If you want to get better at game mastering; think of the piece of game mastering that you avoid. That thing is probably what you need to work on. Think of the adventure type, the campaign type, monster variety that you actively avoid because it is hard. I'm not talking about how you avoid dungeons …
Category: game mastering advice
More On Religion
The Cleveland Museum of Art currently has a Shinto exhibit displaying idols, portable alters, offerings, ceremonial clothing and embroidered silk screens. I am very fortunate to have seen it because it is the only place in the US that will have the exhibition. We were not allowed to take photos but there are several images …
Random Encounters Convey Information
A lot of people dislike random encounters. The way random encounter tables have been written in most gaming products over the years is why. They are usually treated as a way to provide minor challenges to players or to deplete their resources along the way to an adventure site. I use them for those purposes …
You Do Not Need to Roll For Everything
You don't need to roll dice every time a character takes an action. It's OK, it is preferable, to just say, "Yep, you do it," and move the fuck on. Basic assumptions I make when I DM: Characters are competent. They can perform basic tasks necessary for adventuring. They can tie knots, climb ladders, put …
What’s Your Genre?
Genre makes a big difference when you are deciding what sort of challenges to put in front of your players. This is especially true in certain genres. If you are playing Call of Cthulu then at some point there should be an encounter with knowledge that man should not know. If you are playing a western …
Narrative Causality or Railroading is Bad, Even in Fiction
“...the proliferation of luminous fungi or iridescent crystals in deep caves where the torchlessly improvident hero needs to see is one of the most obvious intrusions of narrative causality into the physical universe.” ― Terry Pratchett, The Last Continent It is interesting to read or listen to professional writers who look at their work as craft. It's …
Continue reading Narrative Causality or Railroading is Bad, Even in Fiction
Great Post About NPC’s by John B.
John B has a great post about how he creates NPC's at The Retired Adventurer Blog. We have very similar methods. We both establish what the NPC wants and what the NPC can do to get it. John has a category of information that I like but never thought too much about. That category is …
Grumpy Wizard 
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