Customizing Common Races, Part 2
From Mike Bourke Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #291 Continuing on from last week, here are the final categories for you to consider fleshing out as you craft a racial profile that differs from official sources for your rules system. The monster race customization processes described in the following tips and those in last week’s article rely […]
Continue reading6 More Monstrous Tips
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #292 In July, 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! Filling A Niche From Sparrow You might want […]
Continue readingTips for Setting Up Pbems & Pbps
From Leslie Holm Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #293 Online Roleplaying is a huge animal, encompassing MUSHs, MUDDs, SIMs, PBeMs, PBPs…the list goes on. In this article, I focus on PBeMs (Play By e-mail) and PBPs (Play By Post, or forum based games). Roleplaying online is no longer just for people who don’t live near a gaming […]
Continue readingCustomizing Common Races, Part 3: Tooth & Dagger Rationalizing Orcs
From Mike Bourke Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #294 NB: The language used in this text has been rephrased from orcish original statements to remove incidental foulness of tongue. A Slice Of Orcish Myth Long Ago, the gods looked down upon the world they had made and some said, “It’s a bit of a mess. If something’s […]
Continue readingFive Tips for Crafting Party Names
From Johnn Four Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #295 To Name Or Not? Does your group of players desire a name for their band of PCs? Do you want them to have one? The party name is a classic RPG element with roots in legends, fiction, and stories (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Knights of the […]
Continue reading31 Questions to Define a Culture
From Mike Bourke Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #296 I often compile a checklist of questions to be answered when creating something new, be it a magic item, setting, or society. The more exhaustive and complete this checklist is, the better visualized and more complete the item in question will be. I recently had occasion to generate […]
Continue readingTactical Tips For Over-Resting PCs
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #297 These tips hail from a reader’s request in Issue #295: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=295#R2 Numerous folks generously wrote in with their tips and advice. In this week’s issue we feature 10 possible solutions for Diego’s problem. Thanks to everyone who responded! More tips coming in a future edition. Diego And The Narcoleptics From Telas […]
Continue readingFace Off – How To Get Your Group Emotionally Involved
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #298 Face Off Loz Newman There are many ways to get a gaming group emotionally involved in a campaign. Good GMs look for elements players can relate to, such as when the PCs lose something and want to get it back. A straight “NPC X stole your whatsit” scenario lacks punch though, […]
Continue reading150 Benign Urban Encounters
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #299 150 Benign Urban Encounters From Chris Buono Chris polled members of the GMMastery Yahoo group for benign urban encounter ideas and then added a few of his own to come up with this awesome list you might find useful for your own campaigns. Editor Isaac and I added a few more […]
Continue readingQ&A With Johnn Four
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #300 Q&A With Johnn Four I didn’t imagine Roleplaying Tips Weekly would reach 300 issues when I first started it six years ago, but here we are and it’s been a wonderful experience. I’ve met gamers from around the world and made many new friends, virtually as well as in person. The […]
Continue reading120 Benign Wilderness Encounters
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #301 120 Benign Wilderness Encounters From Chris Buono Chris polled members of the GMMastery Yahoo group for benign wilderness encounter ideas and then added a few of his own to come up with this awesome list you might find useful for your own campaigns. Editor Isaac added a few more as well. […]
Continue readingWhy Go Diceless?
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #302 WHY GO DICELESS? Readers Respond Last week I posted a reader request for information and tips about playing diceless RPGs. As usual, the Roleplaying Tips community responded generously with opinions, information, and advice. Thanks! Below are a few of the e-mails I received. Almost Everyone Has Already Played Diceless From Vitenka […]
Continue readingRunning Faster Combats
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #303 Running Faster Combats From Kurt “Telas” Schneider I struggled for the last year with the pace of combats, and learned a lot from other GMs, my players, and personal experience. I hope what I learned will be of use to you. This article will be aimed at D&D 3.5, but many […]
Continue readingTake Ten: Balance
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #304 Take Ten: Balance From David Newland A character with skills is a character with options. Often overlooked and underused, skills can change the game with a single die roll. Skills add meat to the ability score bones of a character, developing their persona and creating heroes that are memorable and playable. […]
Continue readingGetting Player Feedback
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #305 Getting Player Feedback From Mike Bourke, Sydney, Australia Players should impact the direction and content of the campaign. However, good feedback can be hard to find. Some players are uncomfortable criticizing the GM, who puts more work into the campaign than anyone else. Others prefer to wait and see where the […]
Continue readingChanging the Rules
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #306 Changing the Rules From Dave McKay, Calgary, AB I’ve GMed a small, experienced group for four years, and we discuss the game after each session. A growing theme emerged: we were each unhappy with certain game elements. Moreover, there was a major part of the game system (spells and magic) we […]
Continue reading100 Waterborne Encounters
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #307 100 Waterborne Encounters This sunken treasure chest full of water related encounters, hooks, and snippets of detail is brought to you care of the GMMastery Group. Thanks to everyone who contributed their ideas! Use the following list as inspiration, in-game encounter seeds, or backdrops when your group next sets sail. Ahoy! […]
Continue readingBaby Steps In Campaign Setting Design
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #308 Baby Steps In Campaign Setting Design From Mike Bourke, Sydney, Australia Designing a campaign setting is one of the most daunting and rewarding tasks a referee can undertake. For a novice GM, an established setting is probably the best choice, but there will come a time when a GM wishes to […]
Continue readingAirborne Minis Tips
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #310 Airborne Minis Tips Last week I put are request in my Brief Word section for ways to represent flying or climbing minis on battlemats. Following is a surprising number of methods you smart folks wrote in with. Hopefully, if you use minis, you find a method below that works for you. […]
Continue readingMore Waterborne Encounters & Events
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #311 More Waterborne Encounters & Events In this sequel to Issue #307, here is another batch of ideas, seeds, and hooks to use for ocean, lake, river, and coastal encounters. Thanks again to the creative folks of the GMMastery Yahoo! Group for your contributions. One of the crew members kills an albatross, […]
Continue readingTake Ten: Bluff
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #312 Take Ten: Bluff From David Newland A character with skills is a character with options. Often overlooked and underused, skills can change the game with a single die roll. Skills add meat to the ability score bones of a character, developing their persona and creating heroes that are memorable and playable. […]
Continue readingPutting The Gods Back In Their Place
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #313 Putting The Gods Back In Their Place From Tim van der Hout Creating a pantheon for your fantasy game world is challenging. Deciding which gods to use, how they relate to one another, and how they affect the mortal world are crucial considerations if you want religion to be important in […]
Continue readingGenerating Books
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #314 Generating Books From Garry Stahl Books are the lifeblood of an RPG game, whether as the source of the game rules, in-game treasure, or plot points. The problem for the game master with books as treasure is to determine what books are found, how to describe them, and how to make […]
Continue readingTired Tavern: 25 Alternatives To Taking The Table In The Corner
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #315 Tired Tavern: 25 Alternatives To Taking The Table In The Corner From David Rowe “I sit at the table in the corner.” How many times have you heard a player say this? Why does every player want to take a table in the corner at the back of the tavern? The […]
Continue readingMaintaining Your GM
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #316 Maintaining Your GM From Amy Driscoll Tips for encouraging your GM to continue the game you’re currently enjoying. With thanks to Colin “Relapse” Morris and Robbie “Head Wound” Eberhardt for constructive criticism. A group of friends and fellow gamers asked me last year to commit to GMing a regular, long-term campaign. […]
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