We wax a bit philosophical today. Last email I shared a session account of my Murder Hobos campaign. A few RPT GMs asked about the quasit incident. An invisible creature snuck out of a room to report to the stage boss that the PCs had arrived. One GM asked if this was fair. Another GM […]
Continue readingRPT GM Tom G asks: I would like to know how my fellow GMs battle dungeon fatigue. I have no difficulties making the entry, the story of the dungeon and the first couple of rooms interesting. But after a while it all bogs down to left, right, or straight ahead. Any dungeon of more than […]
Continue readingToday I have a few interesting character development ideas for you as a follow-up to the A Cool Twist For One Of Your Players Musing I published in February, 2017. The idea is to make each character special in some way to not only create great player engagement but to give you more adventure hooks […]
Continue readingI’m writing right now in my Guide to 5 Room Dungeons about Push versus Pull. Push GMing means forcing players in a certain direction. But players are their own beings. They think and act independent of your wishes. You cannot control another person. Therefore, you cannot control your players. If you try, everyone just gets […]
Continue readingLet’s talk about the unknown for a minute. We instinctively fear the dark. Yet, we can’t help but wonder what’s there. Use this tension between darkness and light to fuel curiosity, wonder, and excitement for your games. We Sit in The Middle What might not be obvious is there are different depths of shadow within […]
Continue readingWhen A Door Is Not Just a Door — The Technique of Transitions How your players go from one Room to the next will make or break your 5 Room Dungeon designs. If players have no choice, then that gets frustrating fast. If you give players choice, then what if they take an unexpected turn […]
Continue readingIt’s fine to have a big Cast of Non-Player Characters whipped up, but that does not get us all the way to a campaign filled with intrigue, roleplaying, and twisty-crazy developments. You want some specific story roles filled to make that happen. Use my quick 3 Line NPC creation method and build one NPC for […]
Continue readingAdventures get repetitive and boring. “Bring me another 10 scorpion tales!” Even megadungeons and campaign paths can grind you down. I received an email from a subscriber who asked how to keep players engaged. He caught one player even playing video games on their phone during sessions. The best way I know how to keep […]
Continue readingSveiki %FIRSTNAME%, Grand campaigns take characters from weaklings to near demi-gods. Intrigue campaigns have shadowy layers with a central truth hidden deep in the core. Mega-plot campaigns have a pyramid of villains and factions piled atop each other like an Ikea storage unit. How do we know what truths to reveal? When do we reveal them? I’ve found […]
Continue readingImagine you have a party of PCs who insult nice people with their insensitivity, who take actions without care for the consequences and effects it has on others, who murder hobo without remorse. I know. It’s a stretch. But just try imagining characters who are like that. Here’s how to turn the tables. And how […]
Continue readingWhen monsters become meat bags you lose a big opportunity for roleplay and storytelling. I’m guilty of queuing up encounters with 2d6 orcs in a 10′ x 10′ room. Big time wasters. Pointless. And boring. I know players love to use their characters’ powers. And crushing a foe is fun. But after a few times […]
Continue readingGreat GMing means making great decisions. In the heat of gameplay we have a lot going on in our foggy noggins. (Say foggy noggins ten times fast.) We’re doing some math, picking NPC words, choosing foe tactics, observing players, drawing maps, conjuring details, thinking three seconds into the future, and on and on. I love […]
Continue readingRPT GM LadySeshiiria asks a big world-building question. Good timing, LadySeshiiria, because I’ve just started planning out my realm called Duskfall for season three of Hobos of the Apocalypse. So I can hopefully help today with a high-level overview of my world-building recipe. Here is LadySeshiiria’s question: Johnn, What is a good way to organize […]
Continue readingWithout a key idea or theme, our adventures can feel like an uninspired assortment of random ideas. Our adventures fail to make an impact and they fall apart. One awesome solution is to create a Feature. Before you begin adventure design, choose a Feature. Pick a central idea and build your five rooms out from […]
Continue readingBefore you put pen to paper designing your next 5 Room Dungeon, do this one quick thing to greatly improve your design. When I build 5 Room Dungeons I often find it’s a struggle to make them more than just an assortment of encounters. Make It Pop A designer I worked with had a massive […]
Continue readingSaw a great tip on Twitter from Mike Shea the other day: Adding a daily spell to a magic itemis a great way to make it boththematic and mechanically useful. This is an awesome method to customize and enhance treasure. You could also surprise players with cool boons like this. The magic pool, mysterious portal, […]
Continue readingI wrote this Bonus Musing for you on the weekend in response to a question from RPT GM and Patron Andy Fundinger. Andy asked me how you draw on an antagonist’s high IQ to build clever plans. Here are three ways. Think Ahead I was talking to folks at work about a plan they were […]
Continue readingI got this tip while reading The Index Card RPG by Rune Hammer Games. Treat every session like you were prepping for a one-shot. If you’ve ever run a convention game or organized play type game, you know it’s a bit different than your typical campaign prep mindset. No one expects to play again after […]
Continue readingI recently read about a memorization technique called Memory Palace, also called Method of loci. It helps you memorize lists and facts. Dungeons are more my style than fancy palaces. So today let’s look at how this quick memory hack can help you prep faster and run adventures better. We Think Story Our brains are […]
Continue readingLast Starfinder game I felt valuable when I came up with a good idea about talking to the Starfinder Society office greeter. That person would see the comings and goings of everyone and might get us a lead on the employee we were investigating. It’s awesome feeling valued. I was thinking about this when I […]
Continue readingRoleplaying Tip GM Dario asks, “How do you create encounters on the fly? Do you just have the DM tables at hand, roll a d20 a few times and voilá? Or do you have a specific procedure?” Thanks for the great question, Dario. I have a few tools for improve encounters: GM Agenda The first […]
Continue readingRoleplaying Tips GM Iona asked me how to kick off new campaigns: I am going to run a semi-blank character sheet game. The game concept is that players are normal humans kidnapped from Earth and sent to a planet where they can gather magical skills Pokemon style. I am unsure on what to run as […]
Continue readingGot another Mad Lib for you today. This one is for special item creation and is inspired by the Perilous Deeps book for Dungeon World. Just fill in the blanks to make an interesting item: This item [DOES ACTION] [TO A THING] and the wielder [CAN CONTROL IT] which [CAN BE USED SOMETIMES]. For example: This item allows for communication with predatory […]
Continue readingHere’s a quick recipe for building a sandbox campaign. The point is to not do a whole lot of plot prep in advance. Be an Agile GM. Only plan deeper once players have chosen a hex, path, or entrance. Step 1: Sandbox Campaign Structure First thing I’d do is decide on the overall structure. This gives you […]
Continue readingQuestions are the best way to get your players tuned in, roleplaying, and thinking about the game. However, not all questions are equal. GIGO applies here. Ask a bad question, get a garbage answer and no game lift. But ask the right question at the right time and you reap all kinds of game table […]
Continue reading