How much backstory and history do I make for my sandbox campaigns?
The Basic Structures That Role-Playing Games and Stories Have In Common
There are some basic elements of story that are helpful for a game master to know. This post is about those elements and why games and stories share them.
Telling Good Stories is Hard
Humans use storytelling for practically everything we do. It is a tool we use to tell other humans what's happening, to convince, to entertain, to delight, to manipulate. Yet, most of us don't actually understand how it works on a conscious level. When we try to tell stories our efforts are mostly intuitive. For some …
How Do I Create Random Generation Tables for a Sandbox Campaign?
In last week's post I wrote about how random generation tables have some uses but they also have some drawbacks. The biggest drawback I find is that the tables created by other GMs or designers often have assumptions and contexts that don't fit whatever campaign setting I'm running. The major drawback of random generation tables. …
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The Benefits and Tradeoffs of Random Generation Tables
One of the common tools used by referees who run classic fantasy adventure games is random generation tables. These are useful tools that have many applications but they also have tradeoffs that I find undesirable at times. The Benefits One of the major and perhaps primary uses of random generators is they can be great …
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Film Recommendation: The Dreams In Gary’s Basement
The Dreams In Gary's Basement is a documentary about the life and creations of Gary Gygax. Though the creation of Dungeons & Dragons and the importance of the game in the broader culture is a major part of the narrative, the film is about Gary himself. Who is it for? Obviously, the film is for …
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“Sandbox vs. Railroad” Is a False Dichotomy
Is Sandbox Vs. Railroad a useful comparison? I don't think it is. Here's why.
Grumpy Wizard 
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