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...
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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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…and I love it. Back in November 2019 I attended Kamcon, a budding convention in Canada in its second year of conception. While there I did one of my workshop panels, where I talked about messing with your players and how to secretly manipulate the pacing of the game to a science but...
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This article was jointly written by Senda Linaugh and Wen Reischl. It’s a story we all know. The Popular Girl with a wellspring of opportunity before her (Stacie) meets the Troublemaker with the heart of gold (Harrison). He’s already head over heels in love with her when the story begins, but we...
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When do you game? Is it a weekly thing? Does the date and time change, or is it consistent, like some kind of gaming pact? Holiday Traffic The holidays have a way of disrupting a gaming group’s routine and testing the commitment of each of its members. For some of us, from Thanksgiving to...
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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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