Travis Miller's Blog About Sword & Sorcery Fiction and Classic Fantasy Adventure Gaming
A reader named Pete sent me a question about how to manage a group of six players. He is new to DMing and groups of more than five is giving him some trouble. Good question Pete, thanks for asking! I'm going to assume Pete is running a face to face game. Personally, I won't run …
Continue reading How I Referee Large Groups of Players in Old School D&D
Probably the biggest error I made when I started to learn game mastering was trying to do too much too fast. I get excited and, in my ignorance, under appreciate the difficulty or complexity of what I'm attempting. I realize my error once I get under way. My game fails to launch, crashes and burns …
A game master can be creative with weirdness. You can create completely new monsters, magic items, and adventure situations. Another way to be creative is to take the things we already have and use them in ways that subvert expectations while fitting within the constraints of the game rules and the typical fantasy setting.
I want players to feel like their characters are in danger the moment they step into the dungeon. Making darkness a danger that players must deal with is one way to do that.
A few weeks ago I wrote about "a game master's statement" based on some of the artist's statements I had seen at art gallery shows and museum exhibitions. To give an example of what this can look like, I wrote one for a sandbox campaign I'm working on. This is just one way I could …
Continue reading An Example Draft of A Game Master’s Statement
A game master's statement is a way to communicate to prospective players about how I run games, how I think about games in general, and what I intend to accomplish with a new campaign in particular. Being clear, concise, and honest about I'm trying to do will help a player decide if my campaign is for them or if it's something they are unlikely to enjoy.
Discarding the theory that there are only certain ways a particular game should be played and experimenting with how it can be played has helped me to get more of what I want than accepting the common advice given by people who are not me and do not want what I want.
Grumpy Wizard 
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