Roleplaying Tips Blog

Monster Challenge

Had a great game of Out of the Abyss on Friday. Lots of funny gameplay stories came out of it. Here’s two, plus a challenge for you. First story is about housekeeping. As a player, always confirm your XP! I’m playing a 4th level cleric who runs around saying “Praise Helm” in a French accent. […]

Cool Idea: Skill Treasures

Here’s a simple way to make awesome magic items customised for your players. The idea occurred to me the other day, and I don’t know why I haven’t thought of it before. I’ll outline the recipe in three steps because I loves me my GMing recipes. 🙂 Step One: Skill Hunting Review each character sheet […]

Idea: Living Spell

Here’s a cool Wednesday idea for your game sent to me by Aramax over at Strolen’s Citadel. What happens when a spell goes awry? Perhaps it’s a miscasting? Maybe a foe warps three simultaneous effects cast upon him. Maybe it’s a research mishap. Of the many ways spells could change and twist unexpectedly, a few […]

Spinning Up The Idea Machine

Last Musing generated quite the buzz in my inbox! It was almost all positive feedback about the notion of interrogating your ideas. To recap, take any idea you have and brainstorm 10 ways you can make an encounter or situation out of it. Think of it as an Idea Machine. Do this to test whether […]

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

I recently interviewed former WotC employee, writer, and editor, Philip Athans. (I’ll be sharing the MP3 audio of it with you soon.) One of the questions I asked was about a GM’s secret weapon — how to show, not tell. Philip said it was all about getting players to feel like they are their characters […]

How To Beat Prep Anxiety

Here’s a cool experiment from fellow RPT reader Iona to reduce the anxiety she felt before games. As smart, caring, sensitive people, we GMs want the best experience for our players. But this leads to perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and unease before sessions. Here’s how Iona solved it. I have something I would like to share […]

Make Encounters Intense

Static RPG encounters become predictable. We roll initiative. PCs choose their targets. Grind until the last hit point. However, there’s a concept I’ve penned in my upcoming 5 Room Dungeons book called Intensify. Use this to make encounters come alive, surprise the PCs, and keep your players thoroughly entertained. The technique is simple. At some […]

Fear the GM

When I surveyed readers last year about what kinds of adventure design challenges you all faced, one thing that came up was how to solve the PCs rampaging through your encounters without a care in the world. The characters don’t plan, never retreat, and don’t parley. This topic is salient because I’m planning out Season […]

A Cool Twist For One Of Your Players

Was chatting with the paladin before a game the other day and he gave me an idea. A core theme of fantasy is discovering you are amazing. Bullied boy or girl in small community learns they have magical powers or are gifted with sword-fighting or some other skill. This resonates with readers because we all […]

RPT Gem: A Fantastic Encounter Building Tool

If you have writer’s block, this is a fantastic GM encounter building tool created by Brennan OBrien. Today’s Musing is a short one. Just check this tool out and explore its possibilities. For example, I think it’s awesome for encounter building. Encounter Building Recipe Start with an encounter seed idea for a person, place, or […]

Character Home Bases Part III: Example Village of Coldwater

On Monday we covered how to get players to care about home bases. Wednesday I showed you a simple three step village creation recipe that you can world-build from. And today I’ll walk you through a quick example that you can also drop right into your campaign this weekend. Note that I use my app […]

Character Home Bases Part II: How To Create Villages Fast

Last tip I rambled on about building character home bases and several ways you can invite players to care about them. While the Hobos of the Apocalypse will likely be creating a village community from ground up, I will want other villages to exist in the Good Faction held territory to flesh the region out […]

Character Home Bases Part I: 6 Tips

The Hobos of the Apocalypse (formerly The Murder Hobos now reborn as positive change agents) need and want a home base once they emerge from the bowels of the elemental dungeons they currently cleanse. The problem is, they’ve got few stakes in the place I’ll design. The campaign started as a pre-gen playtest of D&D […]

Resonance Part II: How to Create Resonance

Last Musing we talked about how to get apathetic players to care about your adventure by using Theme and Resonance. Theme is about choosing, designing, and introducing gameplay elements that focus on your campaign goal. Resonance is about choosing themes that will draw your players in and make them care deeply about what happens during […]

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

How do you get players to care about their characters and your plot? This is in the top 10 questions I get asked all the time. It’s tough to do. Today I’ll share one approach to encounter building that’s part of the 5 Room Dungeon product I’m working on that helps you solve this tricky […]

Mad Lib Template for Hook, Line & Sinkers

The other day I talked about a classic GMing technique called Hook, Line & Sinkers. Use this three-part method to generate encounter skeletons fast. I remember first coming across this method in the Knights of the Dinner Table Magazine. Each issue would have a few to inspire your game. Victor Diaz recently posted about them, […]

Why Will It Be Fun?

We get stuck in our own heads. What we think will be fun for players is actually ego strokes for our GMing. Don’t fall into this trap. Here’s a perfect example. A GM asked for help polishing their encounter: GM: “As the PCs explore a cavern I plan on having a flash flood hit them […]

The Hook, Line & Sinkers Method Will Inspire Your Encounters

Here’s a great way to create encounter seeds for your next game via RPT Reader Victor Diaz. It’s called the Hook, Line & Sinkers method. From the RIFTS Adventure Book, page 38: Hook, Line & Sinkers ™ is the popular Game Master’s tool created by Jolly Blackburn. The idea behind it is simple — give […]

The Phantasmal Pessimist and Other Living Spell Examples

A couple weeks ago I offered a tip on creating Living Spells using a three step recipe. At the end was a challenge to use the recipe and create your own Living Spells. In today’s Musing I share with you four Living Spells, crafted by your fellow readers, that caught my eye. Here’s a link […]

Build Story Last

For RPG purposes, I define story as the sequence of events that come out of gameplay. And I think of plot as the GM’s plan for those events. Plot comes first, story comes second. Plot is based on ideas and connections for events and situations. It’s flexible and adapts to character actions and resulting consequences. […]

A Slick Three Step Wandering Monster System

Ever since running B1: In Search of the Unknown I’ve enjoyed wandering monsters. As PCs quested for the legendary treasure of Roghan and Zelligar, I’d roll and run all sorts of monster encounters. It gave me yet another opportunity to be creative during the game. This month’s RPG Blog Carnival hosted over at Moebius Adventures […]

What If?… Plot Seeds Generator

Last Musing I answered a question from Anon GM about what hooks are and why you want to use them. Today let’s dig into part two of their question: What are seeds? In my lingo, a seed is an idea not fleshed out yet. For example, good drow running from evil kin. Or, magic armour, […]

What Are Seeds And Hooks?

Anon GM wrote in with this request about seeds and hooks: I need your help with something embarrassing. I have been DMing for years now and realized there is something that seems to be foundational to game play and I kind of don’t know anything about it. I have read your tips and have read […]

GMing Your First Game Session – d12 Tips

What advice would you give to a GM prepping their first session? A reader emailed me and shared their nervousness at sitting behind the screen for the first time. So I asked this question over at the Game Master Tips community (almost 9,000 members woot!) and received some great advice. Here’s d12 excellent pieces of […]

How to Avoid a TPK When GMing Intense Encounters

With the Encounter Intensify Technique you increase the stakes during an encounter to give your players a jolt of adrenaline. Just when you think it can’t get worse or more desperate, it does. A reader asked me how to avoid wiping the party, because I advised picking a moment when encounter outcome seems dubious. Pick […]

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