Game Master Tips & Articles

Since 1999, I've been publishing game master tips, tricks, and advice. Here are the past editions of the Roleplaying Tips Newsletter. To receive my free GM methods, techniques, and solutions to your inbox twice a week, click here to signup.

Roleplaying Tips Archives

#1223 » How To Keep Dungeons Interesting – 5 Ways

#1222 » A Way To Make MegaDungeon Rooms Interesting (Have Your Dice Ready)

#1221 » d12 Ways To Surprise And Delight Your Players And Their Characters

#1220 » Three MegaDungeon Tips

#1219 » Turn Travel Into Fun Setbacks - 3 Ways

#1218 » How To Improvise When Players Do Combat Stunts in OSR RPGs

#1217 » 3 Alternatives to PC Drinking Contests

#1216 » 5 Tips To Creating A Truly Evil Villain

#1215 » How To Create Engaging Session Recaps To Get Players Ready To Play

#1214 » Keeping Unconscious & Dying Characters in Gameplay

#1213 » The Story So Far

#1212 » 1d6 Ways To Create Urgency In Encounters

#1211 » 11 Ways To Make Mysteries Magnificent

#1210 » How To Build Encounters On A Budget

#1209 » A Quick Trick To Generate Details For Your World

#1208 » How To Welcome The New Player

#1207 » How to Motivate Your Players – Part II

#1206 » d6 Tips For a Player’s First Session

#1205 » How to Deal with Silence at the Table

#1204 » My Secret Ingredient For Making Great Puzzles

#1203 » 6 Tips On How To Tie Dungeon Encounters Together

#1202 » How to Write Motivation Into Your Games

#1201 » The Problem With Maps

#1200 » When Players Go Feral — How to Clarify Actions of Misunderstood Players

#1199 » Simple Ways to Keep Fun in Your Games

#1198 » Tips For Lunch Hour Games + Personal Announcement

#1197 » 3 Ways Your Players Can Help You Out Next Session

#1196 » What Do You Do When Characters Fail? — 5 Solutions For You

#1195 » How To Make Every Encounter Interesting

#1194 » How To Improvise Better With Connect & Shift

#1193 » What To Do When Players Miss The Clues?

#1192 » 17 More Tips To Help Your NPCs Survive

#1191 » d10 Things You Can Do With a Dead Character

#1190 » New Players – New Group – New Campaign

#1189 » Wow Your Players With Monster Hunts

#1188 » Rewards: 6 Ways To Help Your Players Develop Compelling Characters During Play

#1187 » How To Adjust After Handing Out Too Much Loot

#1186 » Highlights and Hopes — How to Get Valuable Feedback From Your Players

#1185 » How Can You Take Fast Notes During Sessions?

#1184 » Simple Ways to Enhance Your Magic Items

#1183 » My Simple Sandbox GM Tool – The 5 Actions

#1182 » Encounter Mapping Software – 3 Tips For Choosing The Best One

#1181 » Hear Ye, Hear Ye! A Simple Way To Improve Gameplay, Engagement & Character Outcomes

#1180 » 5 Ways To Warn Players Of A Deadly Challenge

#1179 » 5 Ways To Power Up Your Secret Doors

#1178 » 4 Ways To Surprise Players Who Know All The Monster Stats

#1177 » 3 Quick Horror Tips For Your Halloween Game

#1176 » How To Start Every Session With A Bang!

#1175 » 3 Easy Ideas To Generate Instant Adventure Ideas – Plot Factory Tutorial Part II

#1174 » Visual Aid Session Prep with the Five Room Dungeon

#1173 » Use This Clever Tool To Herd Your Cats – Plot Factories

#1172 » 9 Ways to Prep For Sessions Faster

#1171 » Would You Allow This In Your Game?

#1170 » How Can NPCs Survive Contact With Your Players?

#1169 » Troubles With Green Box Text

#1168 » Do This To Drastically Improve Communication With Players

#1167 » Outsmart Your Players With 3-Step Villain Plans

#1166 » Ripping Up Adventure Drama With A Saw Blade

#1165 » Factions & Villains – 3 Reader GM Tips

#1164 » My 7 Keys to a Great Sandbox Game

#1163 » BLANK

#1162 » Fast 5 Room Dungeons, Clue Tip, Instant Idea Generator, Different Combats – Mail Bag Edition

#1161 » Cunning Combat Strategy – 3 Round Combat Plans For Lightning Combats Part II

#1160 » How to Master Your Craft

#1159 » BLANK

#1158 » How Can You Make Combat Flow?

#1157 » How To Handle Hack & Slash and Plot-Breaking Character Powers

#1156 » Do You Get Bored Of Your Campaigns?

#1155 » 3-Step GM PiXiE Kaizen

#1154 » Don’t Be A Minnie Haul

#1153 » How to Create Situations With 5 Room Dungeons

#1152 » Weaponize Your Villain’s Secret

#1151 » Keep Players Intensely Engaged With the 3 Conflicts

#1150 » A Divine Way to Manage Your Meddling Gods – a 3 Part Framework

#1149 » 3 Round Combat Plans For Lightning Combats – Part II

#1148 » 3 Round Combat Plans For Lightning Combats – Part I

#1147 » Starting a West Marches Campaign – Step By Step

#1146 » 3 Things To Do When You Get Bored With Your Campaign

#1145 » My 7 Keys to a Great Sandbox Game

#1144 » 7 Ways to Improve Virtual and Online Game Sessions

#1143 » Factions & Villains – 3 Reader GM Tips

#1142 » Villain Roleplay Tips – A Trio of Detestable Traits

#1141 » Ripping Up Adventure Drama With A Saw Blade

#1140 » Outsmart Your Players With 3-Step Villain Plans

#1139 » How To Create Roleplay Encounters

#1138 » 5 Rules For GMing Awesome NPCs

#1137 » What Are Three Round Combat Plans?

#1136 » The Unification Event — How To Get The Party Together

#1135 » Story Sparks — A Way To Improv Better

#1134 » Online RPG With VTT: How To Engage Players Better

#1133 » Need A Last-Minute Halloween One-Shot Adventure Idea?

#1132 » BLANK

#1131 » BLANK

#1130 » My Monsters Sucked Until I Discovered This Special Approach

#1129 » BLANK

#1128 » Making Monsters Marvelous – Monstrous RPT Gems For You

#1127 » How To Help New Players Have A Blast With Their First Session

#1126 » Do You Plot Stories Or Dungeon Crawlers?

#1125 » Players “Checked Out” When Campaign Switched To Virtual Online

#1124 » Story Sparks — A Way To Improv Better

#1123 » Online RPG With VTT: How To Engage Players Better

#1122 » Do You Plot Stories Or Dungeon Crawlers?

#1121 » BLANK

#1120 » BLANK

#1119 » BLANK

#1118 » The Unification Event — How To Get The Party Together

#1117 » What Are Three Round Combat Plans?

#1116 » Making Monsters Marvelous – Monstrous RPT Gems For You

#1115 » Quick Plot Design: How To Create A Villain Plan First Draft

#1114 » Adventure Building Tip: Must All Encounters Advance The Plot?

#1113 » How To Detail An Encounter In Less Than A Minute: Dangers, Discoveries, Impressions

#1112 » How Do You Make Encounters More Interesting? — Introducing The Chorus Line

#1111 » How To Create Wicked Rumour Tables

#1110 » Monster Design Tip: Take Away The Sun

#1109 » 8 Ideas For Your Next Adventure

#1108 » Adventure Design: Build From The Monster’s POV

#1107 » Add Corruption To Your World

#1106 » 7 Steps To Create A Gamable Culture With Example: The Hotha

#1105 » My Experiences With Milestone XP

#1104 » A Quick Way To Make Player Victories Sweeter

#1103 » Make Monster Parts Puzzles For Your Adventures

#1102 » Monster Lore With A Twist

#1101 » It’s A Bomb

#1100 » Unpack Last Session To Loopy Plan Next Game

#1099 » Beat Dungeon Slumps With Dungeon Sumps

#1098 » World Story Meets RPG Story For Designing Better Adventures

#1097 » Coming Home Empty Handed After A Raid

#1096 » Ramping Up Tension In A Roleplay Plot

#1095 » Hitting The Wall: When You’ve Got No Creativity And Have GM Burnout

#1094 » Checklist: Compelling Session Alerts

#1093 » 30 Ways To Deliver Clever Clues

#1092 » Easier Campaigns With A Storyline Mad Lib

#1091 » How To Move Your RPG Campaign Online: Tools

#1090 » d6 Arena Combat Ideas From Your Fellow RPT GMs

#1089 » Gesture, Voice & Salt — Helping Players Roleplay

#1088 » Beg, Borrow, And Steal

#1087 » Better Session Kick-Offs — The Warm-Up Trick

#1086 » Back Pocket Encounter Idea: Planar Rifts

#1085 » Making An Arena Fight With A Hydra Memorable (5E

#1084 » Add Spikes Of Danger To Get Deeper Campaigns

#1083 » A Simple But Effective Adventure Template

#1082 » 3 Tips For Better Sessions

#1081 » 3 Common World Building Mistakes

#1080 » When A Friend Leaves Your Game

#1079 » New Trick Makes Combat A Nail Biter

#1078 » The Secret Ingredient For Great Campaigns

#1077 » This Fantastic Keyword Puzzle

#1076 » What To Do When Retreat Is The Kiss Of Death

#1075 » Make Your NPCs Unreasonable

#1074 » Part 2: What To Do If It’s Too Easy?

#1073 » Part 1: What To Do If You Made It Too Difficult

#1072 » Don’t Beat Yourself Up

#1071 » The Secret Role Of NPCs

#1070 » What Are We Rewarding?

#1069 » Celebrate Your Encounter Locations This Way

#1068 » 7 Ways To Roleplay Factions Better

#1067 » Who’s Fault Is It? Yours?

#1066 » Add Lost Civilizations To Your World

#1065 » Build Your World With This Cool Map

#1064 » Law Vs. Lore — My Thoughts On Rules and Fudging Rolls

#1063 » 9 Secret Agents For Your Game

#1062 » How To GM Knowledge (Local)

#1061 » 3 Quick Tips For Taking Session Notes

#1060 » Three Ways To Make Your Coins Special

#1059 » Make Magic Items More Marvelous With Magic Item Sets

#1058 » Revealing More Information Is Like Making A Peanut Butter Sandwich

#1057 » My Game Table Setup

#1056 » Three Dumb GM Habits I Need To Break

#1055 » Crafting Intrigue Adventures — A Couple Of Quick Tips

#1054 » The Three Word NPC Formula

#1053 » When Characters Overlap Too Much — Three Questions

#1052 » Boring Combats: Putting Weight On The Wrong Foot

#1051 » Why I’ve Changed My Approach Roleplay

#1050 » Deep World Building Using The Estates Method

#1049 » A Quick Hack To Create Character Tentacles In Your World

#1048 » Bartering For Profit — 3 Ways To Make Haggling With Merchants Fun

#1047 » Fixing GM Mistakes: 3 Ways To RetCon Without Breaking Your Game

#1046 » Power Your Plots With Simple Rumour Tables

#1045 » How To Run Several Plots At The Same Time Without Stress

#1044 » Character Stories — How To Keep Players Highly Engaged

#1043 » Roleplaying Tip: Distinguish Players From Characters

#1042 » You Can’t Touch Wet Paint Without Changing The Color Of Your Hand

#1041 » The Keep: Introducing My New Campaign

#1040 » How To Add Story To Any Combat

#1039 » Three Strategies That Take Advantage Of The Damage Economy

#1038 » The GM’s Ten Commandments: GM vs. Players

#1037 » The Dangling Description Mystery Method Formula — The Secret Sauce To Riveting Descriptions

#1036 » Use Micro Breaks To Take Fast Notes

#1035 » A Simple Table for Rumours

#1034 » Campaign’s Pillars: How to Pacing Your Game’s Exciting Moments

#1033 » Novel Ways to Use Non-Combat Initiative

#1032 » d6 Ways to Spice Up Next Session

#1031 » Is Running Two Game Masters a Disaster?

#1030 » A Great Staging Example from Blades In The Dark

#1029 » Storymastery: More Examples of Bad Reveal Timings

#1028 » Storymastery: Don’t Make This Mistake with Your Reveals

#1027 » Do This One Simple Thing to Create Compelling NPCs

#1026 » Should You Run Easy Combats?

#1025 » Get Into Gamespace Faster With A Good Session Warm-Up

#1024 » How Do You Keep Things Fresh For Your Players?

#1023 » Use This 10 Idea Checklist To Fix Your Pacing

#1022 » How Do You Pace Game Sessions Well?

#1021 » This GM Is Burned Out On The Grid

#1020 » Drawing Maps Based On Cultures

#1019 » Avoid This Nasty Description Trap GMs Often Trigger

#1018 » When That Player Hogs The Game

#1017 » How To Get Players Pumped After A Break From Gaming

#1016 » A Quick Improv Trick

#1015 » Problem Players Foiling Your Game? Two Tips For Handling Them

#1014 » 5 Story Hooks From A Dead Monster

#1013 » Hobo Princes S3E04 – Choppy Waters

#1012 » Two Quick & Easy Faction Play Tips

#1011 » My Favourite NPC Move — Gain Leverage

#1010 » How To Do A Deeper Analysis Of Your GMing In 5 Easy Steps

#1009 » What Props Do You Use?

#1008 » Your Campaign Agenda => Best Campaign Ever Part II

#1007 » What Would Be Your Best Campaign Ever? Part I

#1006 » 5 Ways To Intensify Your Encounters

#1005 » Getting Your Players To Roleplay More — Improving GM GIT Part V

#1004 » Use This Simple Technique To Improv Tricky Situations With Great Clarity

#1003 » What’s Your World’s “Only Factor”?

#1002 » He Rode In On A T-Rex And Got Buried

#1001 » This Weapon Hurts High Level PCs

#1000 » How To Conjure Incredible Sandbox Campaign Climaxes

#999 » What I Learned While Creating My Latest Thieves’ Guild

#998 » Run With The Impressions Technique

#997 » My Best Reads of 2018

#996 » Make Your Turns Go Faster – Improving GM GIT Part IV

#995 » Help The Characters Get Into Trouble

#994 » How To Think Faster On Your Feet — Improving GM GIT Part III

#993 » Another Great Storytelling Tool – The Crucible

#992 » How Do I Know If My Game Master Cheating?

#991 » 67 Questions To Make Your Players Roleplay More

#990 » A Mad Lib For Random Festivals

#989 » Using TV Plot Lines For Adventure Ideas

#988 » An NPC Improv Trick

#987 » Using Random Magic the Gathering Cards As A Quick Source Of Inspiration

#986 » Create Plots Easily With This Simple Method

#985 » Fix Session Problems Before Game Day By Doing This Simple Exercise

#984 » Smarter Villains To Challenge Tough Characters

#983 » The Demons of Hobo Past, Present, and Future – Murder Hobos S3E01 Kicks Off

#982 » A Simple And Fun Way To Run Army Battles

#981 » How Can You Improve Your GM Interaction Time Rating? Improving GM GIT Part II

#980 » How Do You Fare At This GMing Performance Rating?

#979 » The Achilles Heel of Many World Builders

#978 » How To Battle Dungeon Design Fatigue

#977 » Monday Inspiration: Character Perks – Several Interesting PC Development Ideas

#976 » Facts Versus Meaning

#975 » Top-Bottom-Up World Building

#974 » The Four Levers That Inevitably Pull Players Through Your Adventures

#973 » Tips On How To Build Your Homebrew World As You Play It

#972 » What Surprises Lurk in Our Fog of War?

#971 » d6 Random Sources Of Navigation

#970 » The Subtle Gap You Should Close for Better Storytelling

#969 » What The Heck Is A Milieu?

#968 » Give Enemies Missions Too

#967 » Example GM Move With Threats Using Lord of the Rings

#966 » What Roles To Build For A Grand Cast Of NPCs

#965 » 7 Great Mapping Apps You Might Not Have Heard Of Before

#964 » Face Off – How To Get Your Group Emotionally Involved

#963 » A Nice Tip On Adventure Puzzles

#962 » How Much World Do You Build?

#961 » How To Think Like An Alien

#960 » Create Your Special GM Moves

#959 » Two Fun Ways To Add Games To Your Sessions

#958 » When Do I Peel Back The Cosmic Curtain In My Campaigns?

#957 » Villain Tip: Do Evil For Good

#956 » Run The Villain Sequence

#955 » Story Overlays – A Quick Storytelling Tip For Your Encounters

#954 » Just Run With It

#953 » Get These Two Things Right For Stories To Make Sense

#952 » How To Bring A Diverse Party Of PCs Together?

#951 » Evil GM Tactic: Make PCs The Villains

#950 » Rewarding Players With Signs Of Progress

#949 » When You Steal This Cheesy Idea You Won’t Believe What Happens Next

#948 » The Box You Put Them In Is A Trap

#947 » The Grand Puzzle Of The Runecarvers

#946 » Player Challenge #07: RPG Bingo

#945 » Beat the Uncanny Valley With A Deft Detail

#944 » Monsters Are NPCs Too – A Short Monster Personality Stat Block

#943 » Player Challenge #06 All Tied Up

#942 » An Example Sandbox Campaign With Tips To Avoid GM Burnout

#941 » How To Build Your Symbol Gallery For Easy Ideation

#940 » GM Resource: 20 Master Plots

#939 » How Can I Switch To Gridless Combat?

#938 » Challenge High Level PCs With A Quick Reskin

#937 » 5 More Adventure Feature Types For Your Adventure Design

#936 » A Confidence Hack For Better GMing

#935 » 3 Step Villain Plot Seeds

#934 » World-Building In Five Steps

#933 » How To Generate Ideas With Mini-Plots

#932 » An Example Of The Creature Feature For Your 5 Room Dungeon Designs

#931 » Let Players Choose The Treasure

#930 » Players: Opportunity Or Obstacle?

#929 » The Difference An Overlay Makes

#928 » How A Reader Creates Player Reward Cards

#927 » 3 Line Culture: The Eglanzine

#926 » Use The Feature Method To Make Adventure Design A Whole Lot Easier

#925 » The Furor In My Inbox (XP Insights)

#924 » Monday Inspiration: The Sawfish Blade & A Holy Quest

#923 » Gold For XP?

#922 » A Quick Way To Make Awesome Rewards

#921 » Measure Campaign Progress So Players Can See It And Feel It

#920 » Roleplaying Tip: Create Ties That Bind

#919 » Player Challenge #05 Cypher Texts

#918 » How To GM Genius NPCs

#917 » What If A PC Was A Living Spell?

#916 » A Quick Tip On Session Prep

#915 » Create Your Memory Dungeon

#914 » Explaining RPGs To A Non-Gamer

#913 » Beef Up Boring Descriptions: “Hey, What’s Happening Over There?”

#912 » Touched By The Gods

#911 » How Long Should A Module Take?

#910 » Make Your World Unique (Realism Is Overrated)

#909 » What Makes A Player Valuable?

#908 » Obliteration of the Forgotten High Priest

#907 » Tap Into This For Deeper Gameplay

#906 » Player Challenge #04 Think Sideways

#905 » Think Three Steps Ahead (But It’s Not Just About Doing Things Faster)

#904 » World Conversion

#903 » Building Encounters On The Fly

#902 » Put On Your Situations Hat

#901 » How To Scale Up An Adventure

#900 » 7 Adventure Building Mistakes You Should Avoid

#899 » Feed Off Your School of Magic

#898 » Try This Reality-Changing Potion Next Game

#897 » A Three Part Quest Template

#896 » The Best Adventure Structure For You?

#895 » Noticed vs. Missed GMs

#894 » New Mad Lib: Instant Magic Items

#893 » Player Challenge #03 Detections

#892 » Let Players Gaze Into Your Sandbox

#891 » Creating A Sandbox Campaign – 7 Steps

#890 » Player Challenge #02 Hidden Objects

#889 » d20 Great Starting Points For Your Next Adventure

#888 » How To Make Campaigns Interesting While Avoiding GM Burnout

#887 » Player Challenge #01 Keep ‘Em Separated

#886 » Your First Idea Sucks

#885 » Do This Often To Keep Your Players Engaged

#884 » Easy Peasy Wound Tracking In Combat

#883 » d4 Reader Tips => Solo 5RDs, Sci-Fi Generator, Get Colourful, Hazard Risks

#882 » BLANK

#881 » What’s A Hazard? What’s A Trap?

#880 » A New Use For Monster Parts

#879 » How To Level Up Players With Reward Systems

#878 » Rewarding The Game Master – A Simple Framework

#877 » Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic: The Cause of Your Gaming Woes?

#876 » How To Stop Campaigns From Fizzling Out

#875 » How To Use Plotto For Plot Conflicts

#874 » The Elvis Hook For PCs

#873 » Use Initiative To Keep Players Engaged

#872 » Factions Done Blades In The Dark Style

#871 » What Do I Do When My Players Try To Rob A House?

#870 » How To Create Five Room Horror Dungeons

#869 » Try A Sheet-Switch Event For Better Roleplay

#868 » 6 Examples Of Published Sandbox Campaigns You Might Run

#867 » Unlockable Reward Items

#866 » How Long Does Forever Take? A GM Pit Trap To Avoid

#865 » My Phases of GMing

#864 » Are You Keeping Too Many Secrets?

#863 » How The Stars Could Inspire Your Games

#862 » 3 Tips For GMing “Blank Sheet” Characters

#861 » Science Fiction vs. Fantasy – What’s the Adventuring Difference?

#860 » Quick & Cool Magic Item Backgrounds In 60 Seconds

#859 » What Do You Wish Players Asked You?

#858 » 1d12 Food Fights

#857 » Quick GMing Lessons Learned Playing Three One-Shots In Two Days

#856 » The Haunted Mansion Savage Experience – Intriguing GMing Tips Gleaned From A Con, Part 3

#855 » Save Yourself Some GMing Headaches

#854 » How To Make Skill Items As Treasured As Magic

#853 » Darkness Ignites the Sunless Citadel

#852 » How To Build A Fantasy City In 47 Seconds

#851 » Cut Away The Dross For Better Campaign Craft

#850 » Being A Devil With The Details – Intriguing GMing Tips Gleaned From A Con, Part 2

#849 » The Mad Lib d12 Random Quest Generator

#848 » Intriguing GMing Tips Gleaned From A Con, Part I

#847 » Add Worms To Your Next Sandbox

#846 » A Simple Trick For Encounter Inspiration

#845 » 7 Essential Encounter Ingredients

#844 » Kill Boxed Text – Dynamic Descriptions Made Easy

#843 » Here’s A New Source Of Treasure For Your Campaigns

#842 » Sandbox Adventures – 5 Essential Ingredients

#841 » Spikes Of Danger Tease Your Players While Filling Them With Fear

#840 » How My Ego Trashes Games

#839 » RPG Theme Example: Beauty, Value, Usefulness

#838 » What If Weather Tells a Story?

#837 » How To Create Your Own Plot Factory, Part IV

#836 » How To Create Your Own Plot Factory, Part III

#835 » How To Create Your Own Plot Factory – Part II

#834 » How To Create Your Own Plot Factory – Part I

#833 » Just One Spike In The Ground Gets You Started

#832 » Game Of Thrones For NPCs – Part III

#831 » Game Of Thrones For NPCs – Part II

#830 » Game Of Thrones For NPCs – Part I

#829 » A Trick For Low-Level Magic Items

#828 » Cheesecake Stakes

#827 » Making High Level PCs Fulfill Their Worst Enemy’s Plans

#826 » 5 Room Campaign Planning

#825 » 45 Master Characters – A GM Resource Review

#824 » Dealing With High Level Characters

#823 » No, I’ve Got The Magic Sword!

#822 » Ambling Itinerant Roaming Encounters

#821 » 5 Room Dungeon Spawn Points

#820 » How To Wrangle Your Million Campaign Details

#819 » A Shared Tale & Clever Distractions

#818 »Hide The Monster’s Stats To See The Story

#817 » Don’t Do This To Yourself

#816 » Have Problems Improvising?

#815 » More City Flavours

#814 » Let Players Relive Their Finest Moments

#813 » What’s Night Life Like In A Fantasy City Like?

#812 » Use Setting Questions To Avoid A Tossed Salad

#811 » Do This Now Every Session For Easy World-Building

#810 » Stories Within Stories

#809 » Mad Lib 5 Room Dungeon Idea Generator For You

#808 » Teleport With Style

#807 » Looking For Game?

#806 » 4 Tips For Better Secrets

#805 » Monster Backstories

#804 » Better Storytelling With Two-Sided Characterization – Part II

#803 » Better Storytelling With Two-Sided Characterization – Part I

#802 » A Secret Society Of Character-Hunters For Your Campaign

#801 » Psssst, How To Tell A Secret

#800 » Drama People Versus Object People

#799 » Welcome To Adventure Hacking

#798 » 8 Ways To Use Riddles

#797 » A Cracking Way To Conjure Compelling Encounters

#796 » GM Improvisation Screen, Weather Tables, Western RPG Elements

#795 » May – How to Use the Other Kind of Intelligence

#794 » May – Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em – These Guys Juice Up Your Game

#793 » May – The King’s Man

#792 » Kill GM procrastination with your First Move

#791 » What, When, From Above

#790 » When Fluff Spawns From Rules, A Great Game Emerges

#789 » Look up, what’s that falling?

#788 » Running Parallel Groups in the Same Campaign

#787 » Drama Works Best When There Are Contrasting Moods

#786 » The Backstory Reversal Maneuvre

#785 » I Need Help With My Weather Drop Die Table

#784 » Play the Infinite Game

#783 » The Hidden Places Are The Best Ones

#782 » Dang Megadungeons Break My Heart

#781 » A Flash Flood of Responses

#780 » Mad Lib Template for Hook, Line & Sinkers

#779 » Why Will It Be Fun?

#778 » The Hook, Line & Sinkers Method Will Inspire Your Encounters

#777 » The Phantasmal Pessimist and Other Living Spell Examples

#776 » Build Story Last

#775 » A Slick Three Step Wandering Monster System

#774 » What If?… Plot Seeds Generator

#773 » What Are Seeds And Hooks?

#772 » GMing Your First Game Session – d12 Tips

#771 » How to Avoid a TPK When GMing Intense Encounters

#770 » The Quarantine

#769 » Living Spells

#768 » Plot Factories Part II – Spinning Up The Idea Machine

#000 » The Storyteller’s Secret Weapon That Most Game Masters Struggle With

#767 » Use Plot Factories For Unlimited Hook Inspiration

#766 » How To Beat Prep Anxiety

#765 » Make Encounters Intense

#764 » Fear the GM

#763 » A Cool Twist For One Of Your Players

#762 » RPT Gem: A Fantastic Encounter Building Tool

#761 » Monster Challenge

#760 » Cool Idea: Skill Treasures

#759 » Character Home Bases - Part III: Example Village of Coldwater

#758 » Character Home Bases - Part II: How To Create Villages Fast

#757 » Character Home Bases - Part I: 6 Tips

#756 » Resonance - Part II: How to Create Resonance

#755 » Resonance - Part I: How Do You Get Players to Care About Their Characters and Your Plot?

#754 » Campaign Reboot Example: Murder Hobos

#753 » 5RDs Go Fractal

#752 » My Top Monster Villains

#751 » Coax The Details Out

#750 » Manic Mystery Mayhem – Three Lessons Learned About GMing Mysteries

#749 » Your Villain’s Missing Ingredient

#748 » Trick Question For You – All Players Count

#747 » D13 Magic Item Concepts from My Demonplague Campaign

#746 » How To Rock Your Encounters With This Monster Design Tip

#745 » Rebooting My Murder Hobos Campaign (And Yours) in Three Easy Steps

#744 » Good Campaign Design Should Not Hurt Your Players

#743 » What Should You Do With First Sessions?

#742 » How To Stop The Abuse of Your NPCs

#741 » Just Like Smoke Through Fingers – Theme Take 2

#740 » Explosive Session Starts - Part III: The Encounter Pyramid

#739 » Think About Encounters Like Game Tiles for Better 5 Room Dungeon Design

#738 » Explosive Session Starts - Part II: Stakes and Consequences

#737 » Explosive Session Starts - Part I: The Cajun Spice List

#736 » Thanks to My Players Because…

#735 » Encounters Are Like My Favourite Zesty Game Food

#734 » Why do you love dungeons?

#733 » How to Beat Shark Week With This Attraction Technique

#732 » My powerfully-human way of getting players off the Kill-For-XP Track

#731 » Focus on More of This To Have More Fun at Every Game

#730 » The Problem With Realism Is…

#729 » Encounter Triangles – A New Design Tool For Your Gm Toolbox

#728 » RPG Adventure Themes Tie The Room Together

#727 » Two Quick Free Game Master Tools

#726 » You Are What Your Dice Eat

#725 » The Next Action Method – Small Moments of Game Prep

#724 » The Potion Factory for Fun Faction Finagling

#723 » When Players Stop Talking, You Start. But What Do You Say?

#722 » Get Off the Reverse Railroad

#721 » Master Your Cursed Items

#720 » Plot Your Dungeons with This Simple Grid System

#719 » My #1 Learning from Last Game

#718 » I’m Killing Pcs and The Fun Doing This

#717 » BLANK

#716 » Hello, Are You Listening?

#715 » Encounters Seeds Formula - Part II

#714 » Panicked Prep for Next Session

#713 » My Players Are Crazy! They’re Destroying Treasure

#712 » The Pain of GMing a Perfectionist Player

#711 » d10 Things You Hear In Town

#710 » Tarrasque vs. Dracolich

#709 » The Craziest Jerk I've Been Yet

#708 » Shout The Name of Your Enemy and He Will Be Punished

#707 » My Table Rules

#706 » PCs Versus Everything

#705 » A Village Name That's a Funny Puzzle

#704 » Emotions Before The Game

#703 » GMing Your First Game Session - d12 Tips

#702 » How To Spend Even Less Time Prepping Dynamic Campaigns

#701 » Utmost Evil: How To Make Strategic Use Of Villain Scenes

#700 » My Favourite RPT Issues Of All Time

#699 » PC Home Base Tips & Tables

#698 » Solve Scheduling Nightmares With The Schrödinger’s Characters Method

#697 » Building the Klok’k’ot Culture + Reader Tips

#696 » How to Roleplay Seducers, Ancient Evils, Law Enforcement, and Genius NPCs

#695 » Crossing Swords With Factions – How To Build Quick Guilds For Your Kingdom

#694 » Villainous Banter: Using Propp’s Reconnaissance Scene

#693 » How to Roleplay NPC Mannerisms

#692 » Triage 101: Five Ways To Get Players Unstuck

#691 » Space Opera Part 3: Making It Personal

#690 » How To Fill In The Blanks – Drawing Maps Dungeon World Style

#689 » GM Burnout: Tips For Prevention and Recovery

#688 » The Card Grid – The Fastest Way To Map Your Kingdom With Adventure Sites

#687 » 7 Tips for Creating Awesome Legends

#686 » Wrangling Unruly Campaign Outlines: How To Keep Track of Plot Threads

#685 » Space Opera Part 2: Building The Setting Core Elements

#684 » Kingdom Building Part II: Who Rules the Kingdom?

#683 » Countdown to the Apocalypse: Six Ways to Raise the Stakes

#682 » What Is Space Opera? And How Do You Make It?

#681 » How To Create Your Kingdom’s History

#680 » Tips For New GMs Creating Campaign Outlines For The First Time

#679 » Four Ways To Load Chekhov’s Gun In Your Games

#678 » Better Roleplaying – How To Create a Great Character Concept

#677 » How To Twist Your Plots

#676 » A Three Step Modern Haunting Generator

#675 » Seven Principles of Storytelling

#674 » Five Quick Tips To Solve Boring Travel Encounters

#673 » How to Create Interactive Backstories – 3 Fun PC Creation Mini-Games

#672 » Prevent Player Disagreements With This Quick RPG Campaign Survey

#671 » Five Tips for Building Cultures

#670 » Combat Roleplay: Teach Your Players to Narrate the Action

#669 » How To Design Cunning Cursed Items

#668 » Ship Quirks, GM Tip Exchange, 20 Children Encounters

#667 » How to Get Your Game Unstuck => Trickster Generator

#666 » Connecting Everyday Life Encounters to Your Campaign

#665 » Getting Players to Cooperate

#664 » An Alternate Mechanic to GM Fun Fantasy Foot Chases

#663 » Choosing the Right Virtual Table Top for Your Game

#662 » Combat Parley

#661 » Five Hazardous Elemental Dungeons

#660 » The Adventure Checklist - Part II

#659 » The Adventure Checklist - Part I

#658 » When Players Don't Show Up - What Do You Do?

#657 » How to Create Great Non-Combat Encounters

#656 » Quest Cards

#655 » How To Get Your Players To Roleplay More (The Flashback Method)

#654 » How to Use Meddling Gods to Make Life Very Interesting for Your Players

#653 » Puzzles as Story

#652 » Walking the Faction Pyramid, Magic Trinkets, Magic Banking

#651 » Mapless Combat + Making Class Matter

#650 » Monsters Under the Skin

#649 » Focusing the Spotlight, Story Overlays, Magic Flags

#648 » Combat Missions for War + Animated Objects + One Unique Thing for NPCs

#647 » Dresden Files & Fairy Tales – Adventure Tips For Urban Fantasy Games + 6 Interesting Hazards

#646 » The Mythic God Generator (and a new contest!)

#645 » How to Make a Villain-Based Plot Engine

#644 » The Faction Pyramid Technique

#643 » Horde-ing => Creating Factions the Fast and Easy Way

#642 » "I only have 30 minutes to prepare for a game" What do you do?

#641 » Spy Missions: Covert Considerations for the Whole Party

#640 » Players Off-Map? How to Get a Wandering Adventure Back On Track

#639 » 3 Ways To Get Your Players To ROLE-Play More

#638 » More Mystery Adventure GMing Tips

#637 » How To GM Mysteries

#636 » Drawing Battle Maps – 9 Tips For Awesome Action Scenes

#635 » 10 Traveller RPG Tips For Newbie GMs

#634 » Adventures In Business – How To GM PC Entrepreneurs

#633 » Pre-Campaign Checklist + d100 Jungle Encounters

#632 » Combat Missions: How To Create Your Own Combat Missions

#631 » Combat Missions: Adding Glorious Stories to Gruesome Struggles

#630 » How to Take Care Of Initiative

#629 » Readers Respond => How to Make Undead Scary

#628 » GM Toolbox: Cementing, Shifting, Delegation

#627 » How to Create a Critical Path Walkthrough

#626 » Making Undead Cool Again

#625 » Lessons From The Movies: The Princess Bride

#624 » Lessons From The Movies – Alien and Aliens

#623 » Happy House Ruling – How to Use Game Design to Create New Gameplay Experiences

#622 » Focusing the Spotlight: How I Handle Split Parties For More Drama

#621 » Six Ways To Crank A Character Up To 11

#620 » How to Make Magic Items Awesome

#619 » 5 Tips on How to Design Diabolical Dilemmas

#618 » How to Get Players to Care

#617 » Left Hooks: 24 Plot Twist Ideas & Design Patterns

#616 » 10 Wildly Creative Adventure & Campaign Seeds

#615 » My 9 RPG Story Goals - Part 2

#614 » My 9 RPG Story Goals + The 5 Stages of Getting Lost in the Dungeon

#613 » They Can Sleep When They’re Dead

#612 » Mentally Strong GMs And 13 Things They Avoid

#611 » 12 Campaign Seeds For Your Next Great Campaign

#610 » My 4 Step Recipe for Creating Great RPG Campaign Seeds

#609 » How Do You Get Players to Contribute More?

#608 » Episodic Campaigns Part 2: Tips and Session-Ender Narration Tool

#607 » Episodic Campaigns Part 1: 3 Ways To Run Them

#606 » How To Build Mood For Horror

#605 » Evernote for GMs

#604 » 10 Tips For Running a Riddleport Style Campaign of Intrigue and Peril

#603 » Good vs. Evil: GM Tips From Legend The Movie

#602 » Don’t Give it To ‘Em! Seven Ways to Improve Role Playing by Managing UberToys

#601 » How To Build Awesome Description On-The-Fly

#600 » 3 Tips For Better Storytelling

#599 » 3 Line Cultures: How To Inject Races and Factions With Flavour

#598 » Tips For Running Single Class Campaigns (PCs of the same character type)

#597 » 8 Ways To Use Time For More Interesting Gameplay

#596 » How To Stop Pixel Bitching In Your Adventures

#595 » Retro Style

#594 » How to Kick Mad Max’s Ass

#593 » How to Create Story-Exploding Character Hooks

#592 » Mailbag – Teamwork Tips and Munchkin Item Tips

#591 » NPCs as Campaign Rewards

#590 » Mailbag – Problem Player, Magic Items Too Powerful, GMing After an Absence

#589 » 6 Tips For Running A Scarier Horror Game

#588 » 8 Levelling Up Tips

#587 » 10 Tips To Stop Nerves Before GMing

#586 » Eight Tips For Using Real World Locations In Your Games

#585 » World Building – 7 Tips For Designing A World You Love

#584 » 8 Tips For Freestyle Gaming

#583 » 10 Skills To Help At The Table

#582 » 17 Tips On Handling Split Parties Well

#581 » The First 15 – A Key GM Technique For Great Game Sessions

#580 » 111 Random Forest Encounters

#579 » Top 11 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Player’s Background

#578 » 9 Tips On How To Add Conspiracies To Your Game

#577 » Villain Plot Design Reversal: This Technique Will Make You Look Like an Evil Genius

#576 » Great 3 Line NPC Tips For You

#575b » NPC Contest Starts Now + The 3 Line Instant NPC Method

#575a » The 3 Line NPC Method: How to Create Story-Full NPCs Fast

#574 » Get Serious: 5 Ways to Add Gravitas to Your Game

#573 » What is the Bullseye Design Method? Three Wins in One!

#572 » 7 Tips On Creating Awesome Encounters On The Fly

#571 » How to Create Religions for Your Game World

#570 » The Productive GM: The 5 Buckets of Sanity - Part 2

#569 » The Productive GM: The 5 Buckets of Sanity - Part 1

#568 » Getting Organized For A New Campaign

#567 » 25 Ways to Think Faster on Your Feet

#566 » How to GM Political Adventures

#565 » Another 100 Great Roadside Encounters

#564 » 5 Rules of World Wonders

#563 » 5 Ways To Breathe New Life Into Your Campaign

#562 » 8 Wonder-Full Things To Consider

#561 » Do You Take It Easy On The New Guy?

#560 » 5 Ways To Foil Your Players

#559 » 3 Tips for Plotting Your Game Like a Writer

#558 » The Comic, the Diva and the Stump

#557 » 10 Keys to Suspenseful Adventures

#556 » 100 Roadside Encounters

#555 » 10 Intriguing Swamp Encounters

#554 » Bringing Swamps to Life - Part 1

#553 » The Secrets to Successful Long-Term Campaigns

#552 » Storytelling Tip: Make Knowledge Checks Seamless And Engaging

#551 » Top 5 Mistakes of Game Prep – Part 2

#550 » Top 5 Mistakes of Game Prep – Part 1

#549 » 5 Ways To Breathe Life Into Your NPCs

#548 » Play Fair: 5 Ways To Be A Great Referee

#547 » Shaking It Up – How to Fix Game Rut With These 3 Techniques

#546 » How To Develop A Compelling GMing Voice

#545 » The Secret Sauce For Teaching Combat To Newbies

#544 » 5 Tips On How To Roleplay NPCs If You Are Uncomfortable

#543 » How To Make Your Aquatic Adventures Not Suck Like A Giant Whirlpool

#542 » Minis Tips Series Finale: Marking and Condition Tracking

#541 » 3 Easy Ways To Add More Story To Combat

#540 » How To Master GMing Bar Room Brawls

#539 » Bearding The Dragon – An Epic Villain Recipe for You

#538 » Minis Tactics: 24 Tips For Cunning Mini Management

#537 » Minis In Sessions – 20 Tips (Tactical and Story)

#536 » Top 10 Reasons Why Your Combats Are Slow - Part 2

#535 » Top 10 Reasons Why Your Combats Are Slow - Part 1

#534 » My Digital Campaign Toolbox

#533 » How to Blow PC Loot?

#532 » How To Create Deep & Compelling Magic Item Backgrounds In Just 60 Seconds

#531 » How To Create Great Magic Items In Just Three Minutes

#530 » How to Keep Your Story and Campaign Consistent

#529 » How to Contact and Hire an Assassin

#528 » 5 Effective Combat Tactics For Assassins

#527 » How To Lie And Get Caught At It

#526 » 8 Ways to Make Game World Management Easy

#525 » As Time Passes – How to Game in Micro, Macro and Epic Time

#524 » Adventure Design Tip: How Do You use Chekhov’s Gun in Gaming?

#523 » How to Create Blockbuster Box Office Hits with Your Players – Every Adventure

#522 » Designing A Successful Modern Horror Campaign

#521 » High Death Campaigns and How to Bring New PCs in Fast

#520 » Killer Campaign Management

#519 » Cunning Cohorts Build Character: Four GM Tips

#518 » Watch Out For These Time Travel GM Traps

#517 » For Awesome Campaigns Build A Player Campaign Book

#516 » 22 Terrain Hacks For the Low Budget Game Master

#515 » 29 Minis Tips For The Frugal Gamer

#514 » 10 Ways to Train Your Brain for Inspiration

#513 » How to Use Body Language For Better Storytelling

#512 » How to GM Awesome Heists - Part 2

#511 » How To Make The Mundane Tasks In Gaming Fun And Playable

#510 » Best Game Master Tips of 2010 - Part 2

#509 » Best Game Master Tips of 2010 - Part 1

#508 » How to Run Killer Zombie Campaigns?

#507 » 5 Tips For Running Long-Term Epic Campaigns

#506 » Taking The Initiative: These Methods And Ideas Will Surprise You

#505 » 56 Campaign Concepts & Starts

#504 » Heists and Haunted Houses

#503 » Design The Party, Not The Characters

#502 » 6 Ways To Assemble The Party And Kick-Off Your Campaign

#501 » Top 100 City Encounters and Plots – Part 2 The Final 50

#500 » Top 100 City Encounters and Plots – Part 1

#499 » Turning Coal Into Diamonds – How To Mine Backstories To Create Killer Campaigns

#498 » Romance In RPGs – 5 Ways To Minimize Your Discomfort At The Game Table

#497 » 5 Things Driving Across the Country Taught Me About DMing

#496 » How To Run Ripping City Encounters – 3 Tips

#495 » Prep Faster, Breathe Easier + City Encounters Contest

#494 » Maximize The Use Of PC Histories

#493 » How to Design a Campaign?

#492 » 4 Best Ways To Handle Town Guards

#491 » When Players Cheat: Game Master Tips to Keep Them in Line

#490 » Superheroes Tips Series - Final Part

#489 » GM's Guide To Adventure Writing

#488 » GMing Gods, Demons And Immortals

#487 » Superheroes Tips Series Part 2: Super Tips For Beginners

#486 » Roll-Play And Role-Play

#485 » The Care And Feeding Of Your GM

#484 » How to Run a Better Superhero Game in 8 Easy Steps?

#483 » Instilling Common Sense Into Players - Part 2

#482 » Instilling Common Sense Into Players - Part 1

#481 » Managing Mixed Monsters + New Contest

#480 » Combat Hazards - II

#479 » 6 Things Divinity II Taught Me About Running a Better Gamel

#478 » Take Ten: Heal

#477 » When Adventures Are Too Easy

#476 » Make Your Adventures Feel Adventurous

#475 » 6 Ways To Make A Published World Your Own

#474 » Combat Hazards - I

#473 » On-The-Fly GMing Tips

#472 » 9 Things Dragon Age Taught Me About Running a Better Game

#471 » Role-Reversal: GMing other GMs

#470 » How to Add Pizzazz With A Great Campaign Name

#469 » Your Teacher Was Right – How To Create Adventures With The 6 W’s

#468 » 5 Ways to Create Cultures

#467 » Long Story Arcs – 3 Tips On How To Finish

#466 » From Player to GM: Tips for Making the Switch

#465 » World Building: 4 Easy Culture Creation Tips

#464 » 12 Disasters in Fantasy Campaigns

#463 » The Pirate Queen’s Adventure Checklist

#462 » The Road to Plot Hook Recovery: Stale Plot Hook Tips and Tricks

#461 » Introducing New RPGs

#460 » Seven Steps for Legendary Item Creation

#459 » How I Prepared For 19 Hours Of Gameplay In Just One Hour

#458 » Don’t Be Afraid To Modify Your Monsters

#457 » Stand or Fall? Not Exactly Tips for dealing with tough foes

#456 » Stress-Free Gaming and Time and Character Advancement in PbEM

#455 » Mess with Your Players’ Heads

#454 » Creating Adventures from Small Ideas

#453 » 5 Uses for Heroes

#452 » Instant Reward Cards

#451 » Police in a Modern Campaign

#450 » Use Logic Puzzles to Develop Plots and Stories

#449 » 11 Homebrew Terrain Ideas

#448 » 8 Tactics for Mooks

#447 » How To Create Factions – 3 New Tips, Plus: 44 Awesome Ready-To-Use NPC Hooks

#446 » Build Your Own Starship

#445 » 4 Tips For Post Apocalypse Game Masters

#444 » 5 Tips to Create Game Room Atmosphere

#443 » 15 Kinds of Camouflage

#442 » Choosing Your Next Science Fiction RPG: Reader Recommendations

#441 » Reduce Session Cancellations with an On-Call Player

#440 » Lessons Learned from behind the GM Screen

#439 » How to Handle NPC Networks

#438 » 7 Tips to Keep the Fear of Death Alive in Any Campaign

#437 » Running Recurrent Bad Guys

#436 » Introducing New Characters Into An Existing Campaign

#435 » Treasure Siphons

#434 » So The Game Got Cancelled

#433 » Distilled Cultural Essence – Creating a Different Society

#432 » Villainous Escapes: How to Help the Bad Guy Live to Fight Another Day

#431 » Fantasy Job Postings

#430 » How to Game Master at Conventions

#429 » Props Contest Entries – Part 4

#428 » Character-Specific Drama Points

#427 » Props Contest Entries - Part 3

#426 » 9 DM Tools and Integrating Them Into Your Games

#425 » Props Contest Entries - Part 2

#424 » Skinning Gaming Systems

#423 » Props Contest Entries - Part I

#422 » Dark & Gritty Gaming – Part 2

#421 » Dark & Gritty Gaming – Part 1

#420 » 27 Great Prop Ideas To Enhance Your Games

#419 » How To Use Props In Your Games – 8 Tips

#418 » 4 City Building Tips: Give cities flavour with districts

#417 » 10 Easy Tips for Player Involvement

#416 » The Power Of The Dark Side

#415 » Simple Acting Tips

#414 » Wordplay as Character Inspiration

#413 » Fight Environments

#412 » 6 Quick Game Master Organization Tips

#411 » How To Host The Perfect Game

#410 » Managing Your Group

#409 » How to Add Atmosphere (Without LARPing or Bank Loans)

#408 » Near Future Campaign Settings

#407 » One Sentence NPCs - Part 2 + Contest

#406 » Easy GMing With One Sentence NPCs + New Contest

#405 » Campaign Settings: Fantasy Greek and Roman

#404 » Creating Memorable Enemy Groups

#403 » 15 Holiday Adventures

#402 » Keep The Peace – Part 2

#401 » Keep The Peace – Part 1

#400 » Mystery Game Tips

#399 » The Rule To Making Good Rules And Other Useful Tips

#398 » Why Use Inns, Taverns, and Restaurants?

#397 » The Spiral Method of World Building

#396 » Start Campaigns With Unrelated One-Shot Adventures

#395 » Mapping Tips For Inns, Taverns, And Restaurants

#394 » Court Etiquette: Do’s and Don’ts

#393 » Have Fun With Factions

#392 » Assembling The Party – Reconciling Diverse Backgrounds

#391 » Motivating Yourself As A GM

#390 » Players, Meet Your Characters

#389 » The Art of Propaganda: 7 Tactics to Influence Character Behaviour

#388 » 10 Easy Ways To Think On Your Feet Better

#387 » 17 Ways To Fall In Love With GMing Again

#386 » Top Movies For Game Masters

#385 » Jail Break – Part IV: Plotting and Encounter Tips

#384 » Jail Break – Part III: It’s All About The NPCs

#383 » Jail Break – Part II: Theme and Atmosphere

#382 » Jail Break – Part I: Jail Design

#381 » PC Death And Your Campaign

#380 » Preparing For Games Faster: 7 Tips

#379 » Playing With Fire: Dodging GM Burnout

#378 » Tech Tools – Using Today’s Technology To Enhance Your Games

#377 » Tricks And Treats For A Festive Halloween Game

#376 » Gaming Mobs Better – Quick Tips For Making Mobs More Interesting

#375 » Why Do You Like Being A GM? Motivation and Inspiration for GMs

#374 » Personality-Driven Encounters

#373 » Dungeon Themes and Tips

#372 » 5 Room Dungeons + Contest

#371 » Alternative Dungeon Environments

#370 » Random Encounter Tables

#369 » Four Common Pitfalls for New GMs

#368 » Mapping Tips: Planning Your Map Saves Time

#367 » Craft A World Map – Prepping A Game World For GMing and Play

#366 » Notes to the GM – What a Player Wants

#365 » Craft A Timeline Tool – Prepping A Game World For GMing and Play

#364 » Encounter Tips: Characterization Encounters - Part 2

#363 » It’s About The Character, Not The Player – Serving Up Characterization Encounters - Part 1

#362 » Supernatural Weather - Part 2

#361 » Supernatural Weather - Part 1

#360 » 9 Ways To Recruit New Players

#359 » GM Organization – 5 Tips

#358 » Know Your Players – Building Your Session Checklist – Part II

#357 » 9 Spheres Of Influence – My Broad RPG Planning Checklist

#356 » Inspiration For Your Games: Superstition Contest Entries

#355 » 11 Monstrous Tips

#354 » How To Work With Crummy Character Backgrounds – 12 Options For Solving “X killed Y”

#353 » How To Leave Your Players Hanging – 4 Cliffhanger Tips

#352 » Know Your Players – Building Your Session Checklist - Part I

#351 » How To Craft And Use Superstitions To Enhance Your Game

#350 » 7 Ways To Be A More Entertaining GM

#349 » Manage NPC Guides Carefully

#348 » Sneaky Tactics For Weak Monsters

#347 » Unusual Hiding Places

#346 » Scenario and Campaign Arc Building Tips - Part 2

#345 » Scenario and Campaign Arc Building Tips - Part 1

#344 » Holiday Adventures – Entries From The Holiday Contest

#343 » Maintaining An Online Game

#342 » Player Survey Tips

#341 » Idea Seeds: A Campaign Design Method

#340 » 10 Monstrous Tips

#339 » GM Table: 222 Rumours

#338 » How To Awesome-Up Your Players

#337 » 10 Tips For Crafting Adventure-Based Holidays - Part 2

#336 » 10 Tips For Crafting Adventure-Based Holidays - Part 1

#335 » GMing Car Chases

#334 » Card-Based Tools For RPGs – Part 2

#333 » Card-Based Tools For RPGs – Part 1

#332 » Interesting Combats With Themed Skirmish Groups - Part 2

#331 » Interesting Combats With Themed Skirmish Groups - Part 1

#330 » NPC Name Tips and Resources

#329 » The NPC Factor - Part 2

#328 » The NPC Factor - Part 1

#327 » Meta-Game Organizations

#326 » 7 More Monstrous Tips

#325 » Unusual Customs and Festivals

#324 » How To Get More From Your Monsters – Part 2

#323 » How To Get More From Your Monsters – Part 1

#322 » Making Magic Items Interesting - Part 3

#321 » Making Magic Items Interesting - Part 2

#320 » Making Magic Items Interesting - Part 1

#319 » How To Build A Large Character Gallery

#318 » Military Tips

#317 » Lessons from the LARP

#316 » Maintaining Your GM

#315 » Tired Tavern: 25 Alternatives To Taking The Table In The Corner

#314 » Generating Books

#313 » Putting The Gods Back In Their Place

#312 » Take Ten: Bluff

#311 » More Waterborne Encounters & Events

#310 » Airborne Minis Tips

#309 » Myth Crafting

#308 » Baby Steps In Campaign Setting Design

#307 » 100 Waterborne Encounters

#306 » Changing the Rules

#305 » Getting Player Feedback

#304 » Take Ten: Balance

#303 » Running Faster Combats

#302 » Why Go Diceless?

#301 » 120 Benign Wilderness Encounters

#300 » Q&A With Johnn Four

#299 » 150 Benign Urban Encounters

#298 » Face Off – How To Get Your Group Emotionally Involved

#297 » Tactical Tips For Over-Resting PCs

#296 » 31 Questions To Define A Culture

#295 » Five Tips for Crafting Party Names

#294 » Customizing Common Races – Part 3: Tooth & Dagger Rationalizing Orcs

#293 » Tips For Setting Up PBeMs & PBPs

#292 » 6 More Monstrous Tips

#291 » Customizing Common Races - Part 2

#290 » Customizing Common Races - Part 1

#289 » Rhyme Clues For Your Campaign

#288 » Inspired By Song: Use Song Lyrics To Generate Adventure Ideas

#287 » Take Ten: Appraise

#286 » 7 Tips On Crafting Dynamic Relationships For NPCs

#285 » Ignorance And Fear

#284 » Blogging Your Game Sessions

#283 » Rebooting Your Campaign – 7 Tips

#282 » Get Rid Of The Grid (What I Learned From The Strategic Miniatures Player)

#281 » 7 More Monstrous Tips

#280 » Readers Write In

#279 » Online (Forum) Role Playing

#278 » 6 Ways to Create Paranoia

#277 » Prophets and Prophecy

#276 » Battlefield Design Tips For D&D 3.5

#275 » Take 10: Gather Information

#274 » 6 Monstrous Tips

#273 » 5 Tips For Co-GMing Games

#272 » A Simple Method For Campaign Creation: Managing Complex Systems Over Time In A Campaign World

#271 » Systems Of Attraction: The Interpretation and Roleplay of Charisma - Part 2

#270 » Systems Of Attraction: The Interpretation and Roleplay of Charisma - Part 1

#269 » Core Stories In D&D

#268 » Special Equipment Tips

#267 » Game World Organisations - Part IV

#266 » A Guide to Session Notes

#265 » Crafting NPC Interaction Plans: Designing Encounters With Your Players In Mind

#264 » Conducting GM Surveys

#263 » Epic Weekend Convention Gaming: A Tale From The Trenches

#262 » Tips From Da Pit Fiend

#261 » 6 More Description Tips

#260 » Looking Good, Feeling Great – Visual Aids

#259 » Creating Basic Character Personalities

#258 » 12 More Tips For Internet GMing

#257 » 9 Dwarven Forge Tips (Using 3D Terrain)

#256 » A Treatise On Humor - Part 2

#255 » A Treatise On Humor - Part 1

#254 » Fun Facts and Data On Historical, Alternative Mounts – Part II

#253 » Fun Facts and Data On Historical, Alternative Mounts – Part I

#252 » Viking Leadership Structure For RPGs

#251 » 12 Steps To An Epic Campaign - Part 2

#250 » 12 Steps To An Epic Campaign - Part 1

#249 » 5 Description Tips

#248 » 4 Reader Tips

#247 » Supervermin! Making Old Hat Critters Fun Again

#246 » 4 Tips On Encouraging Roleplay

#245 » 7 Tips On Creating Moments Of High Drama

#244 » 5 Tips On Managing Player Choice

#243 » Bad Gamemasters I Have Known And Loved – Part II (The Favoring GM)

#242 » Gaming The Horse - Part 2

#241 » Gaming The Horse – Part I

#240 » How To Track PC Stats? 7 Tips.

#239 » Game World Organisations - Part III

#238 » 5 More Tips For GMing A ‘Local’ Campaign

#237 » 4 Tips For GMing A ‘Local’ Campaign

#236 » When Things Fall Apart: Finding a New Gaming Group

#235 » Readers Respond: Helping Workaholic GMs

#234 » Bad Gamemasters I Have Known And Loved: The Workaholic GM – Part 1

#233 » Roleplaying Quest Contest Entries

#232 » Creating Past Lives For PCs

#231 » Brawn and Stealth — Oil and Water?

#230 » 4 Tips For Spotlighting PCs

#229 » Story Sparks Part II: More Ways To Begin An Adventure & Bring The PCs Together

#228 » The GM As Master Of Ceremonies

#227 » Story Sparks Part I: New Ways To Begin An Adventure & Bring The PCs Together

#226 » 7 Tips For Dealing With GM ADD

#225 » 6 GM Organisation Tips

#224 » Mission-Style Roleplaying – Part II

#223 » Mission-Style Roleplaying – Part I

#222 » 4 Tips For Whipping Up Scenarios For Conventions

#221 » Something Dark, Something Evil, Something Bloody

#220 » 7 Tips For Roleplaying Encounter Locations

#219 » I Like The Way You Move

#218 » Drag & Drop World Game Organizations - Part II

#217 » Crossing A War Torn Land

#216 » Traps Are People Too

#215 » Ideas For Involving Fantasy Phenomena

#214 » Prison!

#213 » Paranoia: Shattering The Trust Part III: Minor In-Game Events

#212 » Paranoia: Shattering The Trust Part II: Major In-Game Events

#211 » Paranoia: Shattering The Trust Part I: Meta-Game Events

#210 » Drag & Drop Game World Organizations – Contest Entries

#209 » Types Of Game World Organizations

#208 » You Can Always Say “Thanks!”

#207 » Conversations In Roleplaying: Agenda

#206 » 6 Bard Tips

#205 » Character Sheets As GM Tools

#204 » 6 Ways To Enhance Your Descriptions

#203 » Political Campaign Tips - Part II

#202 » Preparing To Run A Commercial Module

#201 » Political Campaign Tip: Create A Social Ladder

#200 » Scaring Players: 8 Tips

#199 » The Session Checklist: Ingredients To A Successful Game Session - Part II

#198 » The Session Checklist: Ingredients To A Successful Game Session - Part I

#197 » Tips On Designing General Sci-Fi Locations

#196 » When You Need To Stall – 9 Tips

#195 » Running Single Player Campaigns - Part II

#194 » Running Single Player Campaigns - Part I

#193 » 8 Tips For Improving Random Encounters

#192 » Tips On Managing Mundane Equipment

#191 » 20 Tips On Managing Campaign Time

#190 » 6 Ideas To Encourage Roleplaying

#189 » 12 Tips For Using Nobles In Your Games

#188 » 5 Tips For Roleplaying With Younger Children

#187 » My Experience on The Picture Side of The Screen: 6 Tips for Players

#186 » 8 Campaign Starter Tips

#185 » Innkeeper Intrigue

#184 » Cool Planning Tool: The Campaign Survey

#183 » 11 Point Checklist For Creating a Better Sci-Fi World

#182 » Help, Help, I’m being Oppressed! Rights And Privileges In A Campaign Setting

#181 » 5 Tips For Sci-Fi Campaign Preparation

#180 » The Potential Of The GM’s Screen

#179 » The Logic Death Guide to Players

#178 » 5 Post-Session Player and Campaign Development Tips

#177 » The 10 Commandments Of The RPG Player

#176 » Role-Playing And Giant Robots

#175 » 3 Tips For Writing And Running Adventures

#174 » The Ten Commandments Of The Gamesmaster

#173 » 6 Techniques For Maintaining Player Interest

#172 » Talking The Talk: NPC Speech Patterns

#171 » 12 World War II GMing Tips

#170 » Creating A Sci-Fi Setting With Depth: 5 Tips On Creating Sci-Fi Locations

#169 » 8 City NPC Tips

#168 » Two Guest Articles: Valentines For Your Valentine & Ritual Sacrifice

#167 » The Principles Of Gaming Etiquette: A Real Document That Helped A Real Campaign

#166 » Contest Results: Cool Conflict Scenes

#165 » Prophetic Double-Whammy: Special Two Article Issue About Using Prophesies In Your Games

#164 » 9 Ways To Bring Town Guards To Life

#163 » When Players Attack: Tips For Encouraging PC Co-Operation

#162 » Creating And Using Omens

#161 » Revisiting The Dungeon-Crawl: 29 Dungeon Tips!

#160 » 6 Techniques For Maintaining Player Interest

#159 » 6/666 Tips For GMing An Evil Group

#158 » Irony Is A Great GM Tool – 9 Tips

#157 » 6 Tips On How To Bring Disparate Characters Together

#156 » 6 Methods For Making Dungeons More Interesting

#155 » 14 Elements Of Starship Design For Newbie Sci-Fi Gamers

#154 » 5 Tips On Using Dreams In An Adventure

#153 » The 10 Essentials Of A Swashbuckling Campaign

#152 » Humanizing Your Enemies - A Powerful GM Tool

#151 » 11 Tips For Creating Character-Centered Subplots

#150 » Celebration Of 150 Issues: Reader’s Tips Special

#149 » A Touchy Subject: Political Incorrectness In RPGs

#148 » 135 NPC Side-Plots

#147 » 6 Tips For Creating Aliens For Sci-Fi Games

#146 » City Features And Flavors

#145 » 10 PBEM Etiquette Tips For Beginner Players

#144 » 5 Ways To Harness Game Master Assistants

#143 » 8 Game Etiquette Tips

#142 » Challenge And Response: Designing Cultures For Your Game World Using Toynbee’s Principles

#141 » City Services, Landmarks And Businesses In A Fantasy Setting

#140 » 14 MUSH Tips

#139 » The Art Of The Poker Face

#138 » 11 Dice Rolling Tips

#137 » 4 Tips From Your Fellow Subscribers

#136 » The Art Of Providing Evasive Answers

#135 » 12 Tips for Internet GMing

#134 » When Powerful PCs Adventure With Weak PCs

#133 » 7 Tips For Sci-Fi Burn-Out

#132 » 11 Town Design Tips

#131 » 8 Tips For Recovering From GM Burn-Out: GM Burn-Out Tips Part II

#130 » 9 Symptoms of GM Burn-Out: Avoiding GM Burn-Out Part I

#129 » Old Campaign, New PCs: Creating New Characters For Existing Campaigns

#128 » Different Ways Of Kinging It: A Quick Look At Alternative Traditions Of Monarchy

#127 » Using ‘Top 7 Lists’ To Help Assimilate Published Game Worlds

#126 » Building & Playing A More Unique & Memorable Character

#125 » From One Tyrant To Another: Villainous Tips Inspired By A Real World Dictator

#124 » Religions In RPGs – Designing Religions For Your Game-World

#123 » Running A Sci-Fi Game Setting Well: 8 Tips For Newbie GMs

#122 » 5 Poisonous Tips

#121 » 8 Ways To Spice Up A Campaign With Religion

#120 » 5 Firewalling Tips For Game Masters

#119 » 19 Tips For GMing Powerful Characters

#118 » 7 More Tips For GMing Weak Characters

#117 » 6 Tips For GMing Weak Characters

#116 » 9 Tips For Enhancing Treasure To Improve Your Campaigns

#115 » Quick-Start Sci-Fi RPG Tips For Newbies

#114 » Practical Methods for Making Your NPCs Come Alive

#113 » 6 Tips For Making Monsters Meaner

#112 » Making Music An Effective Part Of Your Roleplaying

#111 » 10 Tips For Roleplaying Rulers

#110 » BLANK

#109 » Ten Ways To Enrich Your Campaign With Lists Of Rulers - Part II

#108 » Ten Ways To Enrich Your Campaign With Lists Of Rulers - Part I

#107 » Tips On Making Creative And Informative Player Handouts

#106 » Company’s Coming! – A Recipe For Great Gaming In 2 Hours Or Less

#105 » Romance In RPGs: 6 Tips

#104 » 5 Ways To Work Information Into Your Game

#103 » 8 Ways To Make Your Campaign World Come Alive

#102 » Roleplaying & GMing Servant NPCs – Part II: Tips From Subscribers

#101 » Roleplaying & GMing Servant NPCs - Part I

#100 » Nitty-Gritty Villain Tips

#99 » 5 Meta-Gaming Tips

#98 » A Bunch More Tips From Your Fellow Readers

#97 » 6 Tips For Starting & Planning A Campaign

#96 » 8 Tips To Help You Wing-It

#95 » Subscribers’ Challenge: Green Dragon Blood Bath

#94 » 9 Ways To Increase Player Heroism In Your Game

#93 » Handling Large Groups Part I: Keeping Players Busy

#92 » Giving Better Descriptions - Part II

#91 » Captivate Your Players With Better Descriptions: 10 Tips

#90 » Cities Tips III

#89 » Using Tarot Cards To Help Plan & Inspire Your Games

#88 » Designing NPCs: 6 Miscellaneous Tips

#87 » Using Assassins In Your Games

#86 » 10 Ways To Use Traps To Enhance An Adventure - Part II

#85 » 10 Ways To Use Traps To Enhance An Adventure - Part I

#84 » Observations From A First-Time Game Master – 10 Tips For Beginner GMs

#83 » Comparing Play By Email (PBeM) With Other RPGs

#82 » 7 City Tips From Your Fellow Subscribers

#81 » 15 Tips For Making Cities In Your Games Come To Life

#80 » Creating NPC Voices: 6 Techniques & Tips From Subscribers

#79 » Using Limericks To Spice Things Up

#78 » GM Schizophrenia: Tips For Holding Conversations Between Multiple NPCs

#77 » 10 Tips On Passing Notes During Games

#76 » How To Deal With Absentee Players - Part II

#75 » 7 Plot Twisting Tips - Part I

#74 » 7 More Ways You Can Make Travel Interesting Or Important

#73 » 6 Ways You Can Use Names To Enhance Your Campaign - Part II

#72 » 6 Ways You Can Use Names To Enhance Your Campaign - Part I

#71 » 5 Ways You Can Make Travel Interesting Or Important

#70 » How To Deal With Absentee Players – Part I

#69 » Putting Together The Ultimate DM Binder

#68 » Character Questionnaires Tips & Techniques – Part II

#67 » Character Questionnaires Tips & Techniques – Part I

#66 » How To Get New People Hooked On Roleplaying

#65 » How To Introduce New People To Roleplaying

#64 » How To Multi-Task Better During Your Games: 5 Tips – Part II

#63 » How To Multi-Task Better During Your Games: 6 Tips – Part I

#62 » 9 Ways You Can Use Fiction Books As A GM Tool

#61 » Using Figures & Maps While Roleplaying: 11 Tips

#60 » 6 Miscellaneous Map Tips

#59 » 8 Tips For Creating Good Clues In Your Stories

#58 » 13 Tips For Finding New Players

#57 » 6 Ways To Perfect Your Gaming Environment

#56 » 5 Tips On Using Bureaucracy In Your Game World

#55 » A Highly Effective Gm Self-Improvement Tool: Setting Roleplaying Goals

#54 » 6 Story-Making Tips

#53 » 8 Deadly Combat Tips

#52 » 5 Ways To Help Your Players Roleplay More

#51 » 5 Meta-Game Tips About Rewards

#50 » BLANK

#49 » 10 Ways To Find Inspiration

#48 » 5 Things To Do When Your Players Aren’t Taking It Seriously

#47 » How To Keep Your Butt In One Piece While Adventuring In The Wilderness

#46 » 7 Tips For Fast & Effective Note-Taking, While Game Mastering - Part II

#45 » 7 Tips For Fast & Effective Note-Taking, While Game Mastering - Part I

#44 » How To Maintain Game Consistency, While Winging-It, For Left-Brain Game Masters – Part II

#43 » How To Maintain Game Consistency, While Winging It, For Left-Brain Game Masters – Part I

#42 » 9 Game Master Tips From Valdron Inc.

#41 » Law, Crime & Punishment in Fantasy Role Playing Games

#40 » 7 Quirk Tips & 40 Quirks For Your Reference

#39 » 6 More Ways To Use E-mail To Help Your Game

#38 » How To Use E-mail As A Super Campaign Management GM Tool

#37 » 5 Ways To Make Your NPCs Better & More Memorable

#36 » Adventure Writing Tips: The Goal Reversal & The 9-Act Format

#35 » 7 Great GMing Tips From Your Fellow Readers

#34 » 6 More Exciting Ways To Create Tension

#33 » 5 Exciting Ways To Create Tension

#32 » How To Create Powerful Plot Hooks – Part II

#31 » How To Create Powerful Plot Hooks - Part I

#30 » Readers' Response: 14 Great Villain Tips

#29 » Vile Villain Servants: 6 Flunky Tips

#28 » Exit Stage Left: How To Plot Your Villain’s Demise

#27 » 6 Devious Villain Tactics

#26 » A Quick & Dirty Guide To Creating Great Villains

#25 » 8 NPC Parley Tricks

#24 » Unlucky GM Syndrome: What To Do When You’re Rolling Horribly

#23 » Multi-Media In Roleplaying: 3 Experiments That Went Very Well

#22 » Seven Tricks to Save Time

#21 » 10 Ways To Surprise Your Players & Enjoy The Fun

#20 » Ten Tips For Stress-Free Gamemastering

#19 » Never Forget Your Dice Again

#18 » 10 Ways To Make Your Ogres More Intimidating

#17 » Great Campaign Journals — 6 Tips

#16 » Campaign Structure — Part II

#15 » Campaign Structure — Part I

#14 » 5 Tips To Creating A Truly Evil Villain

#13 » 5 Time Management Tips For Busy Roleplayers

#12 » Top 6 Ways To Use Encounters To Build A Compelling Campaign

#11 » Top 5 Ways To More Compelling Encounters

#10 » Romance In Games - It’s The Chase That’s Fun

#9 » Top 7 Tips For Developing The Voice That Wins

#8 » Imaginary Languages Excite the Brain and Add Depth to Your Campaign

#7 » Save Time & Get More Planning Done Through Campaign Newsletters

#6 » Use “In-Character” Feedback To Encourage Roleplaying

#5 » How To Turn Brain Teasers Into Amazing Roleplaying Opportunities

#4 » The Game Master As Public Speaker

#3 » How To Develop A Compelling Voice

#2 » The Time Bomb Solution

#1 » Mapping Dilemma: How To Stop Your Players From Yawning