Putting The Gods Back In Their Place
From Tim van der Hout Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #313 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 your fantasy society. Creation Ask yourself the […]
Continue readingGenerating Books
From Garry Stahl Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #314 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 each important […]
Continue readingTired Tavern: 25 Alternatives To Taking The Table In The Corner
From David Rowe Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #315 “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 most obvious answer is security. It positions them where they can […]
Continue readingMaintaining Your GM
From Amy Driscoll Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #316 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. Long-term campaigns hold […]
Continue readingLessons from the LARP – A Tabletop GM at Intercon F
From Dr.Nik Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #317 Dungeons dragging you down? Detailed mazes, mysteries, and NPCs difficult to make work? Take a LARP break and learn the value of great role playing again. I recently attended Intercon F to do just that. What’s a LARP? My best foil from the con explains on her website: The […]
Continue readingMilitary Tips
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #318 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 private soldiers. […]
Continue readingHow To Build A Large Character Gallery
From James Patrick Patterson Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #319 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 Characters Have the players make two copies […]
Continue readingMaking Magic Items Interesting – Part 1
From Matt Craft Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #320 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 point of damage, the […]
Continue readingMaking Magic Items Interesting – Part 2
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #321 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 solid. Voila! Interesting item. Try adding […]
Continue readingMaking Magic Items Interesting – Part 3
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #322 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 to benefit game masters around the […]
Continue readingHow To Get More From Your Monsters – Part 1
From Andrew H. Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #323 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 these techniques in my campaigns and found them to be […]
Continue readingHow To Get More From Your Monsters – Part 2
From Andrew H. Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #324 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 a single adventure into a whole campaign. I have used […]
Continue readingUnusual Customs and Festivals
From James Patrick Patterson Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #325 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 the current adventure and […]
Continue reading7 More Monstrous Tips
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #326 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 Make Low Level Monsters […]
Continue readingMeta-Game Organizations
From Jake Robins Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #327 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 is a […]
Continue readingThe NPC Factor – Part 1
From Mike Bourke Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #328 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 the next game session. The […]
Continue readingThe NPC Factor – Part 2
From Mike Bourke Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #329 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 said, it is unlikely the […]
Continue readingNPC Name Tips and Resources
From Johnn Four Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #330 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 second, I Don’t Know is […]
Continue readingInteresting Combats With Themed Skirmish Groups – Part 1
From Johnn Four Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #331 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 corral your preparation time, because it gives your […]
Continue readingInteresting Combats With Themed Skirmish Groups – Part 2
From Johnn Four Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #332 Click here to read Part I: Interesting Combats With Themed Skirmish Groups – Part 1 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 taking […]
Continue readingCard-Based Tools For RPGs – Part 1
From Johnn Four Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #333 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 RPG tools. Cards have many benefits – […]
Continue readingCard-Based Tools For RPGs – Part 2
From Johnn Four Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #334 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 Waddington, Thorsten Hunsicker, and Heather Grove […]
Continue readingGMing Car Chases
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #335 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 Request I try […]
Continue reading10 Tips For Crafting Adventure-Based Holidays – Part 1
From Johnn Four Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #336 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 many of the world books I’ve read over […]
Continue reading10 Tips For Crafting Adventure-Based Holidays – Part 2
From Johnn Four Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #337 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. Each cell represents a day. Resize and merge […]
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