You gotta suck ‘em in and keep ‘em hooked

October 29, 2008 from RPGCentric
Filed under: DM Advice, Fluff/Inspiration, GM Advice, Game Mastery, Inspiration, RPG, RPG Hub, advice 
Everyone loves a good movie. Tastes differ, of course, but no one can argue about the effectiveness of a memorable opening sequence. It immediately sets the tone of the movie and makes the audience want more. Let me [...]
Read on >>

The greatest sound effect ever made - The Wilhelm Scream

October 27, 2008 from RPGCentric
Filed under: Fluff, Fluff/Inspiration, Game Mastery, RPG, RPG Hub 
You’ve all heard it. A bad guy gets hit; he screams. Someone falls off a cliff; he screams. Someone goes through a window; he screams. And you know you’ve heard it before yet you just can’t put your[...]
Read on >>

The Small Things matter

October 4, 2008 from The Gamer Dome
Filed under: Game Mastery, RPG Hub, roleplaying 
This is a lie men tell themselves on cold, lonely nights. It’s also good but oft-forgotten advice that can help a DM spice up an encounter, session, adventure, or campaign. The great thing about the Small Things is[...]
Read on >>

Does your campaign have a Taco Bell?

September 24, 2008 from The Gamer Dome
Filed under: Game Mastery, RPG Hub, roleplaying 
In the past, I’ve been known to re-use some of my favorite NPCs from game to game, and even to bring some of my old PCs back in the form of NPCs encountered by the current group. One thing I haven’t done, tho[...]
Read on >>

Fortune’s Gold: Where is it?

September 23, 2008 from The Gamer Dome
Filed under: Game Mastery, RPG Hub, dungeons & dragons, roleplaying 
I’m really particular about running campaigns in the right setting, and there are so many to choose from thanks to the d20 boom. This idea seems to fit a pretty generic world, and we’re going to need some lee[...]
Read on >>

Villain Spotlight #6 The Sentience

September 4, 2008 from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer
Filed under: Game Mastery, RPG Hub 
Most of the villains are easy enough to defeat if given the opportunity via straightforward methods.  Poison, a crossbow bolt, a shot from a sniper rifle, a bomb, being run through by a sword.  All of these are fairly [...]
Read on >>

Villain Spotlight #5 The Traitor

September 3, 2008 from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer
Filed under: Game Mastery, RPG Hub 
Of all the people that can do us harm, those that are capable of the most damage are none other than our friends, comrades and loved ones.  The Traitor is at it’s very core, a reflection of the characters, and as [...]
Read on >>

Villain Spotlight #4 The Catastrophe

September 2, 2008 from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer
Filed under: Game Mastery, RPG Hub 
Some villains are intimidating because we can understand them.  Their motivations, their goals… all of these reflect things that we all see in ourselves.  However, there are some things that are simply beyond our[...]
Read on >>

Villain Spotlight #3 The Demon’s Seed

September 1, 2008 from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer
Filed under: Game Mastery, RPG Hub 
What is it about children that scares us?  Is it their inherent lack of a true moral compass if left alone in an isolated environment?  Is it their almost nonchalant approach to applying cruelty to those that they disl[...]
Read on >>

4e: Playtest Report #5

August 30, 2008 from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer
Filed under: 4e, Game Mastery, RPG Hub 
Team 1 takes to the field today, settling in to their new location, a swamp town known as Emerald Marsh.  They arrived at a rough time for the town, as it was being torn apart by tensions between the churches of Melora [...]
Read on >>

Villain Spotlight #2 The Thrill Killer

August 28, 2008 from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer
Filed under: 4e, Game Mastery, RPG Hub 
Welcome to the second installment to Villain Spotlight, where we go through the various villain archetypes that can be used for any game and any scale. Today, we’re looking at the Thrill Killer, one of the more com[...]
Read on >>

Villain Spotlight #1 The Cardinal

August 27, 2008 from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer
Filed under: 4e, Game Mastery, RPG Hub 
Welcome to Villain Spotlight.  For the next few days, I’ll be going over the various villain stereotypes, their variants, and how to use them in a game as centerpiece antagonists of any scale.  The advice in this[...]
Read on >>

4e: Dungeon Building and Environments

August 26, 2008 from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer
Filed under: 4e, Advice/Tools, Game Mastery, RPG Hub 
It’s easy enough to think that D&D should alway take place in a dungeon with gray walls, flickering torches, mold growing on the walls, and with the occasional rat scurrying under your adventurer’s feet w[...]
Read on >>

4e: Manufacturing the Opposition

August 26, 2008 from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer
Filed under: 4e, Game Mastery, RPG Hub 
Things are going into full swing over in my 4e campaign, with Team 2 gearing up to head towards a desecrated temple to face a Demon Slavedriver and his horde of goblin thralls, and Team one sailing their way towards the [...]
Read on >>

RPG Site of the Day: Paizo.com

August 15, 2008 from Inkwell Ideas
Filed under: 4th edition, Game Mastery, RPG Hub, pathfinder 
Paizo is the company that published Dragon and Dungeon magazines during their last few years.  They wisely branched out before their contracts with Wizards of the Coast were not renewed.  In particular, they created &#[...]
Read on >>