Face Value Comics

In the spirit of Free RPG Day, I’m releasing the first issue of WEIRD TABLES 4 WEIRD TABLES as a free download. This trifold OSR pamphlet focuses on the B/X Thief. Instead of another list of treasures or encounters, it gives referees six d6 procedure tables to roll whenever a thief succeeds at class skills like Hear Noise, Move Silently, Open Locks, or Find Traps. The goal is simple: create…

By Dave Kot, MS Searching for secret doors remains one of the defining rituals of dungeon-crawlinggames. A player describes how they inspect the room. Torches burn lower. Wanderingmonsters grow more likely. The Thief kneels beside suspicious stonework while the restof the party stands guard in nervous silence. Few procedures capture the tension of old-school exploration more cleanly than this…

by Dave Kot Charlie, Eric, and Shawn introduced me to Dungeons & Dragons in the mid-1980s. Our rural bus ride to school gave us about thirty minutes each way to play throughout the week. We used the 1983 Red Box set, and I still own my original copy. I became the referee almost immediately. I built a sandbox campaign filled with ruined shrines, caves beneath old hills, wandering monsters, and…

Tabletop roleplaying combat with miniatures and scatter terrain can feel overwhelming. New players often feel pressure to make the right move while others watch. This performance anxiety can lead to hesitation. Every option feels too risky. I suggest a simpler approach. In old-school play, success did not come from choosing the perfect action. Instead, we actively engaged and changed the…

AFV is creating a Community Coloring and Activity Book. We want to feature YOUR creativity! The sun is out and the brisk smell of spring onions in the air tells me it’s FUNDRAISING SEASON for AFV! Submit an entry for $5 Receive a book with your submission included! (You may pre-order a book to show your support: $10 without submitting anything. Books will be $15 when the pre-order period…

Want to help AFV but don’t have time to volunteer? Here’s some ideas… Screenshot

By Dave Kot, MS Running a tabletop role-playing game requires sustained judgment in uncertain situations. The Game Master responsibly paces a shared story by applying rules and maintaining social order. Autistic adults often hesitate to take on this role because current cultural narratives overvalue spontaneity and charisma. In practice, effective game mastery grows from preparation, expressed…

by Dave Kot, MS Introduction I’ve spent much of my professional life thinking about grief. Like a parasite, it drains strength from people who still need to function and make life decisions. Over the last several years, I’ve become increasingly convinced that tabletop roleplaying games offer a uniquely accessible way to explore grief without forcing disclosure, diagnosis, or performance. Like…

A Practice-Based Framework for Therapeutically Applied Roleplaying Games Therapeutically Applied Role-Playing (TARP) games function as structured social environments, where participants engage through known rules, a shared narrative, and collective problem-solving. My work does not claim to replace psychotherapy or clinical mental health care. Instead, TARP exists as a community-based practice…

by Dave Kot, MS Role-playing games have long supported imagination, cooperation, and problem-solving in group settings. When designed with intention, these games can also support social-emotional learning, communication, and community connection for autistic and neurodivergent players. Emerging research suggests that structured roleplaying games can enhance social functioning and communication…

Something magical unfolds in tabletop roleplaying games when shared imagination takes flight. We witness it in an eager posture of players who lean forward, anticipating what lies around the next dungeon corner. You sense it in the hush that descends when a silhouetted figure drifts across a torchlit hallway, or when an oaken door groans open into an unexplored dark corridor. In those moments,…

by Dave Kot, MS I hope the North Pole still hums with that steady mix of joy and hard work. How have you and Mrs. Claus been doing since her hip surgery? Have the reindeer nudged you toward stronger coffee on these long nights? This year, I would like to ask for something that does not fit neatly in a stocking. I am not asking for myself as much as I am asking for the communities I serve. Many…

a scholarly white paper by Angie Kot Tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) can be framed as structured, trauma‑informed group interventions that support core recovery tasks in complex PTSD (CPTSD), including affect regulation, relational safety, and narrative repair. Emerging clinical frameworks and scoping reviews indicate that TTRPGs can be intentionally adapted to align with evidence‑based…

How do you think it has aged? I bet even Wil Wheaton would be surprised… Playing by Your ‘Elf

By Dave Kot, MS When people gather to share stories, something powerful happens. Psychologist Irvin Yalom, a leader in group therapy, believed that human connection grows strongest in groups that share experiences, challenges, and hope. Members learn new social skills not by lecture, but by living them in a shared space. That same principle works beautifully around a gaming table. At Autism at…