Splendor of Fire | Michael DiBaggio | Substack

Trader's Galaxy

I’ve written about Trader’s Galaxy in the past, and I’m sure I will write about them in the future.

Feb 16 • Thomas

Hide, Stone & Bone by Austin Hunt

Osprey Blue Book Series

Feb 9 • Thomas

A Kingdom of Scumbags for Oathmark

A kingdom of evil outlaws inspired by Rhudaur, Dunland, etc...

Feb 9 • Michael DiBaggio

Thoughts on a Fantasy Wargame Setting

For Oathmark, Frostgrave, and ACKS II

Feb 4 • Michael DiBaggio

The Mexican Army of the Mexican American War Part 1 by Battlecat Miniatures

It is that time of the year again, when the sun is shining, the snow is melting, and I can feel spring is in the air.

Feb 4 • Thomas

Game Philosophy

Wargaming Time Capsule: Ragnarok #6 (1996)

Discovering the nature of the hobby via The Journal of the Society of Fantasy & Science Fiction Wargamers

Dec 28, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Lore (or the lack therof)

I still read a few articles here and there on Goonhammer and Bell of Lost Souls.

Aug 25, 2025 • Thomas

The Gallipoli Campaign

A quick history lesson

Aug 11, 2025 • Thomas

The Gallipoli Campaign

Blood and Valor Scenarios, Part 1 of a Campaign

Apr 25, 2025 • Thomas

Make Her an Ant!

Real Tabletop Housewives Part 2: Create a stripped-down microcosm of the game inside the game

Apr 17, 2025 • Shell Presto DiBaggio

Are 3d Printed die fair?

Edit: Shell Presto asked if they were resin or filament.

Apr 14, 2025 • Thomas

Splendor of Fire

Splendor of Fire

A Journal of Toy Soldiers and Fantastic Worlds in Miniature, made for and by wargamers and RPG enthusiasts.

Top posts

Starting a 'Third Place'

Apr 30, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

The Sad Decline of the Historical Miniature Gaming Society

Jan 22, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Episode 2: Reclaiming Imagination

Mar 8, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio, Thomas, and Bob Lollard

"Americans Don't Want to Make Games"

Apr 11, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Episode 3: Wargames Campaigns

Mar 22, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio, Thomas, and Bob Lollard

Wargames

A Kingdom of Scumbags for Oathmark

A kingdom of evil outlaws inspired by Rhudaur, Dunland, etc...

Feb 9 • Michael DiBaggio

Thoughts on a Fantasy Wargame Setting

For Oathmark, Frostgrave, and ACKS II

Feb 4 • Michael DiBaggio

More Thoughts and Mechanics on Combat Drones in Miniature Wargames

Jan 31 • Michael DiBaggio

Abomination on a Stick

GW's Latest Shit Test

Jan 17 • Michael DiBaggio

Fallen Stars: The Sternophthalmoi & Allied Races

A survey of the most prolific enemies of Sidereal Christendom

Dec 31, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Wargaming Time Capsule: Ragnarok #6 (1996)

Discovering the nature of the hobby via The Journal of the Society of Fantasy & Science Fiction Wargamers

Dec 28, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Doomsday at the Oasis

A Post-Apocalyptic Horror Battle Report for The Doomed

Nov 18, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Blood & Bayonets Playthrough

I spent some free time last week working my way through the rules, and playing around with the solo rules for B&B.

Nov 3, 2025 • Thomas

Role Playing Games

Sword World RPG Preview

First English translation of the most popular Japanese TTRPG Coming in 2026

Aug 16, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Starting a 'Third Place'

An Adventure in Tabletop Gaming and Business

Apr 30, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Combining Original Dungeons and Dragons with Dragon Rampant

Get ready for the new DDR.

Apr 25, 2025 • erniet

Stormtroopers as Revolutionary Cadre

The Mysterious Place of Stormtroopers in the Imperial Military

Feb 28, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

On the Origins of a Galactic Civil War

The first part in a series on the radical reclamation of Star Wars for tabletop gaming

Feb 27, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

False Documents: The Transcripts of the Medium Bayrolles

Tabletop RPG adventure seeds from the weird fiction of Ambrose Bierce, Robert W. Chambers, et. al.

Feb 21, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

False Documents: The Bruce-Partington Plans

More adventure seeds for your RPG from classic literature, this time involving Victorian submarines, Martian invasions, and archaeotech remnants from an…

Feb 5, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

False Documents: The Deep School Manual

Diabolical mysteries and soul-searing artifacts for your occult horror and pulp adventures.

Dec 10, 2024 • Michael DiBaggio

Hobby and Craft

A Kingdom of Scumbags for Oathmark

A kingdom of evil outlaws inspired by Rhudaur, Dunland, etc...

Feb 9 • Michael DiBaggio

Italian Wars (3d printing edition)

My wife graciously bought me the Pike & Shotte (digital version) rulebook from Warlord Games.

Jan 19 • Thomas

Wargaming Time Capsule: Ragnarok #6 (1996)

Discovering the nature of the hobby via The Journal of the Society of Fantasy & Science Fiction Wargamers

Dec 28, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

The Riddle of Plastic!

Resisting the Gray Tide from the Workbench

Oct 22, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Battle Masters Chapter History

The lore for of my homebrew Space Marine legions

Aug 25, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Cyberpunk Buildings

Add stuff to the workbench, clear stuff off the workbench...

Aug 22, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Recommendations

Wargame Culture Design Journal

Purple Druid

RPG & Wargame Newsletter

TheTabletopEngineer

Arbiter of Worlds

Alexander Macris

Lore

Thoughts on a Fantasy Wargame Setting

For Oathmark, Frostgrave, and ACKS II

Feb 4 • Michael DiBaggio

Fallen Stars: The Sternophthalmoi & Allied Races

A survey of the most prolific enemies of Sidereal Christendom

Dec 31, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Doomsday at the Oasis

A Post-Apocalyptic Horror Battle Report for The Doomed

Nov 18, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Battle Masters Chapter History

The lore for of my homebrew Space Marine legions

Aug 25, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Red Army River Tanks

Overview of "Soviet Motor Gunboats of World War II" (Osprey, 2023)

Jul 13, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

1:14:25

Episode 2: Reclaiming Imagination

How once-exciting and mysterious settings like Star Wars and Warhammer 40k became boring and how we've made them interesting again.

Mar 8, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio, Thomas, and Bob Lollard

Stormtroopers as Revolutionary Cadre

The Mysterious Place of Stormtroopers in the Imperial Military

Feb 28, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

On the Origins of a Galactic Civil War

The first part in a series on the radical reclamation of Star Wars for tabletop gaming

Feb 27, 2025 • Michael DiBaggio

Reviews

Trader's Galaxy

I’ve written about Trader’s Galaxy in the past, and I’m sure I will write about them in the future.

Feb 16 • Thomas

Hide, Stone & Bone by Austin Hunt

Osprey Blue Book Series

Feb 9 • Thomas

The Mexican Army of the Mexican American War Part 1 by Battlecat Miniatures

It is that time of the year again, when the sun is shining, the snow is melting, and I can feel spring is in the air.

Feb 4 • Thomas

Dragon #105 - January 1986

Interesting cover art for sure.

Feb 2 • Thomas

White Dwarf #73 - January 1986

This is a Lee Gibbons cover.

Jan 26 • Thomas

Abomination on a Stick

GW's Latest Shit Test

Jan 17 • Michael DiBaggio

Dragon #104 - December 1985

This cover is by Denis Beauvais and is called Spinning Tales.

Jan 12 • Thomas

Tales of the Black Widow Company

FASA Battletech 1985 (FASA1605)

Jan 5 • Thomas

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts