RPG Bloggers » DM Advice

The Anatomy Of Evil: What Makes a Good Villain? from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:11:57 +0000

I’ve been watching some of my old Stargate: SG1 episodes during the last week, and (as often happens) some of the commentary (in the season 9 extras) sparked an interesting question. The discussion was about the relative merits of Apophis, Baal, and Anubis as villains. This in turn connected in my head with a discussion that [...]

Minions on the Table from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:00:02 +0000

Monsters can lose a battle before it begins if they have bad tactical positions. This is even truer with minions. Even if we assume, narratively, that your minions have no way to know they’re little competition for the characters, the creatures have a reason to seize tactical advantages.

Toronto Fan Expo: The DM Master Class Seminar from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:50:54 +0000

One of the highlights of my visit at last weekend's Toronto Fan Expo was the one hour panel I had the honour to share with RPG legends Ed Greenwood and Robin D. Laws. We ended up speaking to packed room of 100+ people. I was impressed!

Beware the Siren Song from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:19:20 +0000

As more and more players come to Dungeons & Dragons from a video game background, they bring with them a very specific sensibility. The result is that the teacher becomes the student, and D&D players begin to integrate certain aspects that had previously only lived inside video games. For example, video games tend to deal in something I'd call "sense language," where a scene is set by describing (or displaying) what you see and what you hear. In the same way, dungeon masters don't talk about the three kobolds, but rather the "three emaciated lizard creatures with fanged dragon heads, hissing at each other in their horrid tongue, turning jagged blades in their clawed hands." This is immersive, and that's unquestionably a good thing. Unfortunately, not all of the adoptions are.

A Picture Should Be Worth 1,000 Words from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:01:01 +0000

How good are you at doing two things at once, both of which require concentration? That’s what I thought! Few people are. And yet, we GMs often seem to expect our players to be able to do just that, and on a regular basis. We expect them to be able to take a verbal description [...]

Ask the GMs: What we have here is A Failure To Cooperate from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:00:45 +0000

Campaign Mastery was asked, GM Izzy: “I am a very green GM running a pulpy run around campaign set in modern day London, everyone has a laugh each session but it is impossible to progress with any major plot points because the party stoically refuses to coalesce into, well, a party! I have tried throwing in threats [...]

Minions of Differing Flavors from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:00:15 +0000

Just like the epicure needs new and exciting experiences, numerous DMs among us need new ways to mix it up with minions. This is especially true if you feel your minions disappear too quickly to be interesting or seem to be no added challenge. I’m going to attempt to, as an infamous chef might say, help you to kick it up a notch . . . sometimes.

I’ve Been Framed from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:28:00 +0000

Q-Workshop sent me some lovely Pathfinder Curse of the Crimson Throne dice. These dice are beautiful and they made me think of politics, which then made me think about plots where an NPC or PC has been framed for a serious crime they did not commit along with clever use of spells as the punishment. What [...]

Lessons From The West Wing II: The Psychology Of Maps from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:57 +0000

It’s time for another of my occasional Lessons From The West Wing. This draws heavily on concepts put forward in a single episode, Episode 16 of Season 2, “Somebody’s Going To Emergency, Somebody’s Going To Jail”. Some people have decried the episode as one of the weakest in the West Wing’s repetoir, others found it illuminating. [...]

Action Trumps Description from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:24:21 +0000

Wise words for game masters. Authors are advised to always show, never tell. So too it is with gameplay, where more fun comes from playing things out than listening to a GM drone on. Next time you are about to start a monologue, stop and put the game back in player hands. Do this by setting [...]

Epic-Tier Pitfalls from Sly Flourish

Sly Flourish — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:23:03 +0000

I recently read an excellent post on Enworld that described one DM’s experience running two epic-tier campaigns. I’ve recently been at the tail end of an ongoing 1 to 30 campaign, with a group of PCs currently at level 26. … Continue reading →

A Monkey Wrench In The Deus-Ex-Machina: Limiting Divine Power from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:15:44 +0000

This article deals in subjects that are sensitive issues to a lot of people. Everything contained within is written from a roleplaying context and no judgements are intended regarding the validity of any individual perspective on theology or on any social issues that may be referred to; no offence is intended. It’s just a game, [...]

Break Down The Door – 5 Encounter Seeds from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:20:16 +0000

In my article about how to be a confident game master, I mentioned I have encounter seeds ready during games that I categorise as break down the door. Campaign Mastery reader Will asked to see what these were, so here they are. Thanks for the request, Will! If gameplay slows, or if I get stuck for [...]

Pulling That Lever: The Selection Of Leaders In RPG Societies from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:31:37 +0000

Okay, so for the first time since we started this online magazine/blog, one of us has missed getting a post up. Johnn struck problems with his planned post at the last possible moment, and then tried to rewrite it but missed the deadline; thought that he would be able to get it up a day [...]

The Dungeon Master Guys, Episode 4 from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:20:48 +0000

In our pre-Gen Con episode 4, Newbie talks about railroading, Chatty DM gives some tips on how to keep players focused at the table, and Dave the Game outlines how to run a flashback adventure.

The Guest DM from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:41:36 +0000

Occasionally, DMs need a break. In long-running highly developed game worlds players may find that there are parts of the campaign or the world that they are particular interested in. If they notice that the DM needs a break, but is still is gung-ho about his game, this presents a golden opportunity. Running a single adventure in the regular DM’s game world is an unusual break for him and a change of place for the players.

We All Have Our Roles To Play: A Functional Perspective on Personality Archetypes, Part 1 from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:21:58 +0000

Everything that I’ve ever read on the subject has defined archetypes for RPGs either in terms of the psychology of the character or the abilities of the character. Filling out a team roster is often a case of players selecting from a chinese menu – “let’s see, we need a fighter, a mage, a rogue, [...]

Minions Are Spice from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:00:05 +0000

A minion is a tiny onion used for flavor, especially in soups. That’s what my father told me when I was a kid. Even then, though, the D&D game had imparted enough for me to see the lie and the humor. In fact, if analyzed closely, this quip from dear ol’ dad, and my assimilation of it, might explain a lot about me. Talk about analysis paralysis.

Grow The Hobby With Great Game Mastering from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:54:22 +0000

How to tell compelling stories about your campaign to non-gamers. This month’s RPG carnival, held at Mad Brew Labs, covers the topic of growing the hobby. Topics of new player recruitment and teaching come to mind. We might also consider the industry’s image, how game companies market their products, which companies get shelf space in book stores [...]

Ask The GMs: Rubbing Two Dry Words Together from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:55:57 +0000

Why have different languages in an RPG? How can they be used to enhance a story? And what’s wrong with Universal Translators, anyway? I have a question about using languages in fantasy RPGs. There are numerous articles and advice out there on how to create fictitious languages and make them sound realistic or add verisimilitude to [...]

Interview: Steve Townshend, D&D Freelancer and Co-Author of “Demonomicon” from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:30:42 +0000

Steve Townshend is a freelance writer (both for D&D and his own fiction) and actor living in Chicago. We recently had the chance to interview Steve over email about the release of the new D&D Demonomicon book, of which his name shares the cover with Mike Mearls and Brian R. James. We also asked him about story in D&D games, a subject with which he has a lot to say.

Dungeonaday.com Sponsors Campaign Mastery from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:33:44 +0000

I love the idea of Dungeonaday.com. I use a laptop at the game table, Personal Brain software to organize my campaign, email to organize my group, and an iPad to generate content. I’m all about digital. Yet, I still have book cases filled with beloved RPG books, box sets, modules and maps. I have a [...]

Dungeon Master Tips book released from Sly Flourish

Sly Flourish — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 10:18:34 +0000

This week I released Sly Flourish’s Dungeon Master Tips, an e-book focused on giving you useful tips to help you prepare and run awesome 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons games. You can learn all about the book or buy the PDF directly from Paypal for $7.99. You can also buy it at the Kindle Marketplace [...]

Eureka! – Some inspiring notions from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:21:28 +0000

There is a cooking show in Australia (it actually started in the UK, and a US version was recently announced) called Masterchef Australia. The goal of the series is to identify and winnow through the best amatuer cooks in the country until they are left with the one best cook of the bunch, who gets [...]

Blog Carnival Wrap-Up – What Inspires Your Games? from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 17:23:08 +0000

Thanks to all the bloggers and commentators who participated in June’s carnival about what non-game media have most inspired your games and how. I was surprised by the variety of answers. I think there’s an idea or three here for any GM’s tastes. Good job everyone! Lizard Games was inspired by the clone wars, which were [...]

Like Sand through the Klein Bottle: Time Travel in RPGs, Part 3 from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:52:14 +0000

Hopefully, this will wrap up the article on Time Travel! Part 1 looked at the problems of Time Travel in RPGs, and reached the conclusion that the GM had to have some understanding of the nature of time in his campaign before he could adjudicate the complexities that could result. Part Two comprised excerpts relating to [...]

The Dungeon Master Guys, Episode 3 from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:23:27 +0000

Welcome to the third episode of the Dungeon Master Guys podcast! Improvising games, "what if" campaign design, using props to make your game more immersive, using cursed items, answering reader questions, and more.

Mailbag 8—All By Myself, Part 5 from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 10:00:01 +0000

This final piece is all about the competition for your solos—the players and their characters. You design encounters to challenge those others at your game table, so almost all of this series has really been about them anyway. Rather than the mechanics of making and using solo creatures, this section focuses on engaging players, and keeping them that way, and allowing characters to shine against a solo.

A Journey Of 1,000 Years: Time Travel in RPGs, Part 2 from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:41:32 +0000

The first part of this article looked at two simplistic solutions to the question of how to handle time travel in RPGs, and found that as they stood, neither was satisfactory. A number of readers were kind enough to write in, suggesting additions that could be made to these two solutions to make them more [...]

How To Be A Confident GM, Part 2 from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:08:22 +0000

Confidence is key to having fun long term as a game master. Last week we covered several tips on how to become a confident GM, and this week we deliver more. Collaborate Say yes whenever possible. Get into the habit of building on player input and ideas instead of overwriting them. Pass ideas around so others can [...]

When Inspiration Is Not Enough: Time Travel in RPGs, Part 1 from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:47:20 +0000

When writing my submission to the June 2010 Blog Carnival, A Medley Of Inspiring Media, I said that Time Travel was a special case. This article started off as just another section of that Blog Post, but quickly showed signs of growing into another of those monster subjects requiring a multiple-part post to completely contain [...]

How To Be A Confident GM, Part 1 from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:04:56 +0000

Gnome Stew recently posted an article about running on minimal prep game. One of the points was to GM with confidence, and that got me wondering about how exactly do you be a confident GM? Following are a few ingredients to that recipe. I look forward to your comments about what you do to bolster [...]

DM Advice: Contention At The Table from Sly Flourish

Sly Flourish — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:39:33 +0000

We’re going to try something a little different with this article today. I received a note from Youseph Tanha, a writer for Stargazer’s World that I thought would be of interest to a lot of Dungeon Masters out there. Below you will find my edited version of his note and my response to it. In [...]

The Critical Threshold: A brief debate on the Merits of Extreme Results from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:30:10 +0000

This is not the post that I expected to make this week. I simply ran out of time and could not finish either the article I had intended to post this week [about time travel] or the one for next week [the long-awaited followup to last year's Pillars of Architecture article], in time. Instead, I [...]

Google Calendar As Awesome Campaign Calendar from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:43:06 +0000

I’m using Google Calendar as the in-game calendar for my Riddleport Pathfinder campaign. It started as an experiment, but it’s worked so well I’m making it a permanent addition to how I run the campaign. Perhaps you can do this too. Riddleport is set in Paizo’s world of Golarion, and the calendar in that world is [...]

Blog Carnival June 2010: A Medley Of Inspiring Media from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:06:39 +0000

This month’s RPG Carnival, which Campaign Mastery is delighted to host, poses the question: What non-game media have most inspired your games and how? A doozy of a topic, this. Sure, there are the obvious genre-related materials – you can’t talk about Fantasy in this context without mentioning The Lord Of The Rings, first the book, and [...]

What inspires your games? from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 02:50:50 +0000

This month’s RPG Carnival, which Campaign Mastery is delighted to host, poses the question: What non-game media have most inspired your games and how? The answer for me is Saturday morning cartoons, which I grew up on and still watch today. Anything is possible in a cartoon. It’s pure imagination at work in every genre. Plots tend to be [...]

Write the Damn Ending First! from LivingDice.com

LivingDice — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 01:40:22 +0000

Some say the journey is more important that the destination. I disagree. No matter the journey’s quality, the destination needs meaning, a reward for the long road travelled. This applies equally to novels, television shows and role-playing campaigns. That said, many writers tend to focus on the concept and the journey while ignoring the [...]

Check out the most comprehensive GAMA Trade Show 2010 coverage on the web at LivingDice.com!

Mailbag 7–All By Myself, Part 4 from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Mon, 31 May 2010 10:00:30 +0000

DMing a solo is at least as rewarding as running encounters with more monsters. It can be even more satisfying, since a solo can and should evoke strong reactions from players as it deals out destruction. But running a solo requires extra care, especially if you’re using the creature as the lone menace in the fight. Make sure your aware of what your solo can and can’t do, then prepare for it.

It’s Not Like Shooting Sushi In A Barrel: A Personalised Productivity Focus For Game Prep from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 27 May 2010 13:47:08 +0000

While watching the special features from Numb3rs season 3 on DVD, I got to thinking about one of the phenomena of TV shows – that some episodes you really like, and some you don’t, and some episodes are really popular and some are not (and these categories never completely coincide. This is true even of [...]

Ask The GMs: An Inconsistency of Play from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Tue, 25 May 2010 23:46:51 +0000

How do you fix it when inconsistent roleplay or interpersonal conflicts are killing the campaign? The more restrictions on gameplay you have, and the more expectations on play style you have, the more you need to talk about this with everyone in the group and reach consensus. Assumptions kill groups faster than monsters. Campaign Mastery was [...]

Skill Challenges for Combat Groups from Sly Flourish

Sly Flourish — Mon, 24 May 2010 10:07:48 +0000

Some groups love role playing. They love weaving detailed intricate stories among themselves. They love thinking how their character would think. They love sitting back, closing their eyes, and imagining what they would feel if they lived in the world being described to them. Some players, however, just want to crack some skulls. You’ve probably seen [...]

Mailbag 6 – All By Myself, Part 3 from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Mon, 24 May 2010 10:00:36 +0000

In this installment of the exploration of solos, we have two statistics blocks based on what we’ve been talking about. First is a dragon. In or out of the dungeon, this monster has to leave an impression. Next we have a third-party-refurbished berbalang. This version jettisons all the complexity and confusion of the original. It’s relatively straightforward. Both show why customizing monsters is fun D&D 4e.

Sophisticated Links: Degrees Of Seperation in RPGs from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:30:25 +0000

Introduction This is not the post I was originally going to write for today, but a paragraph in one of the books I am reading brought to mind the game that seemed to be everywhere just a few years ago, “Six Degrees From Kevin Bacon”, and social networking in general, and I suddenly saw applicability to [...]

Book of Dead Characters to Celebrate Your Gaming from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Tue, 18 May 2010 01:38:57 +0000

A friend I once gamed with was awesome at celebrating gaming. He made sessions into special events. He had props. He talked about games in a special way, like a sports fan does about when their team won the championship that year. He celebrated the details and told stories about special session moments. It was [...]

Mailbag 5 – All By Myself, Part 2 from Critical Hits » RPG

Critical Hits — Mon, 17 May 2010 10:00:38 +0000

It ain’t easy DMing, and solo monsters heap some responsibility on your shoulders. You might think that one monster on the field is an easier management task. Sometimes you’re right. But good management starts well before and proceeds throughout an engagement.

Ask The GMs: How to GM solo PCs (especially in combat) from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Fri, 14 May 2010 02:30:57 +0000

Campaign Mastery was asked, GM Brian: “I’m trying to run a D&D 3.5 Eberron campaign that will mostly be a solo campaign for my friend. I’m just looking for tips on how I can run a well balanced solo campaign that can still have a good amount of combat.” Johnn’s Answer: This is a great question, because not [...]

Architecture of Riddleport Inspires Plots from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:52:10 +0000

Architecture is often an afterthought in campaigns, so it under performs as a GM tool. I’ve set about to fix that for my Riddleport campaign. Here are a few of the ways I’m using building architecture to enhance the campaign, and I describe my thought processes so you can do the same for yours. The PCs [...]

With An Evil Gleam: Giving Treasure a Personality from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 06 May 2010 13:42:24 +0000

All too often, treasures in a game – be they gadgets in a high-tech setting, high-powered sports cars in a modern campaign, or arcane thingies in a fantasy campaign – are about as interesting as the cardboard cut-outs sometimes used to represent them in play or on a battlemap. While it’s always possible to overdo such [...]

Former PCs as NPCs from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Tue, 04 May 2010 02:02:37 +0000

Bryan Howard recently submitted this tip to Roleplaying Tips: Former PCs as NPCs The best and easiest way to have great NPCs is to inject your old characters. The fighter who settled down and opened a tavern, school or guild. The cleric who built his own temple. Another way is to use former player characters who have parted ways [...]