Roleplaying Tips Newsletter Archives - Page 2 of 27

What Is Space Opera? And How Do You Make It?

From Christopher Sniezak Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #682 Hello RPT readers. My name is Chris Sniezak and with the approach of Star Wars: The Force Awakens I think I’m gonna write about space opera for a few months. After a few discussions with Johnn “RPT” Four – insert Johnn’s head on a giant blue genie in […]

How To Create Your Kingdom’s History

Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #681 The Importance of History How your kingdom plays in the present is influenced by events that have occurred in the past. For example, if a kingdom has been invaded numerous times over the course of its history, then it may have built up a large army or border wall to repel […]

Combat Missions for War + Animated Objects + One Unique Thing for NPCs

Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #648 How to Send the Party on Decisive Missions that Turn the Tide of War From Tony Medeiros Ever struggle with how your PCs can make a difference in war campaigns while the battle rages on all around them? I have the solution for you today: make them war heroes. Send your […]

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 […]

6 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 […]

Tips 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 […]

Customizing 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 […]

Five 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 […]

31 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 […]

Tactical 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 […]

Face Off – How To Get Your Group Emotionally Involved

Loz Newman Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #298 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, so a […]

150 Benign Urban Encounters

From Chris Buono Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #299 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 as well. Thanks Chris, […]

Q&A With Johnn Four

Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #300 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 advice you have sent […]

120 Benign Wilderness Encounters

From Chris Buono Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #301 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. Thanks Chris and GMMastery […]

Why Go Diceless?

Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #302 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 Look at the […]

Running Faster Combats

From Kurt “Telas” Schneider Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #303 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 of the ideas […]

Take Ten: Balance

From David Newland Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #304 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. Presented here are […]

Getting Player Feedback

From Mike Bourke, Sydney, Australia Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #305 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 GM is going. […]

Changing the Rules

From Dave McKay, Calgary, AB Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #306 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 were collectively dissatisfied […]

100 Waterborne Encounters

Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #307 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! Fallen tree along […]

Baby Steps In Campaign Setting Design

From Mike Bourke, Sydney, Australia Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #308 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 create something original. Following are tips […]

Myth Crafting in RPGs

There is a better way to give your games vibrant life and compelling conflicts for your gods and game world. Don’t describe them. Instead, give them a myth story.

Airborne Minis Tips

Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #310 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. First, here is […]

More Waterborne Encounters & Events

Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #311 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, and an epicpoem ensues – […]

Take Ten: Bluff

From David Newland Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #312 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. Presented here are […]

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