RPT#686: Wrangling Unruly Campaign Outlines: How To Keep Track of Plot Threads

At the end of a long campaign, I want my players and I to feel totally satisfied. I mean the sort of satisfaction one gets when a story wraps up with no question unanswered. The kind of story that ends with every major character’s arc finished and accounted.

This is a challenge when there’s only a single person telling a story – just think of all the novels that have left you hanging in one way or another over the years. But when a group of friends gets into collaborative tale-spinning one chapter at a time with long breaks between, it is almost impossible to wrap up everything with a tidy bow.

RPT#685: Space Opera Part 2: Building The Setting Core Elements

In my last article I talked a little about how people get around as part of a Far Future Spacefaring Civilization and putting limitations on those methods. Now I want to talk a little more in depth about those methods and how you can put some limitations on them to make them more gameable.

There are three kinds of FTL travel methods employed in various sci-fi settings: hyper drives, jump drives, and warp drives.

RPT#684: Kingdom Building Part II: Who Rules the Kingdom?

Knowing who is in power is important in any game where you want locations to serve as more than a simple backdrop, because the character of those in positions of power often reflects that of the kingdom itself. Having your ruler emphasize the themes of your kingdom will hammer those details home to your players. It is also useful information to have in the back of your mind when anything that affects kingdom law or policy occurs in-game.

This article takes you through the process of choosing an appropriate government type for your kingdom and then discusses how you can use this in play to give your campaign world more depth.

RPT#683: Countdown to the Apocalypse: Six Ways to Raise the Stakes

In RPT#666 I wrote an article explaining how to improvise rising action during the game. This approach adds tension at a tactical level, looking at the story one encounter at a time.

However it is also possible to add increasing tension as a fundamental structure to the story. This essay explores ways to embed rising stakes into your stories.

RPT#682: Freebie Alert. Also: What Is Space Opera? And How Do You Make It?

What is space opera, and how do you make it? How do people get around? Why are they out there?

RPT#681: How To Create Your Kingdom’s History

Brief Word From Johnn Thoughts on Detecting Magic and Auras [toc] In the last couple of versions of D&D we’ve played, and Pathfinder, the spell Detect Magic also lets casters detect fading auras. Based on the strength of the magic recently in the area, or the nature of creature (demons et. al.) the caster gets […]

RPT#680: Tips For New GMs Creating Campaign Outlines For The First Time

Brief Word From Johnn How I Like To GM [toc] Been thinking about how I’d describe my GMing style. I’m sure my players will give you a different version than me. 🙂 Last night, after the game, I realized what I’ve been saying in the newsletter and what I’ve been doing at the game table […]

RPT#679: Four Ways To Load Chekhov’s Gun In Your Games

Chekhov’s famous writing maxim applies to RPGs too. This article shows you four ways to use this technique to build better adventures.

RPT#678: Better Roleplaying – How To Create a Great Character Concept

Do your players’ imaginations fall into a black hole when it comes to character creation? Do they fumble for great character concepts – the story and style behind their characters? Today, you’ll learn how to help your group create brief, inspiring character concepts to help them add depth to your campaigns and roleplay more.

RPT#677: How To Twist Your Plots

I love plot twists. Those gaming moments where shocked players fall off their chairs (well, mine stand up and yell and shake their fists at me). Game surprises make memories we relish as GMs and become legendary stories your players tell others. In today’s article I talk about two new plot twist approaches and a few other ways to twist your games.

RPT#676: A Three Step Modern Haunting Generator

The ghost story is a classic horror tale, yet it seems to take a back seat in roleplaying to vampires, werewolves, and yet more vampires. These haunting generator tables provide some ghostly ideas for those modern GMs who want to return to the roots of the genre. This article presents three tables to help you create a ghost story.

RPT#675: Seven Principles of Storytelling

In my games I want a story that emerges collaboratively at the table. My current HeroQuest 2 campaign provides this for me. Yet, as I read through RPG rules for pleasure, it is clear many games reference the importance of story without providing a satisfying explanation of how to help it emerge. Spark RPG is one game that does address this issue.

RPT#674: Five Quick Tips To Solve Boring Travel Encounters

Brief Word From Johnn [toc] Well met, new subscribers! If you join us via the Mega Dice Bag giveaway, then thank you for entering. I hope you win a bag full of 105 polyhedrons. What can you expect to see in the Roleplaying Tips Newsletter? And should you stay subscribed? I can’t decide the second […]

RPT#673: How to Create Interactive Backstories – 3 Fun PC Creation Mini-Games

Brief Word From Johnn [toc] Longest Game Session? What has been your longest GMing marathon? Mine was when running a single player campaign for my friend Eric. We played in his basement and gamed for 44 out of 48 hours. It started Friday night with the Lost Cavern of Tsojcanth. Then we plundered the Against […]

RPT#672: Prevent Player Disagreements With This Quick RPG Campaign Survey

Players and GMs bring their own ideas, desires, and personalities to the table. This causes game friction when we have different expectations of each other and the game. To prevent intra-party conflict, use a short survey to understand what type of game your players want you to run. This survey also helps identify potential player vs. player conflicts ahead of time so you can deal with them proactively.

RPT#671: Five Tips for Building Cultures

Brief Word From Johnn Patron Secret Article #10 Released Roleplaying Tips Patrons regularly receive secret articles written by me, and I just wanted to let you know the newest article – Divine Intervention Tips For Low/Med/High Level – has just been released and is available for download in the Patrons area. In a recent Patron […]

RPT#670: Combat Roleplay: Teach Your Players to Narrate the Action

Brief Word From Johnn [toc] Campaign Logger Android Testers Needed RPT Patron Jochen Linnemann is making an Android app version of the Campaign Logger, my session note-taking and campaign organization tool. And he needs some testers for feedback and bug-finding. If you’d like to test out the app you need: A fairly modern Android device […]

RPT#669: How To Design Cunning Cursed Items

Most cursed items range from lame to frustrating. They’re a hindrance difficult to remove and they make a character less enjoyable to play. When I’ve encountered cursed items that worked the GM had a plan for the item. It wasn’t a one-off joke or something they just dropped into the game. You can follow these simple steps to get great results out of cursed items in your game….

RPT#668: GM Tip Exchange, Ship Quirks, 20 Children Encounters

Brief Word From Johnn Game of Thrones a Great Game [toc] How do you be a gracious winner? I’m not sure, because we played the Game of Thrones board game Friday three times, and I became King of Westeros each time. And I rubbed it in until my friends were ready to flip the table. […]

RPT#667: How to Get Your Game Unstuck => Trickster Generator

What do you do when your game is stuck you need to kick-start the excitement again without appearing to take narrative control away from the Players? This weeks tips show you how a trickster NPC can accomplish that.

RPT#666: Connecting Everyday Life Encounters to Your Campaign

Brief Word From Johnn Number of the Beast Today’s edition represents a 666-issue beast of a project meant to help you and I have more fun at every game. I think its evolution matches the evolution of our game mastering. It started with tentative steps and wondering what kind of thing we’ve got on our […]

RPT#665: Getting Players to Cooperate

Brief Word From Johnn This is the Number One Topic Request of All Time [toc] Players being jerks. That’s the gist of my most frequent topic request over the past 16 years of Roleplaying Tips. Everyone has a story of a troublesome player in their campaign or awkward social drama that took place at the […]

RPT#664: An Alternate Mechanic to GM Fun Fantasy Foot Chases

Brief Word From Johnn The Seeds of Earth [toc] I had a great vacation camping in beautiful British Columbia. Thanks for your patience in waiting for the next issue of RPT. We were at a place called Horse Lake. It’s a wonderful area to kick back, relax, and enjoy nature. While on vacation I read […]

RPT#663: Choosing the Right Virtual Table Top for Your Game

A virtual table top (or VTT) allows people to play RPGs that would traditionally take place face-to-face around a table. Using a computer, and usually video and audio, players and GM connect to the VTT and get their game on. The experience is rich enough these days to be a viable option for remote players, gamers without local groups, or even standard gaming. However, given the amount of VTTs available, it can be challenging to find one that suits you and your group.

In today’s article I’ll summarise five popular VTTs to help you narrow down your choices so you can get online and start gaming.

RPT#662: Combat Parley

Do you struggle to make it clear the party doesn’t have to fight to win? As GM, it’s all in your delivery. The right words said the right way get your party thinking about their non-combat options rather than just mindlessly rolling initiative every time the bad guys show up.

So how do you narrate the party’s options with clarity and drama? How do you delight players with meaningful choices in the tension-filled earliest moments of conflict? You’re about to learn how with today’s tips.