Military Tips
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #318 Military Tips In issue #314 we put out a request for military oriented tips. Following are some great ideas and bits of advice from your fellow Roleplaying Tips readers. Rank And Hierarchy From Max Dodge Private – Private comes from new recruits joining in defense of their land. Otherwise known as […]
Continue readingHow To Build A Large Character Gallery
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #319 How To Build A Large Character Gallery From James Patrick Patterson Using the methods outlined below, you can gain a large collection of non-player characters to use as pre-generated player characters or as NPCs that are just as detailed as normal PCs with little effort. Make A Copy Of All New […]
Continue readingMaking Magic Items Interesting
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #320 Making Magic Items Interesting From Matt Craft Boring Magic A common problem in fantasy games is that magic items, no matter how rare they’re supposed to be, end up becoming boring, commonplace tools as far as the players are concerned. A longsword +1 is just a weapon that deals an extra […]
Continue readingMaking Magic Items Interesting, Part 2
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #321 Making Magic Items Interesting, Part 2 Add Interesting Descriptions From Dave Schaefer You can add flavor through description. Handing out a boring, old, shield +1? Make it a tortoise shell with leather straps. Describe the shell as dark brown with orange highlights along the ridges, notched from many blows, but still […]
Continue readingMaking Magic Items Interesting, Part 3
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #322 Making Magic Items Interesting, Part 3 This is the last part of our scheduled Magic Items series. Stay tuned for a Supplemental Issue for download that will contain all the great tips I received regarding magic items. Thanks again to all the authors and tipsters who’ve patiently waited for their tips […]
Continue readingHow To Get More From Your Monsters – Part 1
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #323 How To Get More From Your Monsters – Part 1 From Andrew H. Many of the following tips have been suggested before, over the years. I hope to give you a practical spin that will enable any game master to turn a single adventure into a whole campaign. I have used […]
Continue readingHow To Get More From Your Monsters – Part 2
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #324 How To Get More From Your Monsters – Part 2 From Andrew H. Many of the following tips have been suggested before over the years, in this column, in gaming magazines, and elsewhere. I hope this will be a practical spin on them that will enable any game master to turn […]
Continue readingUnusual Customs and Festivals
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #325 Unusual Customs and Festivals From James Patrick Patterson In England there are quite a few unusual customs and festivals still celebrated that could be adapted as background flavor, adding an extra dash of local color to any adventure, and offering many opportunities for role- playing. They may or may not involve […]
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Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #326 7 More Monstrous Tips In July 2005, Roleplaying Tips Weekly ran a contest for monster related tips of all kinds. Subscribers responded with nearly 100 entries, and many prizes were handed out. Below are a handful of entries from the contest. May your critters live long and prosper! A Way To […]
Continue readingMeta-Game Organizations
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #327 Meta-Game Organizations From Jake Robins The term meta-gaming often has negative connotations in a roleplaying game, but it is not negative by definition. Meta-gaming simply means outside of the game, and the idea of meta-game organizations is a subject that can be brought to any RPG with little negative reaction. What […]
Continue readingThe NPC Factor, Part 1
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #328 The NPC Factor, Part 1 From Mike Bourke There is an art to making good NPCs. Most referees – and I used to be one of the crowd in this respect – barely manage to scrape by from week to week. Life becomes a never-ending battle to have NPCs ready for […]
Continue readingThe NPC Factor, Part 2
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #329 The NPC Factor, Part 2 From Mike Bourke PART II: NPC Development Some characters are one-offs, present for a particular scene and never intended to return. However, memorable characters have a habit of turning up again and again; the continuity they carry helps make the world seem real and consistent. That […]
Continue readingNPC Name Tips and Resources
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #330 NPC Name Tips and Resources From Johnn Four Group Lexicon Names are a primary game element. They provide a lexicon the group shares to help identify what you are talking about. Imagine the confusion if NPCs didn’t have names and you only referred to them indirectly: Who’s on first, What’s on […]
Continue readingInteresting Combats With Themed Skirmish Groups, Part 1
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #331 Interesting Combats with Themed Skirmish Groups, Part 1 From Johnn Four Themed skirmish groups are a great way to make combats interesting. Players love it when they encounter new, unexpected, and unusual opponents. Choosing a special theme and building a group of foes around it is also a good way to […]
Continue readingInteresting Combats With Themed Skirmish Groups, Part 2
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #332 Interesting Combats With Themed Skirmish Groups, Part 2 From Johnn Four You can read Part 1 online at: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=331 Themed skirmish groups make combats interesting. Players enjoy challenging, unexpected, and unusual foes. As an added bonus, having a theme to design with makes planning and preparation efficient. Last week, we discussed […]
Continue readingCard-Based Tools For RPGs – Part 1
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #333 Card-Based Tools For RPGs – Part 1 From Johnn Four Big thanks to Thorsten Hunsicker in Germany, Heather Grove, and Patrick Waddington for their submitted tips, which I used in the Plotting And Inspiration section and in part 2 next week. In Issue #330 I posted a reader request for card-based […]
Continue readingCard-Based Tools For RPGs, Part 2
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #334 Card-Based Tools For RPGs, Part 2 From Johnn Four Last week, we looked as several possibilities for card-based RPG tools, based on a reader request. Presented here are more ideas for how to use cards of any type to help make GMing easier and gaming more fun. Thanks again to Patrick […]
Continue readingGMing Car Chases
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #335 GMing Car Chases Last week I posted a reader request for help on running car chases, and you folks responded with some excellent tips. Thank you very much! That’s awesome support for your fellow GM, and hopefully the answer he’s looking for can be found in the tips below. The Reader […]
Continue reading10 Tips For Crafting Adventure-Based Holidays, Part 1 Plus, Holiday Contest
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #336 10 Tips For Crafting Adventure-Based Holidays, Part 1 From Johnn Four From my new e-book, GM Mastery: Adventure Essentials: Holidays http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=7673&src=rpt As you figured from the byline above, I have a new e-book out. It’s about helping you plan, prepare, and GM better adventures using the in-game element of holidays. In […]
Continue reading10 Tips For Crafting Adventure-Based Holidays, Part 2
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #337 10 Tips For Crafting Adventure-Based Holidays, Part 2 From Johnn Four From the new e-book, GM Mastery: Adventure Essentials: Holidays http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=7673&src=rpt Read part 1 of this article online at: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=336 Game World Calendar Method: Spreadsheet Spreadsheet software, such as Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice, is another great way to make a calendar. […]
Continue readingHow To Awesome-Up Your Players
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #338 How To Awesome-Up Your Players From Jeff Rients [Comment from Johnn: I first learned about this article from the Treasure Tables blog. Thanks for the link, Martin! http://www.treasuretables.org/2006/12/five-tips-for-high-octane-play/ I liked Jeff’s article and contacted him to get permission to share his tips with you. Cheers to you, Jeff.] What I’m about […]
Continue readingGM Table: 222 Rumours
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #339 GM Table: 222 Rumours From Lord Skudley Below is a sampling of the rumours produced by a Rumour Generator I created and posted on Community 3E: http://community3e.com/resource.html Have you ever felt the need to fill those Gather Information checks with a little more colour? Do your PCs jump at the first […]
Continue reading10 Monstrous Tips
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #340 10 Monstrous Tips If The Monster Is Smart, Treat It As Such From Aki Halme When playing an NPC that is exceptionally intelligent or quite simple-minded, one way to GM this would be to use various levels of plans and contingencies. A low intelligence creature can, given the time and the […]
Continue readingIdea Seeds: A Campaign Design Method
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #341 Idea Seeds: A Campaign Design Method From Mike Bourke There are a lot of techniques for campaign design and construction out there. I’ve offered several in past issues of Roleplaying Tips. This is yet another one – a variation on some of the previous ideas. What makes this technique different is […]
Continue readingPlayer Survey Tips
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #342 Player Survey Tips From John Four In Issue #335 I posted a reader request about player surveys. In my experience, surveys have two keys to success: participation and quality of response. Past surveys I’ve done have had a wide range of participation, from no one (!) to the whole group. You […]
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