Tag: TTRPGs

I read: Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning: The Sun Sword

On or about 29 November 2025, the long overdue The Broken Road adventure for GiantLands was announced on X née Twitter,1 Stephen Erin Dinehart IV as “GiantLands” (29 November 2025, X née Twitter) <https://x.com/GiantLands/status/1994469048751399329?s=20> making up 50% of the current front facing posts and having the singular like on the posts. Also on Facebook.

A screenshot of the GiantLands feed on X, aka Twitter: 19 November "Two new epics Launch today! THE BROKEN ROAD (adventure) TUSKALOOSA'S RECKONING (novel) Old school RPG x Ancient pyramids x crashed starships x Thunderbirds x alien tech Avaiable now (links) #GiantLands #IndigenousFuturism #TTRPG" (Beneath it is a very busy and difficult to parse AI generated image featuring Aztec Pyramids, 11 September: "Race is a myth."

It was accompanied with an announcement of a book, Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning, full title: Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning: The Sun Sword : Book One… or I suppose:2 Stephen Erin Dinehart IV Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning: The Sun Sword (15 November, Wonderfilled Inc, Amazon Print on Demand) (Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning)

Wonderfilled Presents Tuskaloosa's Reckoning The Sun Sword: Book One GIANTLANDS By James E. Ward & Stephen E. Dinehart A GiantLands (registered) Novel
Nothing says close friend and collaboration by changing Jim’s middle initial to match Dinehart’s… or something. Also, mandatory “graphic design is my passion” joke.

Now, predictably after years of Dinehart bragging that his products would never be digitized, and would only be sold via master craftspeople using American products he picks himself etc… it seems they are just being sold via Amazon print-on-demand and the novel is available on Kindle. So, while I wait for The Broken Road to be delivered, I figured I’d read the book.

At the time I purchased it, it has 1 review giving it 5 stars.

Customer Review (five stars) Classic Pulp Goodness Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2025 Format: Paperback (Verified Purchase) A compelling entry into the Giantlands universe. Classic really.

This reviewer gave the same rating but more effort into explaining Those Pesky Goblinz, so I’m not convinced they’re entirely unbiased.

I however, am, at this stage—the foremost GiantLands scholar alive. So, let’s get into what is is, and is it worse than the AI slop nuTSR put out. Spoilers ahead.

Continue reading I read: Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning: The Sun Sword
  • 1
    Stephen Erin Dinehart IV as “GiantLands” (29 November 2025, X née Twitter) <https://x.com/GiantLands/status/1994469048751399329?s=20>
  • 2
    Stephen Erin Dinehart IV Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning: The Sun Sword (15 November, Wonderfilled Inc, Amazon Print on Demand) (Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning)

Giantlands (2021)

Contents

Premise | Character Creation | Species | Professions | Ley Powers | Mutations | Other stuff | Core Rules | The World | How do I economy? | Species pt 2 | Monsters | No bears? No bullywugs… oh god the bugs! | Is this okay? | Demo Game | You’re walking in the woods… | That’s won’t work | You guys are being attacked… | Conclusion | Unplayable, and I don’t want to fix it | Is there a setting? | Spirtual successor?

Edit: Apologies to those who struggled through the initial release, and thank you to those who pointed out the many issues in it, will continue to try to tighten them up and cut back on my ellipses addiction.

Touted by Stephen Erin Dinehart IV as his role-playing game based on his unique vision of the world, but also written entirely by James M Ward (“Jim”)1 Wikipedia James M Ward <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M._Ward> as a kind of Native American themed, spiritual successor to Gamma World2 James M Ward & Gary Jaquet Gamma World (TSR Inc, Lake Geneva WI, 1978) – the original release of GiantLands was also modelled off the White Box3 Wikipedia Dungeons & Dragons (1974) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_(1974)> release of Dungeons & Dragons.4 Gary Gygax & Dave Arneson Dungeons & Dragons (TSR Inc, Lake Geneva WI, 1974)

Dinehart regularly claims (incorrectly) to be the inventor of Narrative Design and a great master in game design space, but routinely avoids taking responsibility for not working to smooth out any issues in his game.

If you’ve found this via my write up of the GiantLands Saga, or anything connected to that – then you’re most likely already aware that the game is bad – but curious as to all the ways it is and if there’s tiny gems of goodness among the rotting debris. Also, since the game comes in three booklets I’ll be citing them separately.

Jim passed away on 18 March 2024,5 Haase-Lockwood & Associates Funeral Homes Obituary for James “Jim” Michael Ward III <https://www.haaselockwoodfhs.com/obituary/JamesJim-WardIII> with his final work widely ignored and panned, but apparently still optimistic that it could result in a theme park one day.

The Premise

The basis for the setting is that the upon re-awakening or reaching her breaking point, the spirit of the world as we know it ends the world as we know it – killing everyone as punishment for our misdeeds toward nature and creating a fresh start known as “The Great Reset”. It encourages the Spirit Keeper (who runs the game) to imagine how their world might look after such an event, but also with underground bunkers and alien spacecraft.6 James M Ward & Stephen E Dinehart GiantLands: Keepers Guide (Wonderfilled Inc, Lake Geneva WI, 2021) at 4

This results in the return of giants, not simply big humanoids but beings of immense supernatural power. As well as a new kind of human… and also robots, aliens, star ports… and all kinds of wild nonsense that never really gets explained. It’s also weirdly inconsistent – Sapiens are introduced to the players a new type of humanoid (capable of living 200 years)7 James M Ward & Stephen E Dinehart GiantLands: Spirits Guide (Wonderfilled Inc, Lake Geneva WI, 2021) but in the Keepers Guide says they were created in the 1st Age “to rival the Giants” and appear to have been present as “humans” in every age since.8 Keepers Guide, at n 6, at 16 – 17

Continue reading Giantlands (2021)

D&D Currencies – Five approaches

Perhaps one of the greatest bane’s of the mid-level Dungeons & Dragon party is trying to sort out and determine all the money they have so they can determine how much they need to spend on provisions for the next adventure, whether they can afford that hot pink magical backpack and how much they will have for amnesia inducing carousing afterwards.

Without a doubt, the problems magnify exponentially if you limit yourself to the traditional currencies and then use encumbrance rules – creating scenarios where parties are actively spending all their coins before going out on adventure again so that they can have capacity to carry loot out of the next dungeon that they visit.

The default system has many drawbacks, one being that it makes actual estimations of value and pricing a nightmare to track – which has invariably led to bizarre economic situations where parties crash local economies due to insisting on carrying only the most valuable coins in the vast hoards they keep in interdimensional pockets, or spend staggering fortunes before going out on another adventure purely so they can have capacity to carry out treasure after their next victory but are never sure how much anything costs without looking up a book out of character.

Continue reading D&D Currencies – Five approaches