David Chart's Blog

David Chart’s Blog

Latest News

  • Ars Magica Crowdfundings

    My first professional publication for Ars Magica came out in 1993, in White Wolf Magazine. Things rather grew from there, and I spent over a decade as the Line Developer. When I retired from that position, I ended up taking a break for a few years, but now I’m back.

    First, I prepared the text for the upcoming Definitive Edition. The text is now done and is being laid out, and the crowdfunding launches in a few days.

    Second, part of the crowdfunding is the release of Ars Magica under an open license (CC BY-SA), and I have a Patreon at which I am writing for that license. The licensing has not happened yet, but I have permission from Atlas to do that. When you have been working with them on the line for years, you can do that.

    I am looking forward to writing for the game again!

News Archive

My Writing

Fiction

I have written some fiction.

Academic

I have published a few peer-reviewed academic works, on philosophy and Japanese history.

Roleplaying Games

I have written for roleplaying games.

Mimusubi

Mimusubi is my project for non-fiction writing about Shinto. It has its own website.

Recent Blog Posts

  • Mechanical Philosophy

    Kannagara is a tabletop roleplaying game, and therefore it has mechanics. Since I’ve already talked about the guiding ideas behind the game itself, I’d like to talk briefly about my approach to the mechanics. Anyone who is familiar with my work on Ars Magica will know that I lean towards mechanical systems that are quite…

  • What Is Kannagara?

    Kannagara is a table-top, pen & paper roleplaying game in which players portray people associated with a Shinto sacred space, who create and perform its rituals. They build relationships with the mundane and supernatural inhabitants of the area so that the sacred space, people, and spirits flourish, mysteries are solved, and wonders are both uncovered…

  • Welcome to Kannagara

    Welcome to Kannagara. Kannagara will be a modern fantasy roleplaying game set in contemporary Japan, drawing heavily on Shinto folklore, legends, and practices. I say “will be” because it is not yet written; I will talk about the design on this blog, and hope that the readers of the blog will make comments about the…

  • Mimusubi

    I have a new project, and it has its own website: Mimusubi. It’s a role-playing game about creating things. Those of you with good memories may remember some work on this topic here a couple of years ago. I’ll be discussing the design on the Mimusubi website, and plan to release it commercially in some…

  • “Right Wing”

    In mid-December, a new right wing government was elected in Japan. Some people have even described it as “far right”. So, now it’s in office, what has it done? The first concrete policy announcement was a Â¥20 trillion (about $200 billion) spending package to boost the economy, with an emphasis on public works, such as…

  • Server Troubles

    I’ve been having some problems with my server. First, I was massively over quota because of the archives of the development mailing lists I run for Ars Magica. As part of the solution to that problem (which was my fault, although it took tech support about five attempts to work out where the files taking…

  • Happy New Year!

    I think it’s 2013 for just about everyone who reads this blog now, so happy new year! We’ve had an easy day at home, and visiting the local shrine for the traditional New Year’s Day visit. Mayuki got a new year’s present from them, as well. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and prosperous…

  • Vaccination Stories

    Today, Mayuki has to go for her first booster jab for her Japanese encephalitis vaccination. We hadn’t booked it, but there were slots today, so we made a quick appointment. First, however, we had to convince Mayuki that this was a good idea. She remembered last time, so she wasn’t initially enthusiastic, but after Yuriko…

  • Merry Christmas

    Once again, it is 8am on Christmas morning, the sky is blue, Mount Fuji is visible in the distance, and Mayuki is still asleep. She was really excited last night, and put her stocking on the top of the bed, but now she is sound asleep. The presents have been building up under the tree…

  • Earthquake

    I see that today’s earthquake has also made the international news. We’re all fine. We felt it, and it was long, but it wasn’t that strong here. Much smaller than last year’s. NHK are still broadcasting tsunami warnings for Tohoku, though.