Gnome Stew

Never let it be said that Gnome Stew doesn’t keep up with the times. We’ve heard all this buzz about LLMs and CCCs and ROPs and whatever and we know that the future is AI. It’s one of the few rare advancements in technology that comes with no downsides and has no drama around it....

10 Year Retrospective

by J.T. Evans | Mar 30, 2026 | Game Mastering

10 Years Wow. I’ve been roaming these halls and avoiding the stew pot for 10 years now. Just wow. Rough Start I’ve been writing for Gnome Stew for ten years now. My first article dropped on March 28, 2016. It was an attempt to describe the differences between gaming, narrating, and...

Give ’em A Little Free Play

by Phil Vecchione | Mar 27, 2026 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

My Blades in the Dark campaign is due for some free play soon. After every four or five Scores, I do one whole session that is just free play. No scores. Every character gets their own mini-story for the evening. This is in contrast to where our score sessions are a self-contained story, where the...

Gnomecast 233 – Player Types: The Pros and Cons

by Poddy Gnomington | Mar 25, 2026 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GC_233_Player-Types-The-Pros-and-Cons.mp3 Join Ang along with Jared and friend of the show, Carl Lehman, as they talk about four different player types we often see at our tables. We go over the good and the bad they can bring to the table and offer...

Gnomecast 232 – The Art of the Con Game

by Poddy Gnomington | Mar 11, 2026 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GC_232_Art-of-the-con-game_Final.mp3 Join Ang along with guests Jason Haskins and Mike Mistele as they talk about the components that make for a good convention one-shot! Links: Origins Game Fair Matinee...

Prep is Aspirational

by Phil Vecchione | Feb 27, 2026 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

Last month, I talked about When Play Does Not Go To Prep, mostly about how deviations are normal and ways to adjust your story when it drifts from your prep. There is something that is underlying that previous article that I wanted to expand more about today. I want to talk more about the nature...

Gnomecast 231 – Running Published Adventures

by Poddy Gnomington | Feb 25, 2026 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GC_231_Running-Published-Adventures_final.mp3 Join Ang along with Josh and JT as they talk about the ins and outs of running published adventures! Whether it’s easier or harder and tips and tricks on how to make them work for you. Links:...

Flirting With the Homies

by Josh Storey | Feb 13, 2026 | GMing Advice

This Valentine’s Day, if you want to add a little romance to your games, you should be armed with the knowledge of what goes into creating a satisfying romance arc. The ingredients and…techniques…required to bring two (or more) characters to their…narrative climax. So sit down. It’s time we have The Talk.

Gnomecast 230 – The Points of Metacurrency

by Poddy Gnomington | Feb 11, 2026 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GC_230-Metacurency_final.mp3 Join Ang along with Chris and Tomas as they talk about the finer points of metacurrencies. What are they, what design purpose do they serve, and why do our players love them? Links: Mutants & Masterminds 4th Edition...

Giants Deserve Better

by Drew Bassett | Feb 2, 2026 | Game Mastering, General, GMing Advice

In many TTRPGs, giants have become a simple, escalating challenge: bigger and bigger versions of essentially the same thing, to encounter in tactical fights as your characters progress. A scalable threat, with a side serving of elemental power.

When Play does not go to Prep

by Phil Vecchione | Jan 30, 2026 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

A few weeks ago, I was running my Blades in the Dark campaign, in the Free Play stage, waiting for the players to finish gathering information to kick off their score. I figured they needed to get a few details uncovered to be ready. I had even given them a few hints in the narrative prelude,...

Gnomecast 229 – M&M 4E with Steve Kenson & Alex Thomas

by Poddy Gnomington | Jan 28, 2026 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GC_230_Mutants-and-Masterminds-with-Kenson-and-Thomas_final.mp3 Join Ang along with special guests Steve Kenson and Alex Thomas from Green Ronin as they talk about Mutants & Masterminds Fourth Edition. You know Ang loves all things super heroes,...

What Is a Situation in an RPG? How to Create Dynamic Play.

by Chris Sniezak | Jan 19, 2026 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice, Tools for GMs

There’s an idea that adventures are like trains. Each train car is a scene that has an obstacle. You need to overcome the obstacle in the train car before you move onto the next train car. When you get to the last train car the adventure is over. You get off the train at the station and then get...

Gnomecast 228 – From LARP to Tabletop with Ericka Skirpan

by Poddy Gnomington | Jan 14, 2026 | Gnomecast

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GC_229_from-larp-to-tabletop-with-Ericka-Skirpan_Final_a.mp3 Join Senda with Erika Skirpan as they have a conversation about safety in LARPs and Tabletop RPGs and how to do it in ways that enhance your games. Links: Mooney Bin Entertainment Sinking...

Fresh Starts

by J.T. Evans | Jan 12, 2026 | Game Mastering, GMing Advice

It’s a new year! Time for resolutions (I don’t do those, BTW). Time for fresh outlooks on life. Time to plan some goals (I do make goals for the year, BTW). Time for some fresh starts. These fresh starts can come in many forms. New characters. New campaigns. New games. New Systems. New...

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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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What are people saying?

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