Among my many life regrets is that I do not have my own theme music. But you know who does? Aliyah of the Dust, a mystical Nano who performs miracles. So does Xiao Mei, a sword warrior able to wield her Da Dao (a Chinese machete-like blade) to generate windstorms. In fact, each of the characters I...
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The pandemic made it harder to stay engaged with our games. Video calls introduce distance because of the screen divide and the infinitesimal delay in responses. I like to be all in on my characters and my stories, so I found myself finding new ways to engage with the games, sometimes alone and...
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A few months back, during a short Star Wars campaign, my character made the brilliant decision to put on an enviro suit, go outside the space station built inside an asteroid, and try to sneak up on an Imperial troop ship blocking our landing bay. One of my friends looked at me with a raised...
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It’s the third week since my mentor was declared dead. She’s been missing for five years, after she went out on a search to find her per cryptid – the Pronghorned Desert Rat (dipodomys antilocapra). It’s obvious that we must carry on her research as its habitat is in danger – but why am I blocked...
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Thirty minutes into the session, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, our unlikely heroes finally catch up to the malicious war band that ransacked their village. In the events of a single hour, our characters lives were forever changed by the savage pillaging for their war effort. They didn’t...
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Ask yourself the following questions. When you sit down at a table, are your attitude and contributions warm, appreciative and thankful? Do you express gratitude during the event? Would your presence and performance be considered agreeable, welcoming and/or refreshing? Don’t let me lose you on the...
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With everything digital right now as we social distance, it’s hard to lose the physical aspects of gaming. From the roll of physical dice to the tweaking and painting of minis, shared tactile map drawing, and the creation of game artifacts, we enjoy the accoutrements of gaming from a purely...
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This article originally appeared on my blog which you can find here. In the past, I’ve heard some comments that in addition to reviews, some readers would appreciate some thoughts on actual play. I’ve got a few of these articles on my blog, and I wanted to share this one here,...
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I think this article is more geared as “player advice,” but I think GMs should pay attention as well. There are many ways to hook a character into the plot line of the story during session zero. Hooks  Ties to locations, NPCs, and the other PCs make sure the PC is involved. Ties to...
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No matter how solid your group is, losing someone always changes the dynamic in some way. For my group, we’ve each fallen into a niche, and we know how to play games that fulfill all of us. When the composition of the group changes, we have to readjust not only for how play feels, but also all the...
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Written by a team of veteran Gamers and Gamemasters, Gnome Stew is a widely read gaming blog with multiple awards, ennies, and thousands of articles. We’re dedicated to helping gamers have more fun at the gaming table.
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