Uncharted Journeys Review
Before I ever had a chance run a game of Dungeons & Dragons, after acquiring my sister’s copy of the 1981 Basic Set, I received my very own copy of the 1983 version of the D&D Expert Set. The Expert Set is what introduces wilderness travel as a key aspect of the D&D experience, and...
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Campaign Prep With ChatGPT
Matt shows some examples of how ChatGPT can be used as prep tools for your game.
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GNOMECAST #160 – One Bad Player to Make a Change
Today we have myself, Ang, along with Jared and JT. Today we’re going to talk about how one bad player can make you change how you GM, in both good and bad ways.
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Setting expectations before a game – GM Tips & Tricks
This past week I managed to try out a game I’ve been looking forward to play for a long time: Mork Borg. It was a one-shot with a group of 5 friends, only one of which having played with me before (and only once). Mork Borg, for those who don’t know, is very different from your usual...
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Demigods Review
If you follow my reviews, it’s probably fairly evident that I like modern urban fantasy, especially when it comes to the monster-hunting aspect of the genre. There is another aspect of modern urban fantasy that often seizes my imagination, as well, and that’s stories about how gods and demigods...
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GNOMECAST #159 – Playing for an Audience
Today we have Ang along with Phil & Senda. Today their going to talk about playing for an audience. With Panda’s. No. Wait. They’re the Panda’s. Just listen. It’ll make sense quickly.
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B2 Tips To The Players – Revisited
B2: The Keep on the Borderlands, Part Two I’m not going to summarize the history and purpose of the venerable module know as “The Keep on the Borderlands” again. You can check out my previous article on this topic for that information. Instead, I’m going to dive into the...
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Problems not Solutions
Let me share with you some of the best GMing advice I have ever received. I learned it from the game Dogs in the Vineyard, by Vincent Baker. The advice, which was advice on how to run Dogs goes something like this, to paraphrase… Your job as the GM is to set up problems, but never to solve them....
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Court of Blades Review
Blades in the Dark made a tremendous splash in the RPG hobby upon its arrival. While its Apocalypse World DNA could still be seen, between the process of narrative negotiation and procedural triggers, it was truly a unique child of an auspicious parent. We’ve seen many different genres expressed...
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Gnomecast #158 – Plot v Agency
Today ‘s episode is going to talk about how to balance the GM’s plot with the players’ agency.
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Plan Out Your Campaign by Using Only One Word – GM Tips
With my 7+ years GMing I’ve started to notice a pattern I create in the campaigns I run. While it can seem applicable to campaigns made by other people, such as the ones being streamed, I find it easier to contemplate this in my own games I run, as I have a total view of what is behind the...
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A Review of Hasbro Dicelings
I’m a sucker for unusual dice, so when Hasbro announced Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Dicelings, dice that transform into monster figurines, I preordered immediately. Despite the preorder estimating that they would be shipped in March, I was pleasantly surprised to receive them...
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Under the Seas of Vodari Review
For prosperity, let it be known in the year of this writing, 2023, in the first month of the year, there was much that distracted those who would write about RPGs. In an effort to better serve you, the reader, I have attempted to partition the section of my mental hard drive that contains January...
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Gnomecast #157 – Splitting the Party
http://misdirectedmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GC_157_Splitting_the_Party-_Final.mp3 You go down that hallway and I’ll go down this one. You want to split the party? Is that a good idea? Well, Ang, Thomas, and Chris are here to tell you why it is, some tips for how to do it well, and...
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B2 DM Advice – Revisited
B2: The Keep on the Borderlands If you’ve been in the RPG hobby for long enough (almost four decades for me), then you’ve at least heard of The Keep on the Borderlands. The module was published by TSR in 1980 (and updated in 1981) to support the Basic D&D system box set created by...
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It Came From The Stew Pot
Calling all Writers! Come write for Gnome Stew!
We are always looking for new articles and gnomes to throw in the stew. Drop an article proposal over at
https://gnomestew.com/write-for-gnome-stew/
Guest authors get paid the same per article rate as full time staff gnomes.
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