Tools for GMs

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Daniel Kwan’s Guide to being a Professional GM

by Daniel Kwan | Feb 20, 2019 | Editorials, Game Mastering, GMing Advice, GMing Community, Tools for GMs

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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An Elementary Alternative to Combat (Air/Earth)

by Chuck Lauer | Feb 18, 2019 | Approaches and Techniques, Game Mastering, GMing Advice, Tools for GMs

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...

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The Airy Peaks – Point Crawling (03)

by Chris Sniezak | Feb 11, 2019 | Design Journals, Game Making, Game Mastering, GMing Advice, Tools for GMs

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...

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The Airy Peaks – A Dragon’s Plot (02)

by Chris Sniezak | Feb 4, 2019 | Design Journals, Game Making, Game Mastering, GMing Advice, Tools for GMs

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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Welcome to the Airy Peaks (01)

by Chris Sniezak | Feb 1, 2019 | Design Journals, Game Making, Game Mastering, Tools for GMs

Hey folks. This will be a series of articles that shows off the Airy Peaks, a fantasy setting. Over the course of several articles with the Airy Peaks tag, you’ll find a bunch of stuff you can use in your fantasy games, including but not limited to a town called Foot, maps of the areas of the...

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Making Music Mandatory

by crazypenguinguy | Jan 30, 2019 | Game Mastering, Tools for GMs

Not everyone uses ambient music during their tabletop sessions, and it really should be used as a tool whenever possible. Background music holds the power to change even a mediocre reveal into a grand revelation! Music has transcended being a pleasant tabletop accompaniment, evolving into a...

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My Favourite Visual Aid for TTRPGs: the Index Card RPG

by Daniel Kwan | Jan 29, 2019 | Approaches and Techniques, GMing Advice, Improving Your GMing, Tools for GMs

Are visual aids a must-have element in your TTRPG sessions? Professional GM Daniel H. Kwan breaks down his favourite tool for creating dynamic and engaging stories!

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A Solution For Drop-Ins, Casuals, And Other Sans Character Players

by Matthew J. Neagley | Jan 23, 2019 | Tools for GMs

I, like I suspect many GMs, have a “player” that I have difficulty actually getting into a game. There are many reasons for this, but the one I want to focus on is a specific type. They want to play. They like to play, BUT: Read a rulebook? Fill out a character sheet? Come up with a...

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Our game space and some ideas for yours!

by Paige Leitman | Jan 14, 2019 | Common Problems, Gaming Trends, Nature of GMing, Organization, Tools for GMs

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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Quick Quirks

by J.T. Evans | Dec 14, 2018 | Game Mastering, Tools for GMs

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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