From: Ben Scerri The literary principal of Chekhov’s Gun has been around since the late 19th century and has influenced every aspect of storytelling culture. However, in my experience, it has failed to fully affect gaming and the stories game masters tell. This might be due to the reactive essence of good gaming (i.e. the […]
Continue readingLast week I posted a reader request to help a GM’s PCs part ways with their money. I received a bunch of responses, so thanks very much! Following are just two responses. More to come in future issues. Here Cometh the Taxman From: Jack Butler The first thing that came to mind when I read […]
Continue readingFrom: Johnn Four GnomeStew author DNAphil recently posted about what digital tools he uses to run his campaign. At the end he asked GMs what tools they use, and I thought I’d respond here in the newsletter. Here’s the GnomeStew post: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/url/stewtoolbox Four Tool Types You can divide tools into four categories based on how […]
Continue readingFrom: Johnn Four and Tony Medeiros You are not alone. All around the internet, game masters talk about how long D&D and Pathfinder combat takes. In most cases, combat does not grind to a halt. If only such combats would end! Instead, they grind on and on and on…. However, the problems with long combats […]
Continue readingFrom: Johnn Four and Tony Medeiros Last week, we discussed five killers to your combat speed, along with solutions. Today, we finish with the top five things that make your fights slower than a gnome in full plate. 5. Boring Tactics The goal is fun. Challenging combats are fun. You need not have a TPK […]
Continue readingLast year I held a contest for minis tips and lots of entries poured in. Out of your great ideas, five categories emerged. We’ve already covered one of the categories, minis for frugal gamers, in issues #515 and #516: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/url/frugalminis This issue and next, we cover tips for using minis during game sessions. Some tips […]
Continue readingLast year I held a contest for minis tips and lots of entries poured in. Out of your great ideas, five categories emerged. We’ve already covered one of the categories, minis for frugal gamers, in issues #515 and #516: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/url/frugalminis And tips non-tactical use of minis, plus flying and invisible minis, appeared in last issue. […]
Continue readingFrom: Johnn Four I recently received this reader tip request from Tom G. about GMing dragons: First off, I’m totally thrilled by the Faster Combat GM-Course! Second, I am planning an encounter with a dragon. PCs will be 6th level and a dragon is going to destroy Falcon’s Hollow. I realized that I’ve never GMed […]
Continue readingFrom: Johnn Four Whether it involves barbarian’s stein-smacking pirates, or mercenaries blasting bounty hunters, you can run a barroom brawl in any tavern at any time in any genre. I’ve run brawls to start campaigns, kick-off game sessions, introduce new PCs to existing campaigns, stall for time and to give flagging sessions a jolt of […]
Continue readingFrom: Johnn Four I received a tip request from a Faster Combat member and decided to answer it in this newsletter as well as posting it in the Faster Combat members area. Adam wants to know how to roleplay better in combat: Hi Johnn and Tony, I call for initiative and the game changes from […]
Continue readingLast year I held a contest for minis tips and lots of entries poured in. Out of your great ideas, five categories emerged: #1 Minis for frugal gamers http://www.roleplayingtips.com/url/frugalminis. #2 Non-tactical use of minis #3 Flying and invisible minis Text Version. #4 Tactical gaming Text Version. Today, we tackle the final category: marking and condition […]
Continue readingOur oceans still surprise scientists and explorers. We have not seen much of their depths, and who knows what cool discoveries await? In RPT#542 a reader made this tips request: I’m starting a campaign that is almost entirely aquatic, where all the PCs are aquatic and the world above the water is hostile to life. […]
Continue readingFrom: Johnn Four RPT reader Alex B. wrote in with this request a little while ago: The key difficulty for me is roleplaying NPCs. I’m even having difficulty just havinga conversation between NPCs and the PCs. Instead, I tend to a summarize what they say. Thanks for the request, Alex. Roleplaying is tricky, especially if […]
Continue readingFrom: Johnn Four Over at my online school for game masters, FasterCombat.com, a member asked me for tips on how to teach combat to new players without confusing them. “In the lesson you make reference to the target times for Round Length and Player Turn Length that you use. Do you have any recommendations for […]
Continue readingFrom: Johnn Four Your voice has more influence during sessions than any other game element. Think about that for a moment. This is a major GMing trait we’re talking about here that has power over whether your game is fun. For example, consider these things that need your good, strong timbre at the game table: […]
Continue readingFrom: Owen K.C. Stephens Despite an endless range of possible of stories you can tell, sometimes you settle into a routine with your sessions. Your players learn to maximize the effectiveness of their characters’ abilities, and you grow accustomed to the reactions you’ll get from players. This isn’t a bad thing, but it can make […]
Continue readingFrom: Chris Williams One of the words that gets bandied around in place of game master is referee. As referee, you are ruling between the players and yourself (at least, that’s how your players might see it). So you have to be fair. Another way of looking at it is you have to interpret the […]
Continue readingFrom: John William Grigsby IV As GM, one of your chief roles is roleplaying. Whether it’s the mighty dragon the heroes have just offended or the goose girl they run into on the street, you are responsible for portraying these individuals. Why not make them memorable? One of the most memorable encounters my group had […]
Continue readingMartin Ralya at Engine Publishing sent me a preview of his latest book, Never Unprepared: The Complete Game Master’s Guide to Session Prep. (Thanks Martin – the book looks great!) Written by Phil Vecchione, the 127 page book is carved into three main sections: Understanding Prep Prep Toolbox Evolving Your Style There are also meta […]
Continue readingLast week we covered some great advice from the new Gnome Stew book written by Phil Vecchione. The book is called Never Unprepared: The Complete Game Master’s Guide to Session Prep. You can pre-order it now at: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/url/rpt550neverunprepared Phil talks about three mistakes we GMs make with preparation: Mistake #1: Writing Too Much Mistake #2: […]
Continue readingFrom: Johnn Four You and I want to become awesome storytellers, and this tip goes a long way in helping transform game mechanics into entertaining GMing for us. Knowledge skills offer rich gameplay opportunities: They can tie PC backgrounds into what’s happening right now in the game. They give you a way to smoothly offer […]
Continue readingIn RPT #551, Chris asked for help running long-term campaigns. I know from personal experience these are rare and wondrous things. To me, a long-term campaign is at least three years running, in real time. I know some of you have magnificent 10, 15 and 20+ year campaigns. Hats off to you, great game masters. […]
Continue readingFrom: Silveressa The classic swamp, filled with a purveying dampness and faint mist. Clouds of buzzing biting insects drift over vast expanses of soggy marsh and brackish water. Lone trees tilt towards the sky, struggling against the purveying rot. Swamplands are a unique environment and therefore offer you unique game play options. This article will […]
Continue readingFrom: Silveressa Bringing Swamps to Life [Johnn: Last week, we presented you an overview of what swamps are all about and some of their hidden dangers. Today, Silveressa offers you a few great encounter seeds to help inspire your swampy games. A reader wrote saying the swamp tips were great, and he’d file them away […]
Continue readingHere is the first batch of contest entries I’ve edited, and they offer a nice mix of action, roleplay and background. Use these to inspire encounters for the next road trip the PCs take. A passing mail-courier’s horse gets spooked and throws courier. The courier dies in the fall, and the mail bag has the […]
Continue reading