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Gnomecast #100 – GMing Advice We Wish We’d Had When We Started
Join a whole stewpotful of gnomes for the 100th episode of Gnomecast! In this episode, each gnome ladles out a piece of GMing advice they’d give to their younger selves just starting out as GMs. Can this blatant breach of time travel protocol keep any of these gnomes out of the stew?...
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You’re not getting the most you can out of your inspiration points
I tend to be a very generous Game Master. I give players a lot of options, and I pick generously from the monster manual when challenges need to rear their ugly heads (all of them… Hydras are fun… Sorry Nym, Jarrah, Zinnia, and Emil… you’ll survive… probably…...
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Mysterious Hooks
I think this article is more geared as “player advice,” but I think GMs should pay attention as well. There are many ways to hook a character into the plot line of the story during session zero. Hooks Ties to locations, NPCs, and the other PCs make sure the PC is...
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To Sandbox or Not to Sandbox
I don’t like sandboxes. Sand is coarse and rough and irritating — and it gets everywhere. Oh wait. Wrong kind of sand. I hear those unfamiliar with the term asking, “But Ang, what is a sandbox game?” A sandbox game is one in which the GM has created a world that the players are allowed to explore...
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Kids on Brooms Review
There comes a point in every student’s career when they really, really wish they were learning something that would grant them more direct power over their environment. It is part of what seizes our imagination about schools that teach people how to use mysterious powers or abilities. Hunters...
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Character Dependents
As followers of my posts know, I wrapped up a long-running D&D campaign recently. I’m already thinking ahead to what challenges and quests I can throw at those same “retired” characters by fast forwarding ten or twenty years into the future if and when we pick those...
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Gnomecast #99 – Honey and Hot Wax with Sharang Biswas and Lucian Kahn
Join Senda and special guests Sharang Biswas and Lucian Kahn for a discussion about their recently released anthology of sexuality-themed games, Honey and Hot Wax. The wax may be hot, but is it as hot as being thrown in the stew? Content warning: While not graphic or particularly focused on sex,...
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Charging A Meta Tax
When I was in my Monday night Zoom game this week, the GM’s kid came into the room and an interaction like this ensued: Kid: “Hey, I was reading ahead in the book and I see we’re going to be fighting a green dragon. I want to buy stuff to protect against acid!” GM:...
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Coping with Multiple Personalities
A party at the palace. A meeting of the ruling council of a secret cabal. A tense negotiation between leaders. There are many situations in which game masters can find themselves having to play multiple NPCs during the same scene. These scenes can often prove challenging as the GM has to switch...
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Final Rewards
As you can probably tell, I’ve been in the midst of finishing up a campaign that ran for a good long time. We almost hit 16 months during the course of near-weekly gameplay. The ultimate battle against the twisted storm giant king leading an army against the walls of Waterdeep tested the...
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Written by a team of veteran Gamers and Gamemasters, Gnome Stew is a widely read gaming blog with multiple awards and thousands of articles. We're dedicated to helping gamers have more fun at the gaming table.
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Focal PointThe Complete Game Master's Guide to Running Extraordinary Sessions
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UnframedThe Art of Improvisation for Game Masters
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OdysseyThe Complete Game Master's Guide to Campaign Management
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Rockerboys and Vending MachinesDo you have what it takes to save Neon City in this 80s, neon, cyberpunk game?
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