Gnome Stew

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CG_213_Lou_Anders_Fury_of_the_Forsaken_final.mp3 Join Jared as he interviews Lou Anders and discusses Fury of the Forsaken. An addition to the Thrones and Bones, it explores Norrøngard, a setting inspired by Norse myth and Scandinavian folklore....

Challenging The Tropes: The Chaos Gremlin

by Josh Storey | May 16, 2025 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

The Chaos Gremlin archetype looks at the chaotic square on an alignment chart and says, “I’ll take two.” These are the people who read, “In a TTRPG, you can do anything you can imagine,” and just said, “Bet.” The fantasy of a Chaos Gremlin is one of ultimate freedom. They embody the no gods, no kings, no masters mindset. They’re the epitome of “Doing it for the plot.” And they don’t see a reason to follow the rules because rules are all made up anyway.

Collaborative Storytelling Styles

by J.T. Evans | May 14, 2025 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

Here’s a strong opinion of mine. I’ll die on a hill defending this opinion as well. Here goes. The main point of role playing games is to get a group together to tell stories in a collaborative and fun manner while using a set of rules to guide the storytelling though its paces....

Meeting the Villain – And Letting Them Live

by Alexander Atoz | May 12, 2025 | GMing Advice

It’s a classic TTRPG punchline: the GM spends hours crafting a recurring villain—personality, motivation, master plan, and fatal flaw—and 20 minutes into his grand debut, the players kill him. This is followed by hastily retconning someone else into being the “real” head villain. Some GMs use...

Gnomecast 212 – Problem Players

by Poddy Gnomington | May 7, 2025 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/GC_212_Problemplayers_final.mp3 Join Ang and Jared, along with special guest Carl Lehmann as they talk about problem players and what to do about them when you find one at your table. Links: Origins Game Faire Fury of the Forsaken by Lou Anders...

To the Rescue! Tips for Running Rescue Missions

by Peter Martin | Apr 28, 2025 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice, Tools for GMs

Whether it’s Aragorn showing up with his army of the dead in Lord of the Rings, the shot of the rescue team breaking through to the trapped people in the disaster movie, or a hero saving an innocent victim from a mugging or kidnapping, there are few things that capture the spirit of heroism as...

Prepping With Limited Time

by Phil Vecchione | Apr 25, 2025 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

This past weekend, my gaming group did not reach quorum, and I was staring down another blown session. There has been a string of them with this group, and we have struggled to get games going. I was itching to run something. Rather than canceling the session, I told the remaining players we could...

Gnomecast 211 – Continuity Concerns

by Poddy Gnomington | Apr 23, 2025 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/CG_211_Continuityconcerns.mp3 Join Ang along with Chris and Phil as they talk about managing continuity for you and your players in your campaigns. Does it matter? How much attention do you need to give it? What if you’re running an Actual...

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

by Tomas Gimenez Rioja | Apr 18, 2025 | Reviews

All images were taken from the Dialect game, store, and KS page I was invited over to a friend’s house with some other friends. There, I knew two of my regular players, and two other folks with little to no experience in TTRPGs, were going to be spending the afternoon with me. Looking to...

Why I Play RPGs

by J.T. Evans | Apr 16, 2025 | General

Friends I’ve known some of my group for over 2 decades! The main reason I play tabletop role playing games is for the friends I have at the table. I’ve been gaming with the members of my current group for between 7 and 25 years, depending on which member I’m accounting for....

Challenging the Tropes: The Paladin

by Josh Storey | Apr 11, 2025 | Game Mastering

In the D&D cultural zeitgeist, the paladin is often characterized as a stick-in-the-mud or worse, a narq, but there’s so much more to this trope beyond the memes. So let’s take a closer look and figure out how to use the fantasy of a stalwart champion to create absorbing character arcs.

Gnomecast 210 – System Screen Burn

by Poddy Gnomington | Apr 9, 2025 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GC_210_System_Screen_Burn_final.mp3 Join Ang along with Josh and JT as they talk about how to navigate having multiple game systems embedded in your brain. Notice? Perception? Awareness? Which does this system use!? LINKS: Han Cluster Crowd Funding...

The State of Stewart

by Angela Murray | Apr 1, 2025 | General

In a turn of unfortunate news, Stewart Grytman has decided to step down from writing for Gnome Stew. We are sad to miss out on all the articles he could have provided. We wish Stewart the best of luck. We’re sure his future will be delicious. Comic PDF available HERE Artwork by...

Meet a Gnew Gnome: Stewart Grytmann

by Angela Murray | Mar 31, 2025 | General

Ang Here at The Stew, we have a turnover rate that would make any corporate grindhouse proud. To that end, we have to keep the ground chuck flowing, which of course brings us to our newest gnome. Why don’t you tell us about yourself Chuck? It’s Stewart actually. Anyway, as they say, I was...

Getting The Band Back Together

by Phil Vecchione | Mar 28, 2025 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

In November, I paused my Mutants in the Now game because my campaign’s content clashed with the rising political climate, and I was not in a place where I thought I could run the game and maintain my self-care. Time has passed, and having done some work on myself to better protect and manage...

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It Came From The Stew Pot

Hey you. Yeah, you. Do you know about Gnomecast 21? Why isn’t it in the archives? What are they hiding? If you value your safety… don’t go searching for Gnomecast 21…

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