I am currently writing this post with my nose, as my arms are hanging uselessly from my sides like two of those sticky hands from grocery store vending machines; please forgive any typos. You see, being in the midst of what looks suspiciously like a full-fledged midlife crisis, I recently signed...
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Tomorrow is my birthday. I’ll be obtaining my 46th level as a human being. I also received my very first RPG product (the Mentzer D&D red box set) a week or so after my 10th birthday. This means that this month, I’ll be bumping up to a level 36 RPG slinger with the archetype of...
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Here are some of @danielhkwan’s favourite tools for adding more narrative drama to your D&D games! Huzzah!
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Over the last few years, whenever I watch a movie at home, it is not uncommon for me to do so with a notebook next to me. It started, where most things did for me, with Star Wars. Back when I was running multiple FFG Star Wars campaigns, I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t losing touch with...
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This past week I was at Origins and doing my best to play all the RPGs I could. Mostly I ran games, meaning it was my job to get the game started. That means from sitting down at the table, getting characters made, and then getting the story going. I did this for a number of games, Hydro Hackers,...
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Most of the time, the tactile sensations players get during the game are limited to their pencil, character sheet, dice, and mini on the board. As GMs, we can take it to the next level by leveraging handouts, props, and auditory mood setting. Handouts Handouts are a great, and usually...
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Here in a few weeks, I’ll be firing up a new campaign based on The Expanse (books/TV/RPG), so this has gotten me thinking about “using someone else’s setting” quite a bit. This is an especially potent concept for The Expanse. There are (as of this writing) eight books with...
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There’s a bit of advice that floats around writing workshops, conferences, classes, and such that goes: Your setting should be a character. It’s good advice but (like most advice) maybe it doesn’t always apply in every situation. Today, I’m going to assume it does apply to...
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Last month I got on my soapbox about prep, specifically talking about how it does not matter how long your prep is, and I thought I would stay on the topic and talk about how I prep a game today. This article will be a snapshot of my prep process because this is a GM skill that constantly...
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To create a game is to learn that the act of gaming is more important than your creation. The same can be said for preparing a game. The activity is bigger than the product or plan. The product is a tool of the activity, not the other way around. The same could be said about...
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