Why Do You Like Being A GM? Motivation and Inspiration for GMs
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #376 Why Do You Like Being A GM? Motivation and Inspiration for GMs From Johnn Four Here is an e-mail I received recently from a troubled GM: “I’ve been playing D&D for about a year now, DMing that group for 3/4 part of that period. Because we live a fair amount apart […]
Continue readingGaming Mobs Better Quick Tips For Making Mobs More Interesting
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #376 Gaming Mobs Better Quick Tips For Making Mobs More Interesting From Johnn Four One of the daunting things my group faces in the current part of our campaign, now that they’ve entered the villain’s lair, is the vast hordes of underlings, also known as minions, flunkies, rank and file, or mobs. […]
Continue readingTricks And Treats For A Festive Halloween Game
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #377 Tricks And Treats For A Festive Halloween Game From Michael Erb Halloween and role-playing are a natural match. Arguably, trick or treating was most gamers’ first taste of role-playing. A change of clothes, some makeup or a mask, and suddenly, for an evening, you were someone else. A favorite comic book, […]
Continue readingTech Tools – Using Today’s Technology To Enhance Your Games
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #378 Tech Tools – Using Today’s Technology To Enhance Your Games From Christopher “frpdm” Cho I’m what you would call an old school gamer. I started back in the day with nothing more than a pad of graph paper, pencils, erasers, dice, and the red Basic Dungeons and Dragons rulebook. Everything was […]
Continue readingPlaying With Fire: Dodging GM Burnout
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #379 Playing With Fire: Dodging GM Burnout From Mike Bourke In Roleplaying Tips issue #367, Johnn wrote: “…you’ve got to focus on having fun being creative while planning if you want to GM for long these days,” and solicited tips on how to do that. I started to jot a couple of […]
Continue readingPreparing For Games Faster: 7 Tips
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #380 Preparing For Games Faster: 7 Tips Not feeling prepared for game sessions creates GM stress and is a top reason why game nights get cancelled. Some GMs dislike prep a lot, which causes procrastination and tension build-up as game day approaches. Other GMs spend too much time on the wrong things […]
Continue readingPC Death And Your Campaign
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #381 PC Death And Your Campaign From Kate Manchester You’re running your campaign, and everything’s going great. At least it was, until one or more of the player characters dies. So, what now? Do you continue the campaign, or bring it to an end? If want to keep your campaign going despite […]
Continue readingJail Break Part I: Jail Design
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #382 Jail Break – Part I: Jail Design From Johnn Four Recently, I received this reader tip request: Hi Johnn, My PCs are about to land themselves in jail. I was wondering if anyone out there has run a good prison break, or similar. Could you put this out to all the […]
Continue readingJail Break Part II: Theme and Atmosphere
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #383 Jail Break Part II: Theme and Atmosphere From Johnn Four In part one, we crafted a prison’s design and general purpose, and fleshed out a few details. This week, in part two, we’ll add environmental details to help make your prison unique, fun to roleplay, and easy to GM. Create GM […]
Continue readingJail Break Part III: It’s All About The NPCs
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #384 Jail Break Part III: It’s All About The NPCs One element often overlooked in prison RPG game sessions is the NPCs. As with most adventures, NPCs are where the best gameplay lies, whether they are foes to defeat in combat, allies to make through diplomacy, or pawns to manoeuvre to achieve […]
Continue readingJail Break Part IV: Plotting and Encounter Tips
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #385 Jail Break Part IV: Plotting and Encounter Tips From Johnn Four Escape Or Quest – What Kind Of Plot Are You Running? Before playing any prison adventure or encounter, first decide what plot you’re running. It’s a quick decision to make, and helps focus design and GMing. It’s important to be […]
Continue readingTop Movies For Game Masters
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #386 Top Movies For Game Masters Here is the first draft of the Top Game Master Movies List, based on reader submissions and my own picks. Movies are not listed in any particular order. A quick check on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes will get you ratings and movie information. Thanks to the […]
Continue reading17 Ways To Fall In Love With GMing Again
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #387 17 Ways To Fall In Love With GMing Again A whole new year lies before you. Will it be game-full or game-less? I say put your carpe diem pants on, my friend, take those old dice out of your pockets, and get rolling! Remember how it used to be? Wonderful days […]
Continue reading10 Easy Ways To Think On Your Feet Better
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #388 10 Easy Ways To Think On Your Feet Better A reader recently told me this: “I never feel very proficient at running sessions – I am better at prepping them. I don’t think well on my feet – I tend to need time to consider things.” I don’t believe there is […]
Continue readingThe Art of Propaganda: 7 Tactics to Influence Character Behavior
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #389 The Art of Propaganda: 7 Tactics to Influence Character Behavior From Johnn Four A favourite marketing blog, Dosh Dosh, recently posted about how bloggers can use propaganda in their promotional campaigns to emotionally engage readers. Blog author Maki notes these methods aren’t for deceiving people with false or misleading information, but […]
Continue readingPlayers, Meet Your Characters
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #390 Players, Meet Your Characters From Johnn Four A reader sent in the following request about new players getting to know each other and their characters: Hi Johnn, I hate introducing a new group of players (and more importantly, their characters). When they come out to game for the first time, it’s […]
Continue readingMotivating Yourself As A GM
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #391 Motivating Yourself As A GM From Kit Reshawn This was written in response to the cry from help from the GM who is finding it hard to find motivation. Below is a list of tips that help keep me motivated and avoid GM Burnout. Keep A Designated GM Planning Time Get […]
Continue readingAssembling The Party – Reconciling Diverse Backgrounds
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #392 Assembling The Party – Reconciling Diverse Backgrounds From Johnn Four There are a few challenges when assembling a new party for a campaign, and one of them is reconciling diverse backgrounds. How do you explain a group of strangers sticking together, especially if they are a bizarre zoo party, which some […]
Continue readingHave Fun With Factions
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #393 Have Fun With Factions From Loz Newman Here’s a bit of help for GMs who get bogged down in campaign creation: don’t sweat the small stuff. Economise your creative energies to avoid nasty pitfalls. An example of this is factions. When I create a campaign world, I know a big part […]
Continue readingCourt Etiquette: Do’s and Don’ts
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #394 Court Etiquette: Do’s and Don’ts From Stephie How many plot lines or quests has a DM or player dealt with that were nobility-driven? When dealing with nobility and court settings, players sometimes skip the roleplay aspect and jump straight to behavior such as, “I bow, greet all in the court, and […]
Continue readingMapping Tips For Inns, Taverns, And Restaurants
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #395 Mapping Tips For Inns, Taverns, And Restaurants From John Simcoe and Johnn Four The following mapping tips are from my recently released book, GM Mastery: Inns, Taverns, and Restaurants. For more information about this book, see the end of this e-zine. http://roleplayingtips.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=51416 Basic Layout Features Restaurants, taverns, and inns require simple […]
Continue readingStart Campaigns With Unrelated One-Shot Adventures
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #396 Start Campaigns With Unrelated One-Shot Adventures From Hannah L. My first D&D character was a mage who didn’t know the spell Magic Missile. As laughable as that sounds, I’m sure most gamers have been in a similar situation: you’re building a PC for a brand new campaign, and, not wholly clear […]
Continue readingThe Spiral Method of World Building
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #397 The Spiral Method of World Building From Hannah L. One of a GM’s biggest investments in a campaign is world- building, and with all of the advice out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. A complete world needs a social structure, a culture, a map, weather, a currency system, an ecology, […]
Continue readingWhy Use Inns, Taverns, and Restaurants?
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #398 Why Use Inns, Taverns, and Restaurants? From John Simcoe and Johnn Four In addition to providing characters with food, shelter, and a place to party, inns, taverns, and restaurants are wonderful player and GM tools. We GMs sometimes fall into the trap of running the same variations over and over. We […]
Continue readingThe Rule To Making Good Rules And Other Useful Tips
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #399 The Rule To Making Good Rules And Other Useful Tips From Tony Reeves Published with permission from Dragonsfoot.org This article originally appeared at: DMTips The following is an article I wrote for new DMs based on my own observations as a player and DM over the last 20 years. As a […]
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