Engagement Friction – Things That Can Wear Down Your Campaign
Last month, I wrote about overcoming engagement inertia and how to get your game running to a point where it becomes exciting enough that the interest and engagement in the game help to keep it going. In that article, I talked about frictions that if left unattended can wear down that engagement...
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G.I. Joe Roleplaying Game Review
It’s going to be really hard for me not to share some of my thoughts on G.I. Joe as a property in this review, because in a lot of ways, G.I. Joe was as central to my geeky interests as Star Wars, Spider-Man, and Batman. I received a Snake Eyes action figure almost as soon as the line hit shelves,...
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Gnomecast #140 – The Many Settings of D&D
Join Ang, Jared, and Tomas for a discussion about their experiences and opinions of different settings for Dungeons & Dragons through the years. Can these gnomes live in enough different worlds to keep them out of the stew? Download: Gnomecast #140 – The Many Settings of D&D Links...
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GM Mentoring
Everyone that runs games took their own route to becoming a gamemaster. While some folks (grognards back in the day but also new gamers even today) read the books and dive right in to run games, most of us had to see how games were run by starting out as players. It can be intimidating to take...
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Ideal Game Session Length? The Pros and Cons of Shorter or Longer Games
You’ve probably heard the advice that long games are better than short ones (or vice versa). But what’s the ideal game session length for an RPG? It all depends on a variety of factors. In this article, we’ll take a look at the pros and cons of shorter or longer games sessions, as well as some of...
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Gaming and Sobriety
In many gaming circles, especially if participants are underage, alcohol is not served or imbibed, so it is a non-issue.(Coffee, Cherry Coke Zero, Mountain Dew, tea, or water will work just fine.) However, there are other gaming circles that meet in bars, cons, darkened basements, or restaurants...
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Engagement Force & Inertia
I have for the past few months been running a one-on-one game with my co-host, and all-around lovely human, Senda, and recently our gaming session got disrupted for a few weeks in a row due to life, kids, etc. These things happen. At first, we were both nervous about missing sessions but realized...
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Gnomecast #139 – Flee from James Introcaso!
Jared is joined by very special guest James Introcaso, Lead Designer of MCDM Productions, to discuss “Flee, Mortals!”, the MDCM monster book for 5e. They talk design process and decisions, plus some of James’ other work, both past and future. Download: Gnomecast #139 – Flee...
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Death in Space Review
I love optimistic science fiction. I love being able to envision a future where the world is full of wonder and advancements for the betterment of all. I would argue that Star Trek has been instrumental in maintaining my mental health over the last couple of years. Despite that yearning for an...
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Growing tension mechanic for your game
There are times in your games in which you want tension to increase rapidly. Maybe there’s some sort of time limit to deactivate a bomb, or you are sneaking through a gala full of guards trying not to be seen, but the longer you stay the higher the chance of getting caught. There’s a...
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It Came From The Stew Pot
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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.
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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Never UnpreparedThe Complete Game Master's Guide to Session Prep
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Masks1,000 Memorable NPCs for Any Roleplaying Game
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Eureka501 Adventure Plots to Inspire Game Masters
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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.
Misdirected Mark ProductionsGnomes on Podcasts, even a Gnome Only Podcast!
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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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Character CacheArt by Matt Morrow, Characters By Encoded Gnomes
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Hydro Hacker OperativesGnome Phil Vecchione's Dungeon World Hack About Water Rights
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