Category: Role-playing

  • Campaign Creation: In the Depths

    Last time, we talked about all the nasties awaiting our brave adventurers above ground. Now I want to look at what (or who) might be lurking underground. Giving it some thought, I want to split the Depths, as I’ll call them, into three main areas. The first area will be just below the surface, at…

  • Maps for the Weary Game Master

    I love maps for role-playing games, almost as much as I love dice. I can spend hours flipping through old game maps, remembering past sessions or dreaming up new ways to use a particular location. I haven’t knowingly thrown out a gaming map in over twenty years. I keep them all neatly organized in a…

  • 3 Resources to Help Build Future Gamers

    The promised dice tower construction tutorial has been delayed by a day due to technical difficulties. While I sort those out, I thought I’d talk a bit about kids and gaming. The last question in the 30 Days of Game Mastering Challenge is “How do we grow our hobby?”. You can read my extended answer…

  • Foreign Element RPG

    Yes, the title does mean that my next 30 Days of GMing post is delayed. Again. Bit busy finding my illness/work balance, and something had to give. But I wanted to take a moment to promote something cool I worked on. The Foreign Element RPG is a game for anyone who likes fast-paced, B-movie style…

  • 30 Days of Game Mastering, Day Twenty-two

    We are close to the end of 30 Days of Game Mastering Challenge, closing in on the final week. I hope folks have enjoyed this. I had and am having a lot of fun, and with the exception of a minor hiccup last week, I like having a constant stream of posts. It is very…

  • 30 Days of Game Mastering, Day Twenty-one

    As we enter the final third of the 30 Days of Game Mastering Challenge, we start to look at more “meta” questions. Questions like… What are your favourite books about game mastering? My hands-down favourite book on game mastering is Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering, written by Robin D. Laws and published by Steve Jackson…

  • 30 Days of Game Mastering, Day Twenty

    Two-thirds of the way through, gentle readers. After today a scant ten entries lie between us and the end of the 30 Days of Game Mastering Challenge. I really hope you’ve found some of these posts useful. When this is over you’ll be able to read all these entries in one of two ways: either…

  • 30 Days of Game Mastering, Day Fifteen to Nineteen

    Never fear, I haven’t abandoned the 30 Days of Game Mastering Challenge. But last week became busier than anticipated, so once again you get a blog post covering the last several days. I promise, tomorrow we go back to one topic a day. Until then, pour yourself a coffee and enjoy. Memorable villains: how do…

  • 30 Days of Game Mastering, Day Eleven to Fourteen

    Moving into days eleven through twenty of the 30 Days of Game Mastering Challenge, we focus more on how things run at the table. As a reminder, if you follow the link above and look in the comments section, you’ll see all the blogs taking part in the challenge. I encourage you to do so,…

  • 30 Days of Game Mastering, Day Ten

    Ten solid days of the 30 Days of Game Mastering Challenge in the can! What are your tips for running a low/no prep game? As I said in an earlier post, I’m not the strongest improv GM. I’ve become better over time, but I’ve bolstered my meagre improv skills by being hyper-prepared behind-the-scenes. Every once…