Category: Role-playing

  • From my Brain: 50 Random NPCs

    Monday I talked about what to do if game night came around and you had nothing, and I suggested having some pre-made NPCs on hand to make your life easier. Looking through my GM’s binder (you don’t have one? Oh, they’re brilliant! I’ll tell you all about mine sometime) I noticed my stock of NPCs…

  • When the Cupboard’s Bare

    It happens to every game master at one point or another. Game night is here, players are expecting a continuation of your Super Fun Time Awesome Campaign™ and you’ve got nothing. Maybe it’s been a particularly busy week at work, or you’ve been caught up in your studies. Heck, maybe it’s the “centipede’s dilemma”, and…

  • My Game Master Kit

    I’ve had a few folks ask me, here and at Gen Con, what I carry with me to GM. So I thought I’d give you a virtual tour of my GM kit. First thing to note, I don’t always carry this full kit with me to every session. What I take depends on the game…

  • Free RPG Day Reviews, Part 2

    In Part 1 of my Free RPG Day Reviews, I looked at my three favourite small press offerings.  Today I want to look at what the big publishers brought to the table. If you are sitting comfortably, and even if you’re not, we’ll begin. Star Wars Edge of the Empire RPG Quickstart/Shadows of a Black…

  • Free RPG Day Reviews Part 1

    If you aren’t a gamer, you might not be aware we just celebrated the closest we get to Christmas this past weekend: Free RPG Day. Inspired by Free Comic Book Day and started in 2007, Free RPG Day works with participating gaming retailers and RPG publishers to put new and exclusive RPG quickstart rules and adventure modules into…

  • Gencon Day Three: Hug your Volunteers!

    Day Three was a blur as well, but for an awful instead of awesome reason.  Food poisoning, when you are safe in the comforts of your home, is bad.  The experience is not made better by living out of hotel in a strange city.  So I’m not going to dwell too much on what my…

  • Gencon Day Two, Continued

    The highlight of Day Two was, of course, the Pathfinder Society Gencon Special.  My introduction to Pathfinder Society came through playing in the Gencon Special back in 2010, so I was excited to be a part of the GM team this time around. I won’t talk a lot about the story of the Special, because…

  • GM Advice: Letting Go of “No”

    If you’ve been game mastering for a while, the word “no” can start to feel like a comfortable old friend.  After all, you spend your sessions riding herd on players, who often have the impulse control of Ritalin-deprived, sugar-soaked 10-year-olds…or maybe that’s just my group.  In any case, it is easy to just say no…

  • Friday Guest Post: Bookmonkey

    A while back I asked for guest post submissions, and from now on I’ll be throwing them up on Fridays as they come in.  I still have room for plenty more, so if you have something you want to talk about and need a place to do that, drop me a line. Our first Guest…

  • Of Pathfinder and Venture Captains

    If you follow me on Twitter (@renaissancedork, you’ll love it, trust me) you know that I’ve been hinting at some amazing geek news I couldn’t talk about yet.  Well, Paizo made the official announcement yesterday so now I can (metaphorically) shout it from the rooftops! I am the newly minted Venture Captain for Pathfinder Organized…