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Your First Time GMing: Heading Behind the Screen

11 June 2011 by 3 Comments
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Well, you may or may not know that I love writing mirror articles, and this week will demonstrate that fact. My last article was about becoming a player after being a GameMaster. This article will be about the opposite - becoming a GM when you've been a player. While I've never been in this situation - I pretty much started in the hobby as a GM - I've been asked for advice by many friends in this position. I hope to offer you some of my favorite best practices for running great games right … [Read more...]

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Beyond Zeppelin – Using Music to Set a Mood in RPGs

30 April 2011 by 7 Comments
Dungeons & Dragons Music

I have a confession to make. With all apologies to Stephen Lynch, I have never once listened to Led Zeppelin while running, writing, preparing, or in any other way involving a D&D game. I was never that huge a Zeppelin fan, and, although they occasionally toss in a fantasy reference or two (like mentioning that Gollum slipped up and made away with one’s lady so fair) and have songs about Vikings, I just don’t feel like the mood of their songs matches the mood of my games. Many people … [Read more...]

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Three DM Tips to Bring Your Players Back Hungry for More

2 April 2011 by 14 Comments
sandart

Hey, you. Yes, you. The person who just looked in, saw this was another gaming article, rolled your eyes, and was about to click away. Before you do, take a look at my last paragraph. Please. I will deem it a personal favor. Okay, for those of you who didn’t just skip to the bottom, I’m here, once again, to give Gamemasters of various tabletop RPGs some advice that’s stood me in good stead. There are tools that will bring your players back, time after time, ready for more adventure and … [Read more...]

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Going Out with a Bang: Crafting an Epic End to Your Campaign

12 March 2011 by 1 Comment
valinor

Sir Bedivere throws Excalibur into the Lake and finds King Arthur has sailed to Avalon. Luke Skywalker blows up the Death Star. Robin Hood fires an arrow to show where he should be buried. The Ring is cast into Mt. Doom. Ripley jettisons the Alien out an air lock. Good stories…truly good stories…have fantastic endings. Without the promise of the Battle of Camlann, the Battle of Yavin, or Frodo’s Passion on Mt. Doom, the epic tales they end would not have the full … [Read more...]

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Props for My Homies: Making Handouts, Gear, and Props for your RPG

21 February 2011 by 1 Comment
printed-props3

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I’ve been involved in Live Action Role-Playing (LARP) since I was 20. I started as a player, graduated into being part of NERO’s National Plot Committee for years, and was most recently hailed as the “Spiritual Godfather” of The Isles, a LARP I’ve been shepherding and developing material for since 2001. One thing you learn early on is that LARPing is not a tabletop RPG. While you can describe a strange object to a bunch of tabletop players, if … [Read more...]

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Rigging the Dice in Your Favor – Ways to Cheat the Odds and Make a Successful RPG Campaign

5 February 2011 by 4 Comments
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You’ve got a game you want to run. You’ve developed a setting, or a campaign, or an adventure, and you’re ready to expose your masterpiece to the world. You have your NPCs fleshed out, your treasure parcels chosen, your encounters planned. But you’re chewing your nails, because you don’t want to have gone through all this work only to have your campaign crash and burn. I know what you’re going through. I’ve had a number of campaigns that have died before they got too far. It … [Read more...]

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Oooh, Oooh That Smell: GMing for All 5 Senses

15 January 2011 by 5 Comments
cave

Ah, the dungeon! The smell of mildew emanating from the damp stone walls. The feel of the stone under your boots. The drip, drip, drip of water from somewhere in the distance. The smoky scent of your torches in the thick air, struggling to push back the gloom… The life of an RPG hero is one that should engage all five senses, but I find that, far too often, a GameMaster won’t take the time to scent a full scene. Oh, sure, when the undead show up, there may be a scent of rot, and the … [Read more...]

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“Yes, And…”: Saying Yes to Your Players Isn’t Giving Up Control

8 January 2011 by 16 Comments
y3s

I was asked, a while ago, what I liked about 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons. My answer then really continues on into 4th Edition: earlier editions said no a lot to players. These editions say yes. Let me give a bit of an example of what I mean. You younger gamers who haven’t done your history homework may not realize it, but there was a time when you wouldn’t have been able to play your dwarf paladin…or your half-orc paladin…or an elf fighter above 4th level, for that matter. In … [Read more...]

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Is It Okay To Split The Party?

29 July 2010 by 9 Comments
dndgroup

I started a thread on the Paizo forums about my recent articles on romance in RPGs, and a conversation developed on the issue of the amount of time that needs to be spent with just one or two players to play out a romance. The conversation took a slight tangent, veering toward the question of whether the party should be split to deal with any individual story (not just a romantic one). Some were of the belief that the party should be split as little as possible, and when it is, the roleplaying … [Read more...]

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Cooking Is As Easy As Being a DungeonMaster

6 July 2010 by 7 Comments
Farmers Market Haul for 7/4: Squash Blossoms, Passport Melon, Tomatoes, Okra, Potatoes, Corn, Pattypan Squash, Onions....

It's funny how predictably this happens. As part of my healthstyle, I've been cooking a lot of meals at home using ingredients fresh from the farmers market. And every time I tweet about something I'm cooking, I get responses like this: WHOA! How did you DO THAT? That looks AMAZING! I wish I could cook awesome things like that. I don't think I could ever learn how to cook stuff that looks that delicious. That must have taken forever to make! And every time I see these … [Read more...]

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