Gnome Stew

Recently, one of my gaming groups decided to change games. We decided to go back to an old favorite Forbidden Lands. As we were sitting around the table, finalizing our decision, I started to survey our table situation and thought about how would we arrange all the components of the game. This got...

Gnomecast 201 – Oops! All Bards

by Poddy Gnomington | Nov 20, 2024 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GC_201_oops_all_bard_final.mp3 Join Ang, Jared and Josh as they talk about what to do when you have characters in your game whose mechanical abilities overlap and you can’t rely on traditional ‘niche’ protection to move the...

My experience with Ryuutama (Why you should try it!)

by Tomas Gimenez Rioja | Nov 15, 2024 | Reviews

All images were taken from the Ryuutama game Again I found myself in the situation of introducing someone to the TTRPG world. D&D keeps being the one everyone knows about, but it can be hard to grasp how to play a game with such depth. I looked into my TTRPG collection, looking to find...

Gnomecast 200 – Why We Do This

by Poddy Gnomington | Nov 6, 2024 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GC_200_Whywedothis_final.mp3 Join us for our 200th episode of the Gnomecast, as we talk about why we do this. What’s this? Giving gaming advice on Gnome Stew and this podcast. And who’s we? A bunch of gnomes who could take a little time...

Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game X-Men Expansion Review

by Jared Rascher | Nov 4, 2024 | Reviews

When I first started collecting comics seriously (seriously meaning I wasn’t pointing at whatever the grocery store was and asking my mom to buy it for me), the X-Men weren’t even on my radar. I was focused on Batman and Spider-Man and branching out from there. Then came Secret Wars. In context...

Adventure Design: Thematic Mooks

by J.T. Evans | Oct 30, 2024 | Game Making, Game Mastering, GMing Advice

Last month, I covered thematic bosses and how they can support the style, theme, and tone of your adventure. This month, I’m moving on to those people/creatures that work for the boss. In this case, I’m shifting a bit away from directly supporting your adventure’s concepts to...

Gamers4Harris and Gnome Stew

by Jared Rascher | Oct 28, 2024 | General

Gamers 4 Harris consists of gaming professionals from video games, board games, and tabletop games. They represent the creators behind the puzzles, board games, card games, roleplaying games, and video games we love, as well as game journalists and reviewers. They are artists who bring imagination...

Give Yourself Some Time To Think

by Phil Vecchione | Oct 25, 2024 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

A few months ago, I restructured my evenings to prioritize some new activities over others. One of those activities was to have time to think creatively. Several times a week, I take 30 minutes to sit and think creatively about a topic. Most evenings the topic I am thinking about is RPGs, either...

Gnomecast 199 – RPGs for the Spooky Season

by Poddy Gnomington | Oct 23, 2024 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GC_199_Spookygames_Final.mp3 Join Ang along with Jared and JT as they talk about how to bring the spooky to your table as we get deep into the Halloween season. Links: The Carnival’s Children Veiled Fate Shard’s Halloween Sale The...

Call of Cthulhu – No Time to Scream Review

by Jared Rascher | Oct 21, 2024 | Reviews

Every October, for the last few years, I’ve been trying to watch 31 horror movies that I haven’t seen before. Some of the most consistently enjoyable horror movies that I’ve seen since I’ve been doing this have been horror anthologies. Creepshow, Trick ‘r Treat, the original V/H/S, and the...

Worry About Failure

by Josh Storey | Oct 11, 2024 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

“Only make them roll when its interesting” is solid GMing advice, but it can be hard to figure out which rolls will be interesting. At least, it’s something I struggled with until just a few weeks ago. Here’s what I discovered about how knowing the stakes of the scene will help you know when to call for rolls from your players.

Shard Tabletop VTT Impressions

by Jared Rascher | Oct 7, 2024 | Reviews

If you give me the ability to customize something, whether its fonts, colors, formatting, whatever, I’m going to end up spending way too much time playing with those options. Even when I know this is the case, it doesn’t stop me. The best thing I can do is to find a tool that lets me spend all...

Earning Their Trust: The Rules

by Josh Storey | Oct 2, 2024 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

“I’m just following the rules” is often the GM’s version of “I’m just doing what my character would do.” The rules of your game are not objective or unbiased, so you can’t be either of those things when arbitrating RAW. In the latest installment of Earning Their Trust, we’ll look at how you can be unbiased yet fair and work with your players to create an unforgettable game.

Not All Rolls Are Created Equally

by Phil Vecchione | Sep 30, 2024 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

At my table, a few weeks ago, the characters were outside the lair of a nefarious being, preparing to breach and assault. Before they did, one of the players announced that they wanted their character to do a quick recon, a very prudent idea. I was just about to request a Sneak check when I paused...

Gnomecast 198 – How Do You Like Your Stakes?

by Poddy Gnomington | Sep 25, 2024 | Gnomecast

Join Ang, Josh and Carl Lehman as they talk about setting stakes for your games and how to keep your players and their characters invested and involved.

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