This week at the Stew, some of us were inspired by a series of disparate recent events to send some love and sentiments out to young gamers, especially those who are marginalized. We wrote these letters to our younger selves, because in you, we see ourselves, and we hope...
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This week at the Stew, some of us were inspired by a series of disparate recent events to send some love and sentiments out to young gamers, especially those who are marginalized. We wrote these letters to our younger selves, because in you, we see ourselves, and we hope...
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It’s an easy decision to listen to this podcast, but not all decisions are that easy! Join Ang, Phil, and Senda on this episode of the Gnomecast as they discuss Senda’s Gnome Stew article “Difficult Decisions in Your Game.” https://gnomestew.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Gnomecast-036.mp3 Download here: Gnomecast #36 – GMing Difficult Decisions Keep...
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A few months back, I was reading a post over on Tenkar’s Tavern about one of Tenkar’s most/least favorite topics and I discovered a link to a kickstarter I had missed from back in 2015 (funded, but still unfulfilled from what I gather). It was for “Deck Dice” –...
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So, the household’s budding roleplayer, a sixth-grader, asked innocently — and insightfully — enough about this trope: “Why start in a tavern?” Fair enough question, considering he’s never been in a tavern, let alone one catering to adventurers. But even as a young gamer, he’s already challenging...
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Featured image is of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, sourced from The Poetry Foundation. You can find the first part of this article posted here. I’ve found myself more and more intrigued with single player roleplaying games. The Beast by Aleksandra Sontowska and Kamil Węgrzynowicz is an unsettling erotic...
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The original Pathfinder roleplaying game beta launched at Gen Con in 2008. At the time, I was one of the volunteers for the brand-new Pathfinder Society, and attended the “Future of Pathfinder” seminar held that year. Now, in 2018, I was at Gary Con, when it became clear that...
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In writing fiction, a popular concept to make things harder on your main character is a concept called, “Yes, but; No, and.” At a high level, you present a character with a challenge and then ask the ever-important question of, “Did the character succeed?” If the answer is “yes”...
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Did you hear the big gaming news last week? Paizo announced they’re working on a second edition for Pathfinder. Cue the Sturm und Drang of the conflicting excitement and irritation that the announcement of a new edition always elicits. Have they released another wave of the endless Edition Wars...
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Phil Vecchione wrote an article on safety tools at the table, and we were approached around the same time about an article on larping lessons that could be applied to tabletop RPGs regarding safety. Since the topic of safety at the table is one of incredible importance, we decided...
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Join Ang and get to know the newest Gnome, Kira, in this new episode of the Gnomecast! Enjoy this full episode of getting to know a gnome and learn about Kira’s game design and snake babies. Will Kira successfully avoid the stew, or will her first appearance be...
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One of the channels that keeps popping up in my YouTube feed is Puffin Forrest. It’s a guy who animates stories from RPGs he has played or run. For the most part I get a laugh out of these or shake my head at the shenanigans he has had...
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I grew up in the 1980’s when D&D came in two flavors: Basic and Advanced. Back then, we just played the game and didn’t worry about table safety and how people felt. That was in a large part for two reasons: First, we lacked the experience and lexicon to describe...
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The night was cold, the fireplace was roaring, and we were gnawing on the delicious ratatouille and fresh baked bread our host Leslie had made. We warded off the three adorable pups as we idly chatted and a few people lazily looked over the Monsterhearts skins. It finally happened,...
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Recently a gamer friend sent me a message asking for my perspective about a situation that unfolded at a game table where they were a player. In the situation, some players and the game master were directing a player on how to spend her turn. Shortly afterwards, an article...
Read MoreWritten by a team of veteran Gamers and Gamemasters, Gnome Stew is a widely read gaming blog with multiple awards and close to 3,000 articles. We're dedicated to helping gamers have more fun at the gaming table. Over 2 million visitors can't be wrong!
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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 Point
Unframed
Odyssey
Never Unprepared
Masks
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Misdirected Mark Productions
Rockerboys and Vending Machines
Character Cache
Hydro Hacker Operatives