I discourage character backgrounds of more than a few sentences. I like watching the player reveal the character in play. I think the results are more interesting that way. When you are sitting around thinking about what kind of character you would like to play; You think about what that character looks like, what they …
I Love It When Players Say…
"I hate that guy." (Talking about an NPC.) "We're going to have to kill that guy some day." (Again talking about an NPC.) "I've got a bad feeling about this." (speaking out of character) "I'm not in the room!" "Wait! Wait! Don't open that door yet!" "That's a lot of dice." "I don't know if …
It’s About the Play
In my younger days, I would write a full on campaign history and back ground information. What was worse, I expected players to read that stuff. I learned that they weren't interested in reading my pile of made up history about a made up place. Game masters, I'm talking to you. I do not want …
Monsters
In European myth and folklore, monsters serve a very important function. They are a warning. The etymological root of the word is the latin monstrum. Monstrum was a sign or portent which disrupts the natural order due to divine displeasure. This is seen throughout myth and folklore. Do bad things and the Krampus will come …
What Are the Stakes?
A key game mastering skill is metering the stakes properly. Stakes are simply what the characters can gain or what they can lose. The consequences of their actions. The ultimate stakes in a fantasy adventure game may not even be the characters' own lives but the fate of the world or even the multiverse if …
Some Proper Uses of Story Telling In Fantasy Adventure Gaming
While I am open to being convinced that I am wrong, I have previously proposed the following thesis: RPG's are not stories but games that utilizes stories as well the structures and tools of story telling as a central part of the game experience. The game and story sections bleed over. The underlying premise is …
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Tactics and Strategems
An excerpt from Me and My Kompanions: The Memoir of a Mercenary by Kaladar of New Kaladonia It does not behoove the kommander of a small force to seek battle against a powerful foe on an even, some would daresay honorable, field. Nay, you should most certainly always search out the unfair advantage when seeking to do …
Grumpy Wizard 
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