Category: For the GM

  • My Only New Year’s Resolution

    I don’t normally make new year’s resolutions. But when Prismatic Wasteland issued their challenge to bloggers to create a new resolution mechanic, how could I say no? We love a good resolution system around here, but I hope you’ll accept this instead. The Any Two System – When the GM gives you the difficulty number…

  • What’s on the Shelf?

    About four years ago I made a list of random book titles and shared it on The Rat Hole as an aide to busy GMs. In most cases, even if you’re running a pre-written adventure, if it features a library the only books that will be named are those that are plot relevant. But we…

  • From My Table: Heir’s Guardian

    I was re-watching the latest episode of Saving Throw Show’s Pirates of Salt Bay today, and was struck to create this wondrous item based on an item Eoj finds, and re-finds, during the episode. I am in no way saying that the doll found on the show is any sort of magical guardian. Of course,…

  • Uncaged Anthology Volume Three Is Out!

    Just in time for Halloween, Uncaged Anthology Volume Three is ready to bring some spoopy D&D adventures to your table. Like the previous two volumes, Volume Three is packed with exciting new takes on some classic and favourite D&D monsters, ready to grace your game night or con slot. Spearheaded by the amazing Ashley Warren…

  • At The Rat Hole Today

    I have a new post up at The Rat Hole today, part of the May RPG Blog Carnival. Feel free to use the Random Holiday Generator for your game, and modify it as you need.

  • RPG Blog Carnival: Making Deities

    This month’s RPG Blog Carnival topic is Divine Worldbuilding, which comes at a fortuitous moment as I have had to begin designing a pantheon or two for my home campaign. I really should have given it thought much sooner, as I have two clerics and a paladin split across two groups. When it was just…

  • December RPG Blog Carnival: Magical Weather

    This month’s RPG Blog Carnival is courtesy of Dice Monkey, all about weather, something that, as I grew up in the Canadian North and currently live on the Canadian Prairies, I am all too familiar with. I try to include weather in my campaigns whenever appropriate, as it can add mood or texture to an…

  • November RPG Blog Carnival: Worldbuilding

    This month’s RPG Blog Carnival is all about world building, something I’ve been doing a lot of for my two D&D 5e campaigns. I thought I’d share a little something from the primer I created for my players to help give them a sense of the world. While I generally kept the mechanics of the…

  • From the Campaign: Fae Trickery

    I am always on the lookout for ways I can make magic seem more…well, magical, in my tabletop games. In most systems the use of magic seems very mechanical, and undercuts the mystery of using mystical power to shape reality. The Vancian systems of D&D are perhaps the best example of a very mechanical approach…

  • Engaging your Players: Player Homework

    I prefer to build a world/campaign focused on the player characters. Like characters on a TV show, the action of the story should revolve around them. I also want the world to feel fleshed out, so I include things that have nothing to do with the players. After all, in the real world there are…