Before we went on our Christmas break (12/24 through 1/4, returning to normal posting 1/5), I asked all of the gnomes to choose their favorite three articles they’d written since our launch in May 2008. These guys have written a massive amount of GMing material — 260+ articles! — in the past seven months, and I thought this would be a good way to highlight some of the best articles you might never have seen.

From now through the end of our break, we’ll be running five posts like this one, each featuring two gnomes’ favorites.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year from us gnomes!

Martin Ralya

1. A GM’s First Impressions of D&D 4e: Looks Like Fun: “This was the first review I’ve ever written that I actually had fun writing. I wasn’t worried about being objective, or obsessively covering every detail — other reviewers are much better at that. I focused on providing context for my opinion, and then just shared my thoughts on what turned out to be a really great RPG. The timing was also right for this review to hit Slashdot, and it helped put Gnome Stew on the map.”

2. Review: The Ultimate Dice Bag: “I know, I know: two out of three of my favorite articles I’ve written for this site are reviews. But I love this review — and, after months of weekly use, I still love the dice bag. I corresponded with the crafter who makes these bags, Marsbarn of Marsbarn Designs, before and after writing my review, and she’s a genuinely nice person — which really just sealed how much fun this review turned out to be.”

3. You Should Quit GMing, Right Now: “This was one of those curveball posts that popped into my head and landed on the site without much premeditation. I didn’t know how readers would take it, but I decided to not worry about it and just see what happened. It was well received, so clearly I should troll my own blog more often.”

Want to read all of Martin’s articles? Make with the clicky.

Adam Nave

(Adam retired from the Stew, so I picked three of his articles to highlight. -Martin)

1. 12 Ways to Use Google Apps at the Game Table: “Adam’s first article on the Stew remains my favorite — this was a killer launch piece, and applicable to tons of GMs. My group uses Google extensively for our games, as do many others. If you’ve never leveraged what the big G has to offer, check this one out.”

2. Spicing Up Combat: “Taking up Sektor’s idea in the Suggestion Pot, Adam took a freeform approach with this article. He provided several good ideas for changing your expectations — and your players’ expectations — about how a typical RPG combat should go. Good stuff.”

3. Alternate Settings for Feng Shui: “Feng Shui is an RPG I’ve always wanted to play, and apart from one partial session many years ago, it’s just never happened. I love the idea of playing a Feng Shui game set in the universe of the Chronicles of Riddick, or El Mariachi — just two of the suggestions Adam makes in this article.”

Want to read all of Adam’s articles? Make with the clicky.