Remember that red-and-green hourglass from Rodizio Grill? Turns out, it might be the best DM tool you’ve never used. We’ve all been there. Your D&D players fought the monsters and interacted with the NPCs. Or maybe it was the other way around. Now the wizard is out of spells and encourages the others to...
Stephen drummed his fingers on the table, waiting. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for—some clue, some revelation, some progress. The game was cool, sure. The hospital scenes had been immersive, Kathmandu felt real, but… he still wasn’t a wizard. And that was the problem. Scott, the game master, could argue that a...
My friends and I recently came up with a new world in which to play. The characters Knights Natalis, who protect the North Pole and the world from primeval terrors. Ideas for characters and organizations danced in our heads like sugar plum fairies. As we came up with this polar world, I grew excited...
Pictures can communicate things that sometimes words struggle to convey. By seeing a simple picture players can understand what a place looks like, who is there, and perhaps, who built it. Pictures provide a sense of emotion. They draw players in and immerse them in the world. Visual components are a vital part of...
When Gandalf and the fellowship arrived at the entrance of the Mines of Moria, the Doors of Durin stopped their progress. Gandalf stepped forward and translated the Sindarin text: The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter. I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs. Gandalf initially misunderstood these...
Words are the basis of Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence (VL). And words are the basis of every role-playing game. Players and game masters work together using words to create worlds and the characters that happened to those worlds. As this is the case I assume that nearly everyone at the table has at least some modicum...
When role-playing, you and your players can enter into a thousand different fantastical worlds and inhabit the lives of a million different people. This variety opens role-playing games to a diverse group of people. Yet, how do you address the different player types and play styles of such a motley group? As a game...
As player characters wind their way through your imaginary world, you (the game master) seek to keep them on the edge of their seat. You want to introduce intense encounters and heart-pounding battles. But how do you create that tension in your game, and what does it have to do with a rubber band?...
Okay, so you have gathered your friends together to sit down and play an RPG, like Dungeons and Dragons or Call of Cthulhu. You have a comfortable space and everyone has their characters, dice, and snacks. The curtains of your imagination will soon open and the game will begin. But how do you start...
What is a GM Notebook? It would be so much easier to Game Master if we could just keep everything in our heads. But the world of a GM is constantly moving and that makes it hard to always remember every little thing. We gamers are fond of butchering a statement made by Helmuth...
