Gnome Stew

When searching for words of wisdom for all things tabletop, there’s lots of resources for how to be a good Game Master – but few for being a good player. The GM facilitates the game, but everyone at the table is responsible for cooperation and fun. For those of us who care deeply about making our...

RPG with Friends, Family, and Strangers

by Lori Caskey-Sigety | Sep 21, 2022 | General

Dr. Lisa Su states that “Gaming brings people together.” There are benefits and drawbacks of playing RPGs with people we know versus people we don’t. There are advantages and disadvantages to gaming with the people we are closest to, and the people we’ve never met. This article...

GNOMECAST #148 – Know When to Roll’em

by Chris Sniezak | Sep 14, 2022 | Gnomecast

On this episode we’re going to talk about that GM skill of knowing when to ask for dice rolls and went to not. As the saying goes, “Y’gotta know when to roll ‘em, y’gotta know when to hold ‘em…”

Hunter the Reckoning Review

by Jared Rascher | Sep 12, 2022 | General

In the 90s, when the World of Darkness became the hottest thing in RPGs, I was on the outside looking in. My friends went off to college, and our gaming got more and more sporadic. That meant that I didn’t really want to spend time learning a new system and exploring what all of this was about. In...

Gen Con 2022: The Good and The Bad

by Lori Caskey-Sigety | Sep 7, 2022 | Cons and Events, General

Like any vacation, Gen Con is a mixed bag of mostly fun and minor frustration. Sometimes you roll a 20 and occasionally you roll a 1. This year was a mixed dice bag, but I’m grateful to have the opportunity to visit Indy, enjoy the Con, and hang out with my gaming fam. In this article, I...

A Simpler Alternative D&D Currency System

by John Arcadian | Sep 5, 2022 | General

I’m currently running a D&D game in the Final Fantasy XIV world setting using a modified version of the excellent FFXIV x DND homebrew. At its core, it’s still D&D 5e, but I’ve been taking the opportunities the setting gives me to tweak and open up some of the systems to...

The Art of Improvisation in Role Playing Games

by tangibleday | Sep 2, 2022 | General

Are you a DM or player and stuck in a situation you didn’t expect? Improvisation might be the key to get you out! Improvisation is an important skill in any form of performance, but it’s especially vital in role playing games. When you’re playing a character in an RPG, you never...

GNOMECAST #147 – One DnD

by Chris Sniezak | Aug 31, 2022 | Gnomecast

Welcome to the GnomeCast, the Gnome Stew’s tabletop gaming advice podcast. Here we talk with the other gnomes about gaming things to avoid becoming part of the stew. So I guess we’d better be good. Today we have myself Ang, along with Jared, Chris and Lori. We’re going to talk about our thoughts...

Stuck in the Doldrums

by Phil Vecchione | Aug 26, 2022 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

There are times as GMs when we get burned out. We have too much going on, the game is not going right, etc. We get to a point where we don’t want to run the game, and we either cancel a session or sometimes kill a campaign to end the suffering. Other times, everything is great with your game, but...

Get Inspiration by Watching Others GM

by Tomas Gimenez Rioja | Aug 24, 2022 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

Having a friend that is looking to DM a game in the near future, with another one having an eye on other systems to try GMing, I was asked for GM tips. There are thousands out there on the web, so what new thing do I (the guy who writes about GM tips) have to add that isn’t said as much?...

The Star-Shaman’s Song of Planegea Review

by Jared Rascher | Aug 22, 2022 | Reviews

When I first heard about the product that I’m looking at today, I was very intrigued. There have been a wide variety of fantasy settings used over the history of roleplaying games, but there haven’t been that many forays into a prehistoric setting. When it comes to Dungeons & Dragons settings,...

Spelljammer: Comparing 5e to 2e

by Matthew J. Neagley | Aug 19, 2022 | Reviews

Matt compares 5e Spelljammer to his favorite setting of all time: 2e Spelljammer.

GNOMECAST #146 – MEDIA INFLUENCE

by Poddy Gnomington | Aug 17, 2022 | Gnomecast

Welcome to the GnomeCast, the Gnome Stew’s tabletop gaming advice podcast. Here we talk with the other gnomes about gaming things to avoid becoming part of the stew. So I guess we’d better be good. Today we have myself Ang, along with Jared and Matt and we are going to talk about the D&D movie...

Evil Organizations

by Chris Sniezak | Aug 12, 2022 | Game Mastering, General, Tools for GMs

Evil Organizations are a staple of action adventure stories. They’re expansive, multi-headed groups that heroes fight against again and again. The villains are many, the schemes are devious, their reach is far reaching. I know. I know. It’s bad but true. And the other truth is their goal is...

Review :: Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland

by J.T. Evans | Aug 10, 2022 | Reviews

Just The Facts Title: Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland Author: Graeme Davis Publisher: Free League Publishing Based On: Vaesen by Johan Egerkrans Leave the Mythic North and set sail for the mist-shrouded isles of Mythic Britain and Ireland. Explore the bustling streets of London, discover the...

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It Came From The Stew Pot

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