Battlegrounds: On Deck

November 14, 2008 from A Butterfly Dreaming
Filed under: 4e D&D, Featured!, GM Advice, RPG Hub, advice, roleplaying

It’s been a little while since I’ve taken a look at battlegrounds. This post is long overdue, having been in draft stage for over two months now. So for the comeback post, I’ll be taking a look at a[...]
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Hanging in the Balance

November 11, 2008 from A Butterfly Dreaming
Filed under: 4e D&D, Featured!, GM Advice, RPG Hub, advice, roleplaying

Game balance has become a relatively hot topic again this week among the RPG blogs. On Friday, Unnatural 20 posted Game Balance is Unnecessary for Fun. True or False? Among the responses is RPG Blog II’s Ok, Le[...]
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“We Split Up”

November 8, 2008 from A Butterfly Dreaming
Filed under: Featured!, GM Advice, RPG Hub, advice, roleplaying

If you’re anything like me, “we split up” is one of the phrases you most dread hearing from your players. You’re only one person — how do you keep multiple players involved in a game when[...]
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Breaking conventions

November 6, 2008 from Gaming Brouhaha
Filed under: GM Advice, RPG, RPG Hub

In my experience, RPG players tend to be similar to most other people in that they are generally very hesitant to try anything new. Thus, there’s a tendency to get “stuck in a rut,” playing the same kinds of g[...]
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Fallout 3 - intro and character generation

November 4, 2008 from Neitherworld Stories
Filed under: GM Advice, Game Design, RPG Hub

As I mentioned yesterday, I just picked up Fallout 3. I haven't had much time to play, but i like what I've seen so far. Good games often give me ideas about how to improve other games, so I may be commenting here from t[...]
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Steal these ideas: Part 1

November 3, 2008 from Gaming Brouhaha
Filed under: GM, RPG, RPG Hub

This is sort of a companion to my “You’ve got to try this” posts. The purpose of these posts are to present books, TV shows, movies, and ideas that you can borrow from, use for inspiration, or just plai[...]
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Happy Halloween

October 31, 2008 from Neitherworld Stories
Filed under: GM Advice, RPG Hub

Some random thoughts in honor of Halloween:What looks scary in a fantasy world? We typically think of twisted, non-human visages as scary, but would they be in a world in which goblins, zombies, and such are commonplace?[...]
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Mean Things I Have Done in Horror RPGs

October 31, 2008 from Critical Hits
Filed under: Call of Cthulhu, GM Advice, RPG, RPG Hub

Had a PC’s longtime girlfriend seduced by a butt-ugly vampire. Replaced a resurrected PC with his evil twin… permanently. (As a result of this) Force said evil twin into working with the PCs after he was dis[...]
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Hands off the wheel: Giving up Narrative Control in a RPG

October 30, 2008 from Gaming Brouhaha
Filed under: GM Advice, RPG, RPG Hub

Hands off the wheel: Giving up Narrative Control in a RPG A post on one of the forums I frequent prompted me to write a rather long response in attempt to answer a question about the meaning of “collaborative gaming”[...]
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Conflict Resolution and Gaming

October 30, 2008 from RPGCentric
Filed under: DM Advice, GM Advice, Player Advice, RPG, RPG Hub, advice

For those who have gamed for any period of time, you are bound to run into a situation where you disagree with others at the table. This will be whether you’re a player and disagree with another player’s [...]
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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 [...]
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Cloverfield in D&D

October 28, 2008 from 6d6Fireball
Filed under: GM, News, Reviews & Culture, RPG Hub

Thursday night’s game session was canceled due to Pete having the flu so I found myself with an unexpectedly spare evening. One quick trip down to the video store later and I was settling down to watch Cloverfield.[...]
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Pl

October 27, 2008 from Neitherworld Stories
Filed under: GM Advice, RPG Hub

Roughly speaking, a taboo is a cultural prohibition. Modern societies have a ton of taboos. They range from prohibitions on cannibalism, slavery, and incest to prohibitions on eating meat, using certain words, and engagi[...]
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Superhero Lessons for Fantasy Games

October 27, 2008 from A Butterfly Dreaming
Filed under: 4e D&D, GM Advice, RPG Hub, advice, roleplaying

Even if you don’t play a superhero game, this month’s RPG blog carnival on superheroes needn’t be a wasted month for you. There are qualities of a superhero game that can be adapted to enliven your ne[...]
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(Super)Heroes are Made

October 21, 2008 from A Butterfly Dreaming
Filed under: GM Advice, RPG Hub, advice, roleplaying

There’s a bit of a stir in the RPG community lately over a certain product, Carcosa, by one Geoffrey McKinney (to which I choose not to link — I’m sure you won’t have much trouble finding it, if y[...]
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Current Map

October 16, 2008 from Endless Bag of Dice
Filed under: GM, RPG Hub, roleplaying

We have been playing our game without a good solid map. Actually that's not true, since we have had the big "guidelines" of what is and where. So when we started this campaign, I only drew (with a pencil) the outlines of[...]
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Disjoining language and culture

October 15, 2008 from Neitherworld Stories
Filed under: GM Advice, RPG Hub

A quick tip to help you quickly generate flavorful cultures:Language and culture are deeply embedded in each other, so much so that when we appropriate one for a new race or people in an RPG, we almost automatically grab[...]
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Consequences

October 13, 2008 from Neitherworld Stories
Filed under: GM Advice, Game Design, RPG Hub

As a GM, I don't particularly like killing players. As a player, I don't like the idea that my PC could die in a random or meaningless way. When news about 4e was coming out, I found the rumored removal of save or die ef[...]
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“We Deliver The FUN!”

October 11, 2008 from Endless Bag of Dice
Filed under: GM, RPG Hub, roleplaying

I got the idea of writing this post after there was a little misunderstanding about certain thing with one of my friends. What was the misunderstanding about is irrelevant, but it got me to wonder the actual role of the [...]
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Cloverfield in D&D

October 11, 2008 from 6d6Fireball
Filed under: GM, RPG Hub

RPG Carnival: Superhero Tropes for Non-Superhero Gaming

October 10, 2008 from Neitherworld Stories
Filed under: GM Advice, RPG Hub

Superhero comics have a ton of useful tropes that could easily be adapted to other genres.Naming conventionsWant your players to know when an NPC is important? Give that NPC an alliterative name. Bonus: It will be easier[...]
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What GM’s Want Online

October 8, 2008 from 6d6Fireball
Filed under: GM, RPG Hub

What online tools would make a GM’s life easier?Work begins in ernest today on 6d6 Fireball’s Adventures writing tool. As work progresses I’m going to document it here, mostly as a way of keeping my own[...]
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The Boss Monster’s Boss

October 3, 2008 from 6d6Fireball
Filed under: GM, RPG Hub

Last night was our regular Thursday Night session where I’m running my Rome campaign. During a break for food, discussion turned to the events of last week and the NPC the players had killed.It had been a close fig[...]
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Goofy Gaming

October 1, 2008 from Neitherworld Stories
Filed under: GM Advice, RPG Hub

Gaming is entertainment.I think that much is uncontroversial. How silly any given game should be is somewhat less so.Example the First: NobilisThe Nobilis game that I've been playing is has been mostly serious, despite t[...]
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Making Money by Being a GM

September 30, 2008 from 6d6Fireball
Filed under: GM, RPG Hub

Would you hire a GM to help you develop your campaign or adventures? Personally no, but one enterprising GM, going by the name of DNAphil, thinks people will and has launched a GM Consulting business. For $10 an hour he[...]
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Hack Game Design

September 29, 2008 from Neitherworld Stories
Filed under: GM Advice, RPG Hub

Sometimes I read non-rpg-related blogs on gaming and game design (for boardgames or video games). Sometimes they help me come at rpg gaming from a different perspective. Video game level design, for example, can tell you[...]
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Murder Most Foul: The Deed Itself

September 27, 2008 from A Butterfly Dreaming
Filed under: GM Advice, RPG Hub, advice, roleplaying

Previously, I discussed abilities to watch out for when attempting to run a mystery and took a look at some things you should determine about your cast of characters before the game. Today, I finally get around to the [...]
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Murder Most Foul: The Usual Suspects

September 22, 2008 from A Butterfly Dreaming
Filed under: Featured!, GM Advice, RPG Hub, advice, roleplaying

In my last post, I discussed things that should be considered prior to planning a murder mystery. Today, a quick look at the actual planning. The Victim is naturally the first concern. Who’s dead? The death [...]
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Murder Most Foul: Premeditation

September 20, 2008 from A Butterfly Dreaming
Filed under: GM Advice, RPG Hub, advice, roleplaying

The murder mystery is a firmly-established sub-genre, so much so that it’s commonly crossed over. In addition to detective stories, there are murder mysteries set in the Middle Ages, in ancient Rome, in feudal Ja[...]
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Tips on running a successful Play-by-Post (PbP)

September 18, 2008 from RPGCentric
Filed under: DM Advice, Featured!, GM Advice, RPG, RPG Hub, advice

Play-by-posts are great for DMs and players who don’t have the time, or the ability, to run a face-to-face game. I have run two very successful PbPs in my life, one for Savage Tide and my current Eberron game[...]
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