Some people love using miniatures in tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons because they provide a visual representation of where things are on the table. Others dislike them because they can take up space or get knocked over easily if you’re not careful. In this latter, the “theater...
Read More
Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) games have changed the landscape in a lot of very positive ways, but the one that has resonated most at my table – even feeding into other games – is the idea of “failing forward.” That is, creating a partial failure that moves the plot, or at minimum...
Read More
Put away the ski mask, you absolute sociopath. This is about doing bad things in gaming, and what you do on your own time is between you and your defense attorney. If you’ve been gaming for any amount of time, you’re familiar with most of the old adages about how to make a good game: “show, don’t...
Read More
I’m currently running not one, but two experimental campaigns on weekends in Roll20; the experimental question is “how little worldbuilding can I get away with?” And the answer, it turns out, is very little. I started with this map from DeviantArt, made four gods, one quest-giver NPC, an evil...
Read More
Any given game that you pick up off a shelf (or grab from itch.io) is an experience, geared toward creating a specific type of story: a fantasy skirmish simulator, a Jane-Austenesque adventure in manners, or living life as a cozy lesbian snake to name just a few. But sometimes you want to mix and...
Read More
How do you run better games? You deliver more immersive stories. The Recipe Rising Tension Invoking a Variety of the Five Senses A Risk Worth Putting It All on the Line For Delegating to the Dice In the time honored tradition of tabletop role-playing games, the outcomes of...
Read More
If you’re just here for the links, here they are. These are all available through DriveThruRPG because I’m lazy, and it’s really easy to find free models on there. If you click on any of these products, you’ll also see a bunch of free “customers who bought this title also purchased” options at the...
Read More
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...
Read More
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!
Read More
Want to write better adventures? Want to prep more efficiently? Sick of players skipping all of your best content? Prep Smarter, Not Harder, with Encounter Theory Encounter Theory: The Adventure Design Workbook is a fresh way to look at adventure design by Ben Riggs, the voice of the...
Read More
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.
Through our partner Engine Publishing, we've published six system-neutral books for GMs, with over 28,000 copies sold. Available in print and PDF.
Focal Point
Unframed
Odyssey
Never Unprepared
Masks
EurekaThrough our partnership in the G.E.M. collective, many of the Gnomes are affiliated with creating products through Encoded Designs. Available in print and PDF.
Misdirected Mark Productions
Rockerboys and Vending Machines
Character Cache
Hydro Hacker Operatives