Category: Approaches and Techniques

Tabletop RPGs: Miniatures or Not?

Posted by tangibleday | Nov 26, 2021 | Approaches and Techniques, General

Some people love using miniatures in tabletop...

Failing Forward: How to Make Failure Interesting In RPGs

Posted by Chuck Lauer | Aug 20, 2021 | Approaches and Techniques, Game Mastering, General, GMing Advice, Tools for GMs

How to Do Bad Things and Get Away with It: Advice for the Contrary Game Master and Player

Posted by Chuck Lauer | Apr 12, 2021 | Approaches and Techniques, Game Mastering, GMing Advice

Put away the ski mask, you absolute sociopath....

The Power of ClichÃ©: Why Being Original Isn’t as Important as Being Interesting

Posted by Chuck Lauer | Mar 5, 2021 | Approaches and Techniques, Game Mastering, General, GMing Advice

I’m currently running not one, but two...

Actually, It’s Gamenstein’s Monster: Ideas to Stitch Together Into Your Own Monstrosity

Posted by Chuck Lauer | Jan 20, 2021 | Approaches and Techniques, Game Mastering, General, GMing Advice, Specific RPGs, Tools for GMs

Any given game that you pick up off a shelf (or...

A Block Tower With Benefits

Posted by Pete Petrusha | Sep 21, 2020 | Approaches and Techniques, Game Making, Game Mastering, General, GMing Ideas, Products for GMs, Tools for GMs

How do you run better games? You deliver...

7+ Fast, Free Papercrafts to Surprise Your Players

Posted by Chuck Lauer | Apr 10, 2020 | Approaches and Techniques, General, Tools for GMs

If you’re just here for the links, here they...

Don’t Doubt Your Gaming Group

Posted by Pete Petrusha | Dec 16, 2019 | Approaches and Techniques, Common Problems, Game Mastering, GMing Advice, Player Perspective

When do you game? Is it a weekly thing? Does the...

So You Want to Write an Asian Campaign Setting (Part 1: Historical China)

Posted by Daniel Kwan | Nov 29, 2019 | Approaches and Techniques, Campaigns, Editorials, Game Mastering, Tools for GMs, Worldbuilding

So you want to try your hand at creating an East Asian Fantasy campaign setting? Start with some valuable research from Daniel Kwan’s favourites!

Exploring Encounter Theory: How to Craft RPG Adventures

Posted by Pete Petrusha | Sep 23, 2019 | Approaches and Techniques, Encounters, Game Mastering, GMing Advice, Improving Your GMing, Intro to Game Mastering, Nature of GMing, Prep, Products for GMs, Tools for GMs

Want to write better adventures? Want to prep...

Getting Players to GM

Posted by Pete Petrusha | Jul 22, 2019 | Approaches and Techniques, Common Problems, GMing Advice, Improving Your GMing, Intro to Game Mastering, Players, Role of the GM, Tools for GMs

As a GM, do you really get to play like everyone...

An Elementary Alternative to Combat (Air/Earth)

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

Tactical RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, Savage...

Are Two Stories Better than One?

Posted by Craig Dedrick | Feb 8, 2019 | Approaches and Techniques, Campaigns, Game Mastering, GMing Advice

Â A number of years ago, I decided to try...

My Favourite Visual Aid for TTRPGs: the Index Card RPG

Posted 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!

Flashbacks with Alternate PCs

Posted by Martin-TT | Oct 15, 2007 | Approaches and Techniques

My group was short one player for our D&D...

It Came From The Stew Pot

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…

What Are People Saying?

What are people saying?

“Gnome Stew is like a one-stop shop for GMing tips. Written by a group of seasoned, passionate and friendly Game Masters, the Stew has rapidly become THE reference GMing blog of the RPG blogsphere. It’s regular, high quality content is backed by a strong sense of community based around a solid readership and friendly discussions with the authors.“

Philippe-Antoine Menard, Musings of the Chatty DM

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