There are quite a few world building articles (and podcasts) on Gnome Stew. Heck, I’ve even written one. However, that’s not the point of this article. I’m not going to talk about tectonic plates, rivers, mountains, trees, natural and political boundaries, and so on that make up...
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In my most recent Cortex Prime game, Aux, one of the players was making a roll to repair an ancient, alien machine. A roll that, back at the start of the campaign over a year ago, was a bit of a daunting task, and one that could result in failures with unexpected consequences. The stakes were no...
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Last week, my year-and-a-half campaign I ran of Kids on Brooms was brought to an end. However, despite the campaign being over, the story was not. I decided to bring it to an end before we came to a conclusion to the story. We all probably have campaigns we were a part of that ended abruptly....
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http://misdirectedmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GC_170_Session0Redux_Final.mp3 Session 0. We’re doing it again. Why? Because it’s important. Why is it important? Because it helps groups understand who the characters they’re playing are, why the characters are doing what they’re doing, places...
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I’m not a trained actor. I’ve never taken an acting class. I don’t even really have any talent for acting. But I love playing characters, and one of my favorite things as a GM is playing all the different NPCs that the players interact with. For instance, there are these intelligent Kobolds I use...
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http://misdirectedmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GC_169_Plotseeds_Final.mp3 Not every seed that’s planted in the ground grows, which is why you need to get some fertile soil, space your seeds in the soil properly, water them as needed, and monitor those seeds as they begin to sprout and grow....
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A few weeks ago, one of my players in my Cortex Prime game was not feeling well. We canceled the session. As the next session came up, that same player reminded us they had a family obligation and would not be able to play, but encouraged the rest of the group to play. So we did. This gaming group...
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Matt briefly discusses social contracts and how they interact with bad behavior.
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http://misdirectedmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GC_167_Partiesliketheonesyoudanceat-Mixdown-1.mp3 We’re talking about parties. Not adventuring parties. Masquerades, balls, shindigs, gatherings, formal dances, ragers, raves, and festivals. Chris and Jared want to help you drop that...
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In a recent episode of Panda’s Talking Games, my co-host, Senda and I were talking about how much space GMs give for players to solve problems. Not space as in time, but in possible solutions to the problem. This got me thinking because, in my 40 years of GMing, I have tried a number of ways, and...
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Hey you. Yeah, you. Do you know about Gnomecast 21? Why isn’t it in the archives? What are they hiding? If you value your safety… don’t go searching for Gnomecast 21…
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