventure idea that works with almost ANY campaign, almost ANY genre. 2 1/2 weeks ago, I started a quick little article, 5-10 paragraphs long. For the last 10 days, every day, I’ve thought “It’s almost finished, any day now it will be done”. The last time I checked, it had […]

Hey folks, For all Starship Scavenger players and anyone who enjoys a little satire, let me present this copy of the Frontier Times, Issue 4942. To get the pdf version, which comes with all the previous issues, go to the downloads page and click and download your very own copy, for absolutely nothing. It's a freebie! https://www.thegrinningfrog.com/downloads (then scroll down to find it) For those of you who haven't seen it before, we release this on a semi-regular basis (we aim for monthly...

There can be huge benefits to undertaking measures that will improve the delivery of languages (real or alien) and accents at the game table. The article below contains a lot of advice for the delivery of foreign-language speech and accented speech at the game table. You don’t have to adopt all of it – find […]

After nearly three years of deliberation and redesign we are excited to announce Protocol Runners . This is our first cyberpunk content since 2023 (when we released Neo City ) but in that time we have produced Starship Scavengers and released over twenty publications for it. Into that universe, Ben created Star Marshal (new adventure coming to Kickstarter in May) which will be building up the outer worlds. Also in that time, I've been tinkering away with a tarot deck based game. In the end,...

About eighteen months ago I took a chance and crafted a game that I wanted to play. Mythos Rising was a Lovecraftian inspired battle between investigators working for the Midsummer Institute and cultists looking to bring an entity into our reality from BEYOND!

Hey folks, For some reason, we have never posted a blog when we have released a copy of the Frontier Times . Why? Don't know. Madness. So, for both all Starship Scavenger players and anyone who enjoys a little satire, let me present this copy of the Frontier Times, Issue 4941. To get the pdf version, which comes with all the previous issues , go to the downloads page and click and download your very own copy, for absolutely nothing. It's a freebie! https://www.thegrinningfrog.com/downloa...

Hey all, This is simply to tell you that our special Twelve Days of Christmas event is now live. Come get a free family game, and a scary solo play Zilight: Christmas game! Snowman Run! is a free print and play party game where you race snowmen around the table and try to be the first across the finishing line. With rules only a half page long, this is fast and easy to play. I can attest to it being a lot of fun, as you have such options as the ability to steal cards from other players,...

Hey all, I'm not quite ready to do an end of year wrap blog just yet but I am ready to say, as I always am, thank you to everyone who has supported us over the year. We've had a great year at The Grinning Frog and that's because of all our wonderful supporters and customers -- whether on Gamefound, Kickstarter or the webstore. We want to give back, and we have two fun things coming your way - including a completely free game -- let's start with that! Snowman Run! is a free print and play...

We have NEVER done this before, but now the shop stock levels are all updated, and Christmas is coming, and that Black Friday sale thing is looming (that we in Britain don't really understand), well, we decided to have a sale! Yes indeed. EVERYTHING is 20% off with the following code: blackfrogsale