GM Techniques Archives - Page 2 of 5

Drama Doubloons

by Lord Skudley Drama Doubloons {DD} will be awarded to any Character who commits a selfless act or brave deed that can only be called Heroic. Likewise Drama Doubloons can be offered to an evil aligned character that performs a particularly vile act. They can be used at the player’s discretion to perform amazing, often […]

Hierarchy of Evil

by Malcolm E. Hays Introduction Many GMs have a tough time working out some of the details in a campaign. To be honest, designing a campaign can be a lot of work, especially when you have other things that also occupy your time like school and work. GMs like to put as much detail into […]

Tips from the Trenches

by Rana Loreus How many times has Murphy visited your gaming session and hurls a few Missiles of Murphy or Power Word: Murphy’s Law at you? GMing is a mind-boggling task – there are NPC’s to keep track off, secret dice rolls to make, complex rules to remember and the power-hungry, partially-insane munchkin power-gamer to […]

Gm Interview: Christopher Burdett

This week we interview Chris, a free flowing GM who enjoys using a variety of game mechanics, from dice to jenga blocks, to bring his adventures to life. Please introduce yourself Your name: Christopher Burdett – Not the same one that does art for WotC, however. Do you have a blog, website or campaign wiki? I […]

Starting and Running a Role-Playing Games Club

By Katrina Middelburg-Creswell Part One: The Birth Of A Club And Some Bumps Along The Way I’m a Middle School teacher who is a long-time gamer. So when some of my 7th grade students discovered my hobby “Hey – is that an R.A. Salvatore book on her desk? She plays D&D! No way! Cool!” it […]

Role-Playing Games and Kids

By Katrina Middelburg-Creswell High school teacher and RPG club organizer in the Netherlands There seem to be two sides to questions about role-playing games and kids. The first one is more about parents – how do you convince them that RPGs are a fun, engaging hobby rather than a life-sucking obsession? The second point is a […]

Gaming Group Grind

by Jeff Pawlowsk I’m always amazed by the way some games last years when no one in the game is having any fun. There is something mystical about having a regular game that is comforting and the hassles of finding and integrating into a new gaming group is a daunting task. It is very similar to […]

GM Interview: Rebecca

This week we interview Rebecca, a fan of D&D 4th edition from Ireland, a lover of Forgotten Realms and enjoy’s creating her own story arcs. Please introduce yourself: Hey, I’m Rebecca Maguire. From Ireland, studying to be an English teacher. Do you have a blog, website or campaign wiki? http://www.sites.google.com/site/forgottenrealmsdnd It is currently under construction. I’m not […]

Colourful Combat Descriptions

By Rana Loreus 1. Bring the Combatants to Life The barbarian berserker let loose with a cry of savage wildness, and throws himself at his opponent, a swordsman dressed in midnight black. Even as the berserker let loose a torrent of blows at the swordsman, the swordsman’s composure remains calm, and with a smug smile […]

How To Create Great Magic Items In Just Three Minutes

Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #0531 How To Create Great Magic Items In Just Three Minutes Design awesome magical rewards during commercial breaks Busy GMs need help prepping for games faster. And you can create fantastic magic items in just three minutes using my stat block. Magic treasure is critical in most fantasy games because it does […]

GM Interview: Adrian

Today we interview Adrian, a GM who plays mostly one-on-one games and is a master of improvisation, enjoying a cinematic approach to gaming. Please introduce yourself: Your name: AD Do you have a blog, website or campaign wiki? Nope How long have you been a GM? Damnation, its been 10 years. What are your favourite […]

Bright Lights, Big City

by Jeff Ibach How to keep your character busy in a large town or city. While in a small town or thorp, there might not be a lot of options when the Dungeon Master asks how you pass the time, but in a big city the possibilities are endless. Depending on how your games play out, […]

GM Interview: Trevor Wiley

This week we interview Trevor, a GM who enjoys AD&D, WEG Star Wars, and has a love for creating his own worlds and adventures. Please introduce yourself: Your name: Trevor Wiley Do you have a blog, website or campaign wiki? http://worldcrafters.blogspot.com , the home for my D&D campaign as well as some of my other […]

Weapons Permits

By Ralf Kruytzer This article deals with the questions, Why are there weapon permits in my Fantasy Medieval World? Why are there restrictions on wearing weapons? How the heck did our DM got that goofy idea? (As some players might ask themselves). This article tries to help the DM (or GM) to sell such an […]

GM Interview: Rory Klein

This week we interview Rory, a GM from Cape Town who’s a huge Greyhawk fan. If you have any questions about his campaign feel free to post them below. Please introduce yourself Hi, I am Rory from South Africa, Cape Town. I am 39 years old and I work as an IT Consultant. “Online,” I go by […]

Big Secrets and Big Plots in Roleplaying Games

By Heather Grove So many roleplaying game plots revolve around secrets. GMs try to make sure that there’s always another mystery in the game for the characters to run after and solve – lots of people love a good mystery. Secrets add spice and interest to a game. They make your players go nuts trying […]

3 Ways To Make Your Life As GM Easier

By Darren Blair Let’s face it. No matter how hard we try there comes a point where reality bogs us down. Last-minute errands, phone tag, burn-out at work or school, and other issues make it harder for GMs to plan and run the game, and it saps player energy and brainpower. So, what’s a good […]

How Do You Prevent Metagaming?

In RPT#520, Sean made this tips request: Johnn, I nearly laughed aloud at work over the “One More Tip: Top 10 Ways to Stop Sounding So Damn Metagamey.” I would love to see some tips on handling metagame scenarios in tactful ways. My group tends to pour through every source book at their disposal (and […]

How To Lie And Get Caught At It

From Mark of the Pixie Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #0527 A Brief Word from Johnn Backup Your Game Data RPT reader Mark of the Pixie lost all his game info last week. He sent out a note to the GMMastery list reminding everybody to back up their data. That’s a bummer, Mark. And thanks for the […]

Guide to PBP / PBEM

By Scott Sylvester With busy schedules these days there seems to be precious little time for the more mature and adult gamers to indulge in their teenage passions of gaming. Once upon a time, there were countless hours in the day that could be carelessly frittered away around the gaming table listening to your favorite […]

Fear in RPGs

by Delphine T. Lynx Fear. One of our strongest emotions, and yet one very difficult to conjure up unless it’s genuine. It can be fleeting or eternal, gentle or monstrous. But how does Fear apply to RPGs? It is important to note that not every roleplaying game would benefit from a sense of impending doom, […]

Adventure Design Tip: How Do You use Chekhov’s Gun in Gaming?

From Ben Scerri Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #0524 Adventure Design Tip: How Do You use Chekhov’s Gun in Gaming? 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 […]

How to Add Conspiracy Theories to Your Game

The most interesting thing about conspiracy theories is they could be true. Supporters will find evidence to support them, while the government will disprove them. The rest of the world doesn’t know or doesn’t care. That’s why many theorists keep ideas within sympathetic groups and only go public when they have enough proof. Create a […]

How to Create Blockbuster Box Office Hits with Your Players – Every Adventure

From Brad Allen Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #0523 A Brief Word from Johnn Welcome New Advertiser: The Book Trailer Darcy Pattison coaches’ fiction writers. That’s us, right? GMs need to write backgrounds, histories, plots, NPCs and more. And while we do not follow all the conventions of a fiction book – rumor has it that players […]

Writing the Effective Villain

by Ruth D. Kerce A lot has been written about how to develop the hero and heroine in a story. An often overlooked, but equally important character, is the villain. He/She must also be developed properly to make the plot believable. Many of the techniques used to develop other characters will also work in developing […]

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