In 2011 I offered to DM a 4-hour session of DnD as part of a silent auction for NAMI. My friend Toni bid on it, totally not out of pity. On the successful note of raising a whopping $20, Toni told me she wanted to play with her wife and two friends except… none of them had ever played DnD...
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The Obvious: Distraction I know a few (probably more than a few) GMs who don’t want or allow technology at their table. That’s their call, and I urge players to respect it. This is because devices, especially those with online capability, can lead to distractions in the form of text...
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The town of Foot is the home base of any Airy Peaks campaign. It’s a place for adventurers to rest between delves into the Peaks, pick up rumors, spend their coin, make alliances and enemies with other adventurers, find hirelings, and get caught up in an intrigue or two — especially since it’s the...
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Just when you thought that the idea of a session zero wasn’t nerdy enough, along I come to show you how I recently upped the nerd-ante, hopefully to my benefit, the benefit of my players, and the game as a whole. If you are not familiar with the concept of session zero, it is basically a session...
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I wanted to share my experience running micro-sessions — all under and hour — for my two teen sons. I’m using the d20 Modern system, or at least a bare bones version of it. Everyone at the table has mastered this rules set, which is something to keep in mind if you wish to mimic the experience....
Read More As you emerge from the Pineward Forest you see the mountains known as the Airy Peaks. They loom in the north, grey, black, and unnaturally bare of snow. The Red Runner River guides your approach to the mountains and the town known as Foot. The river narrows as you come up to a stone bridge arching...
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Podcaster, game designer, and professional GM Daniel Kwan breaks down how to become a GM-for-hire in his latest editorial.
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Tactical RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, Savage Worlds, and the AGE family of games (Blue Rose, Dragon Age, and the upcoming The Expanse RPG) offer an experience completely unlike more story-based games. While they can certainly contain any amount of intrigue, tense character moments, and plots as...
Read More There are a lot of areas that are a part of the Airy Peaks, twenty-three last time I counted but I might have lost some and added some along the way that I’m forgetting about. These aren’t twenty-three rooms — they are twenty-four adventure locations. It’s intended to be a massive place and I...
Read More Last time I introduced the Airy Peaks, talked about the premise of this megadungeon, and the way I found to have a successful campaign around a megadungeon that lasted. Check that out here:Welcome to the Airy Peaks. Today I want to dive into the Dragon’s Plot and how that can help inform the story...
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