RPT GM Steffen asks: Maybe you have a tip for a problem I’m having with prep. In my group, we sometimes play fairly open RPGs. Open in the sense of an open world. At the end of a game session, I don’t know how the players are going to approach a problem, and then I […]
Continue readingRoleplaying Tips Newsletter #1213 I mostly run sandboxes these days. That means I wrangle a lot of details. After a few sessions I’ll have dozens of Pages and Log Entries in Campaign Logger. After a year, they’ll be in the hundreds. Here’s an example from Wizard of Adventure ExileInParadise’s Sword Coast campaign: And here’s a […]
Continue readingRoleplaying Tips Newsletter #1196 What do you do when the dice betray your players? When the party seems to meet a dead-end? When your adventure stalls due to bad luck or bad choices? That’s the topic of today’s tips. But before you dig into them, please take the associated poll here: How to Prevent Dead […]
Continue readingFrom JohnnFour Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #1175 Last week we talked about Plot Factories as a tool in your GM Toolbox. Think of them like spawn points in a video game. Foes keep emerging to assault your character until you destroy the spawn point. In our adventures and sandboxes, we do the same via Plot Factories […]
Continue readingFrom JohnnFour Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #11731 A Brief Word From Johnn Today’s tips are about one of my favourite GM techniques. But before I share my ideas on Plot Factories, I wanted to let you know about a Kickstarter my friend Mike Shea of Sly Flourish fame is running. He loves clever GM techniques too, […]
Continue readingRoleplaying Tips Newsletter #1172 Brief Word From Johnn A couple of quick notes before we dive into today’s tips on how to prepare for game sessions faster. I was a guest recently on the Geezers of the Game podcast. We talk about my crazy origin story with RPGs amongst many other things. You can listen […]
Continue readingRoleplaying Tips Newsletter #1164 New RPT GM Eddie asked for advice on homebrewing adventures: I love that a campaign can be going strong that long. The one I’m running is like 6 months old. Even though I’m pretty new to the game (less than a year) I’ve been looking more into old school revival and […]
Continue readingRoleplaying Tips Newsletter #1145 New RPT GM Eddie asked for advice on homebrewing adventures: I love that a campaign can be going strong that long. The one I’m running is like 6 months old. Even though I’m pretty new to the game (less than a year) I’ve been looking more into old school revival and […]
Continue readingRoleplaying Tips Newsletter #0986 Patrons have access to a cool plot-building PDF called the But Reversal Method. Today, I have a companion plotting technique for all RPT GMs called the Because Twice method, or B2. Sometimes my plans get convoluted and I literally lose the plot. Too many forks to detail and track, and not […]
Continue readingRoleplaying Tips Newsletter #0984 We wax a bit philosophical today. Last email I shared a session account of my Murder Hobos campaign. A few RPT GMs asked about the quasit incident. An invisible creature snuck out of a room to report to the stage boss that the PCs had arrived. One GM asked if this […]
Continue readingRoleplaying Tips Newsletter #0716 Upon reflection, one of my biggest challenges is listening to the game. I’m not paying enough attention to my players. For example, how many plot hooks did I pick up from my players last session? Zero. The trick to being a happy game master is being present during games. Being in […]
Continue readingSo I’m building a world.Because I’m so busy with work and projects these days, I’m letting the world come to me.
Continue readingWhat’s the difference between a trap and a hazard.This question was on my mind while working on a new Dungeon Generator for Campaign
Continue readingGot a couple concepts to run by you this warm Monday for world-building.
Continue readingWhat’s the difference between a trap and a hazard.This question was on my mind while working on a new Dungeon Generator
Continue readingFrom Neil Faulkner Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #0121 A Brief Word From Johnn NPC Design Topics — Feedback Requested The good news is I’ve got a cool contract to write a d20 book on NPC Design. Yippee! The bad news is I’ve already got writer’s block, lol. I think I’m just freaked out by the whole […]
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