WHERE you play the game is important. I mean, it’s not as important as having good people, and a good game, but a well-thought-out game space can enhance the enjoyment of any event. Here are a few design principles that I’ve uncovered in the process of creating game spaces in my own home, and in surveying game spaces in other people’s conventions, stores, and homes.
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As any number of language classes have taught most of us, stories are what happens when characters who have goals meet people, places, things, or ideas that prevent them from accomplishing those goals. Most of us can probably name off a handful of the more famous ones: “Gnome vs. Nature,” “Gnome...
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As highlighted in a recent GnomeCast, Ang, Matt, and I talked about how to approach session zero and handle launching a campaign. Near the end of the recording, Matt pondered about how to handle a missing player. I decided to create an article (this one!) about that very occurrence. What does the...
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When a GM is plotting a campaign, one of the things she or he wants to do is identify points of conflict that will directly affect the player characters. Published adventures will have all sorts of thrilling moments and engaging encounters. But making the story personal can often be what makes it...
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A couple weeks ago, I gave the players in my D&D game a mystery that involved some Tressym fleeing the Feywild and the bad things hunting them. Just to be clear for those that may not know, Tressym are essentially flying fairy cats. By the end of the session, they were less concerned with the...
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Many RPGs on the market assert that the PCs are heroic in nature, thus justifying higher stats, more skills, special abilities, better resources, and so on. I have absolutely no problem with this assertion and the resulting “better” characters. However, I feel there are some...
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Some games have quirks, traits, aspects, and other goods along those lines baked right into the game. I’m mainly thinking of GURPS, Hero System, Fate, and Savage Worlds. There are plenty more games that I didn’t list here that have some way to customize and define your characters beyond “I’m a...
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Sometimes you play one of those games that’s just so good, you can’t stop talking about it. I’ve already written several articles inspired by the Tales from the Loop game I played, and so has my fellow gnome Wen — and here, at the end of the campaign, is one more. A tribute to the intensity,...
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I am in the car on my way home from Thanksgiving at my parent’s house. It is the second leg of the trip, and I am now a passenger. We are due home in about two hours, just in time for me to run Scum & Villainy for my Sunday evening group. That was when the text came in. I am not feeling...
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There are a lot of reasons why I go to gaming conventions. I get to meet new people, try new games, and see old friends. One truth that remains constant throughout the varied cons I’ve been to over the years: they succeed or fail based on the GMs and players that they attract. Great GMs give...
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