Roleplaying Tips Blog

Explosive Session Starts, Part I: The Cajun Spice List

Here's how to take an existing planned encounter and ensure it has spice for an explosive session start.

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 […]

Campaign Logger game master organization app for RPG

Create Your Own Generator Using Campaign Logger’s Engine

The Campaign Logger RPG app includes a generic engine you can use to create your own generators for the app. It works by defining how the result should look and then providing tables from which to pick elements for the desired result. It’s a bit like making Mad Libs. Here's a tutorial.

Creating My First 5 Room Dungeon in Campaign Logger

For my recently started MMO (moderately multi-player offline) campaign I have been looking for a format which eases on my GM workload and still provides an entertaining experience for my potentially changing player and character audience. Luckily, Johnn Four shot me a link to his 5 Room Dungeons which was exactly what I have been looking for.

On top of the format, managing a changing audience that potentially crawls the same dungeon more or less concurrently asked for a tool that allowed fast, easy and effective note-taking while I am moderating the table at the same time. Enter Campaign Logger...

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 […]

Campaign Logger Just Replaced My Paper Notebook

Starting a new campaign is like the last strip of Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes: “full of possibilities!” It’s a blank piece of paper, a fresh field of snow, or whatever analogy is most appropriate for the area you live in. The only thing standing between you and the epic plans you have for your players’ characters is penning them all down.

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 […]

Trying Out Funnel Adventures and Campaign Logger for the First Time

During last Sunday’s game, my group and I played something I have wanted to try for a long time: the funnel game. Characters and monsters both fell to gruesome deaths, chickens were sacrificed in the name of the greater good, and treasure was avoided in case it was tied to a trap that would blow one of our would-be heroes away. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to start a fantasy campaign any other way again. To prepare and help me run the game, I also got to use Campaign Logger for the first time.

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! 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: we […]

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.

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