Gnomecast#173 – Welcome Back Walt
Posted by Poddy Gnomington | Sep 27, 2023 | Gnomecast | 0
The Gamer’s Bane: Scheduling
Posted by Angela Murray | Sep 25, 2023 | General | 0
Gnomecast#172 – RPG A Day Conversation
Posted by Poddy Gnomington | Sep 13, 2023 | Gnomecast | 0
The Crusty Old Gnome: Back to Basic
Posted by Walt Ciechanowski | Sep 11, 2023 | General | 2
My experience with Forgery! (Why you should try it...
Posted by Tomas Gimenez Rioja | Sep 8, 2023 | Reviews | 1
Retool or Dump
by Phil Vecchione | Sep 29, 2023 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice
I almost canceled my new Cyberpunk: Red campaign. Well…I thought about it. I was four sessions in and the game had not gelled. That is a red flag for me. I did some introspection and pondered what about it was not working for me. When I had a handle on what wasn’t working, I talked to my players....
Read MoreGnomecast#173 – Welcome Back Walt
by Poddy Gnomington | Sep 27, 2023 | Gnomecast
http://misdirectedmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GC_173_Welcomebackwalt_final.mp3 The gnomes are happy to welcome back Walt to the gnome tree. Walt is one of the original gnomes and an RPG game designer with more writing credits than he can remember. From Cubicle 7s Victoriana to Green...
Read MoreThe Gamer’s Bane: Scheduling
by Angela Murray | Sep 25, 2023 | General
When I first started playing, I was just a teenager and it felt like there was never anything getting in the way of us gaming. We played every weekend and more than that during the summer. When I got to college it was pretty much the same, but I also had a license and a car and could drive myself...
Read MoreGnomecast#172 – RPG A Day Conversation
by Poddy Gnomington | Sep 13, 2023 | Gnomecast
Ang, Chris, and Senda get together to talk about some of the RPG a day questions from 2023. Baker...
Read MoreThe Crusty Old Gnome: Back to Basic
by Walt Ciechanowski | Sep 11, 2023 | General
I wanna go back and do it all over but I can’t go back, I know. — Eddie Money, “I Wanna Go Back” Can you make what’s old new again? Hi, all! It’s been seven years since this Original Gnome has...
Read MoreMy experience with Forgery! (Why you should try it!)
by Tomas Gimenez Rioja | Sep 8, 2023 | Reviews
All images were taken from the Forgery game Among the many indie games and zines that came out in Zine Month there was Forgery. This is a solo journaling experience that has you painting a cursed painting while creating a story, created by Banana Chan, and with a small team behind her. I’ve...
Read MoreCreating A Setting
by J.T. Evans | Sep 1, 2023 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice
There are quite a few world building articles (and podcasts) on Gnome Stew. Heck, I’ve even written one. However, that’s not the point of this article. I’m not going to talk about tectonic plates, rivers, mountains, trees, natural and political boundaries, and so on that make up...
Read MoreGnomecast#171 – Shadow of the Weird Wizard Interview
by Poddy Gnomington | Aug 30, 2023 | Gnomecast, Indie Game Shelf
JT sits down with the Demon Lord himself, Rob Schwalb from Schwalb Entertainment to talk about his newest game, Shadow of the Weird Wizard.
Read MoreLetting them Enjoy Their Power
by Phil Vecchione | Aug 28, 2023 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice
In my most recent Cortex Prime game, Aux, one of the players was making a roll to repair an ancient, alien machine. A roll that, back at the start of the campaign over a year ago, was a bit of a daunting task, and one that could result in failures with unexpected consequences. The stakes were no...
Read MoreOn Killing a Campaign: What To Learn From It And How To Do It
by Tomas Gimenez Rioja | Aug 25, 2023 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice
Last week, my year-and-a-half campaign I ran of Kids on Brooms was brought to an end. However, despite the campaign being over, the story was not. I decided to bring it to an end before we came to a conclusion to the story. We all probably have campaigns we were a part of that ended abruptly....
Read MoreDowntime Activities
by Chris Sniezak | Aug 23, 2023 | Game Mastering, Tools for GMs
The first time I came across phases of play in a Role Playing game was Mouseguard. It’s a game based on a comic book series about mice who adventure to help the mouse territories…it’s besides the point. The comics are great. If you want to know more, check it out here. It’s also based on an older...
Read MoreGnomecast #170 – Session 0 Redux
by Poddy Gnomington | Aug 16, 2023 | Game Mastering, General, GMing Advice, Gnomecast, Tools for GMs
http://misdirectedmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GC_170_Session0Redux_Final.mp3 Session 0. We’re doing it again. Why? Because it’s important. Why is it important? Because it helps groups understand who the characters they’re playing are, why the characters are doing what they’re doing, places...
Read MoreDragonbane Core Set Review
by Jared Rascher | Aug 14, 2023 | Reviews
In addition to creating RPGs that leverage IP like Aliens and Blade Runner, Free League has also been translating and revamping RPGs previously known to the European market. The game we’re looking at today, Dragonbane, has a storied history. Drakar och Demoner came about in 1982, originally as a...
Read MoreMetagaming? Well, Actually…
by Senda Linaugh | Aug 11, 2023 | General, Player Advice
Metagaming usually gets a bad rap. When people say “metagaming,” visions of know it all players who have read the Monster Manual cover to cover and memorized the stats, abilities, and weaknesses of every monster dance through our heads. Who wants to play with that person? Where is the fun in...
Read MoreThe NPC Creator Checklist
by Chris Sniezak | Aug 9, 2023 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice, Tools for GMs
I’m not a trained actor. I’ve never taken an acting class. I don’t even really have any talent for acting. But I love playing characters, and one of my favorite things as a GM is playing all the different NPCs that the players interact with. For instance, there are these intelligent Kobolds I use...
Read More
It Came From The Stew Pot
Gnome Stew do awesome things for everyone!
What Are People Saying?
What are people saying?
“Gnome Stew is like a one-stop shop for GMing tips. Written by a group of seasoned, passionate and friendly Game Masters, the Stew has rapidly become THE reference GMing blog of the RPG blogsphere. It’s regular, high quality content is backed by a strong sense of community based around a solid readership and friendly discussions with the authors.“
Philippe-Antoine Menard, Musings of the Chatty DM
Recent Articles
Our Products
Our Books for GMs
Through our partner Engine Publishing, we've published six system-neutral books for GMs, with over 28,000 copies sold. Available in print and PDF.

The Complete Game Master's Guide to Running Extraordinary Sessions
Click To Find Out More

The Art of Improvisation for Game Masters
Click To Find Out More

The Complete Game Master's Guide to Campaign Management
Click To Find Out More

The Complete Game Master's Guide to Session Prep
Click To Find Out More

1,000 Memorable NPCs for Any Roleplaying Game
Click To Find Out More

501 Adventure Plots to Inspire Game Masters
Click To Find Out More
Through Encoded Designs
Through our partnership in the G.E.M. collective, many of the Gnomes are affiliated with creating products through Encoded Designs. Available in print and PDF.

Gnomes on Podcasts, even a Gnome Only Podcast!
Click To Find Out More

Do you have what it takes to save Neon City in this 80s, neon, cyberpunk game?
Click To Find Out More

Art by Matt Morrow, Characters By Encoded Gnomes
Click To Find Out More

Gnome Phil Vecchione's Dungeon World Hack About Water Rights
Click To Find Out More