James of Grognardia published a post earlier this week wondering what level a king might be and if they had to be a high level character. He makes a good point. Many rulers, particularly in a sophisticated empire with rulership that is inherited, would not be involved in the activities D&D rewards with experience. In …
Category: game mastering advice
Great Game Masters Don’t Tell the Player Character’s Story
As a game master, you don't have to be a highly skilled story teller to get a good story out of your game.
Lesson Learned: Strict Time Records are Crucial In High Level Original D&D
YOU CAN NOT HAVE A MEANINGFUL CAMPAIGN IF STRICT TIME RECORDS ARE NOT KEPT.” Advanced Dungeon Master’s Guide Gary Gygax Recently, I have become horribly disorganized and aware of time passage of my campaign in a only a coarse way. I think, we are 3 1/2 years from the beginning of the campaign, somewhere close to …
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The Elements of Villainy
In most genres of story, the protagonist has an internal shift from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. They believe something different, they have new skills or ideals, a new point of view. There are a few genres, like sword and sorcery or super hero stories, where that can happen …
How Do I Create Important Non Player Characters?
Engaging non-player characters are one the most powerful tools in my game mastering kit. The greater the NPC's importance to the events of the game, the more interesting and emotionally engaging I want to make the character. Adversaries are especially important. Everyone loves a good villain. It makes or breaks the quality of the experience …
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How To Run High Level, Old School, Dungeons and Dragons.
Most old school DM's and players, in my experience, have not been a part of games with high level characters. The lethality of old school play can keep you from getting a character much over 6th or 7th level. A lot of campaigns fizzle out before characters hit 9th or 10th level. Often this is …
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How Do I Describe A Location?
A phrase frequently stated by writing teachers is, "Show. Don't Tell." This applies equally to game masters. If you want to get your players on the edge of their seats, your location descriptions need to "show" the players what their characters see. Do not "tell" them what to think or how they should feel about …
Grumpy Wizard 
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