Why do you love dungeons?

Dungeons: dark holes in the ground. What’s the attraction? Is it the loving community of hungry monsters? The helpful pits, poison needles, and crushing ceiling tiles? Maybe it’s the pleasant aromas of necrotic flesh, well-groomed creatures, and fresh flowers? I urge you to think about the big picture of each dungeon for a moment during […]

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

A Roleplaying Tips GM wrote in with this problem: Johnn. My players are all about the XP! “If I can’t get XP for it, there’s no point.” Short of “I’ll give you XP if you can tell me what this quest is about” I haven’t figured out a way to get them off the “XP […]

Encounter Triangles – A New Design Tool For Your Gm Toolbox

What I like now are encounters with more than one interesting aspect. Used to be I was satisfied with a monster and some treasure. But not these days. I want my cheese and pickles too.

So I’ve come up with a draft of a technique I’m calling Encounter Triangles. Here’s the gist of it. Let me know what you think.

You Are What Your Dice Eat

Did you know we lose fat by breathing it out? It’s true. I discovered this on my quest to losing 18 pounds (and counting) this year.

The myth is we “burn” fat, or fat lost through diet and exercise breaks up and gets excreted. But scientists discovered awhile ago that’s not how it works.

The Potion Factory for Fun Faction Finagling

On theme with this month’s RPG Blog Carnival, here’s an idea for arming your next faction without destroying campaign balance: create a Factory.

The Next Action Method – Small Moments of Game Prep

When I have the major elements of my Loopy Plots figured out, I need to dig into certain details to get gameplay going and plug holes.

A tool I use to do this is my Next Action Method.

Campaign Logger New Updates

New Campaign Logger updates and bug fixes are now available for Web app users. Next time you login you should be updated instantly. Updates include new dice roller codes, enter key now does line breaks, and more.

GM Tools Carnival Wrap-Up

September’s RPG Blog Carnival was all about Game Master Tools, Aids, Apps & Hacks.

How can we be better, more efficient, more effective game masters?

Several GMs stepped up to the plate and wrote about their favourite tools and approaches…

Hello, are you listening?

Upon reflection, one of my biggest challenges is listening to the game. I’m not paying enough attention to my players. For example, how many plot hooks did I pick up from my players last session? Zero. The trick to being a happy game master is being present during games. Being in the present. If I’m […]

The pain of GMing a perfectionist player

An RPT Reader asked for tips on how to deal with a perfectionist player. Someone who “enjoys really thinking out moves and plays to make sure they picked the right one.” The player also has the “classic new player fear of doing it wrong.” “The new player part is not what I’m worried about. I […]

My players are crazy! They’re destroying treasure

Last night I could only stand there and shake my head in disbelief.

I saw them destroy not one, but two unique, custom treasures I had made for specific players….

Encounters Seeds formula part II

In a recent Musing I talked about a formula to create encounter seeds fast: What if? + one source of inspiration = one encounter seed. I also provided three example sources of inspiration: The Monster Manual The News Random Page Finally, I offered bonus points if you connect encounter seeds to each other so your plot […]

Panicked Prep For Next Session

Writer’s block. Bleh. You can’t figure out what to craft for next session. No encounter ideas come to mind. Zilch. Panic sets in as you hear the clock tick.

Here’s how I talk myself off the ledge.

New features released for Campaign Logger

The Campaign Logger app for GMs just got titillating new features you’ll find useful for your campaign wranglin’. These features make it easier to stay on top of your campaign details and make your detailed notes easier to find and read, whether it’s during the heat of a session or those creative days leading up […]

The craziest jerk I’ve been yet

I’ve done something terribly good and amazingly evil in my campaign. I don’t know whether to cackle in glee or hang my head in shame. Here’s what’s happening.

How to Prep And Organize A Monthly Campaign

By Dr. Nik My cousin recently got in touch with me because they are starting up a role playing game campaign. Some of the players are new. Others, like my cousin, haven’t played in years. The group will play in a method I’ve used for several campaigns. They will meet and play an extended session […]

Game Master Tools, Aids, Apps & Hacks – RPG Blog Carnival September 2016

This month’s RPG Blog Carnival is one of my favourite topics. How do you stay organized as a GM? What tools, aids, apps, hacks do you employ to stay sane and on top of the million details and doodads of your campaigns?

RPT#700: My Favourite RPT Issues Of All Time

Brief Word From Johnn By Orcus’s Balls, Whodda Thunk It? 700 Issues! [toc] I’m not one for reminiscing, so I’ll keep this short. 700 issues works out to about 3.1 million words according to my word processor. Words from me, and words from you. And out of all those words one simple message is clear: […]

3 Line NPC Contest

Quick update: the contest is now over. Thanks to everyone who entered! Use My New 3 Line NPC Generator to Create Great NPCs To celebrate RPT#700, and to get your help testing a new online generator I’ve created, I’ve got another GM challenge and contest queued up. The theme is 3 Line NPCs and there’s […]

RPT#642: “I only have 30 minutes to prepare for a game” What do you do?

Tips and ideas on how to panic and get ready for a game with only 30 minutes to prepare. I'm going to assume you don't just wing it 100%. That requires no prep time except to go to the store to buy snacks. 🙂 Instead, I'm going to say you GM like me, where you want some ideas, notes, and rough plans, because you like a safety net and enjoy having at least some material to riff off of during the session.

RPT#632: How To Create Your Own Combat Missions

Want to design your own combat missions, fully tailored to the people, places, and things of your campaign? Today you’ll learn how to do this, including what design questions to ask and answer along the way. Let total annihilation scenarios take a back seat while you light a fire under your combat creativity.

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

Brief Word From Johnn Dungeon Crawl Classics Is A Classic I had a blast this past weekend playing the DCC RPG for the first time. We adventured through the character funnel, 67: Sailors on the Starless Sea. The flavour of the game is great. The core rules are a toned down variant of d20, with […]

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

A Brief Word From Johnn Only Hours Left On Assassin’s Amulet Deal The special price for Roleplaying Tips subscribers expires October 27 – just a few hours from now. To get the code that gives you 33% off the cover price, before the special expires, visit this link. GMing Two Weeks In A Row I’m […]

RPT#699: PC Home Base Tips & Tables

Today’s issue is all about home base campaigns. Some great tips and ideas from Anson. And then some juicy tables for inspiration from Eric. I hope these help you run your next home base with lots of fun and adventure for the PCs.

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

RPG Designer James Gauvreau kicks off a short series on culture building for you with the Klok’k’ot. The Klok’k’ot are an urban desert civilization on a precipice.