Tag: game mastering

  • Summing Up: Writing a Campaign Synopsis

    This past Sunday I wrote a thread on Twitter I thought might be worth posting in a clearer format here. We’re putting out the casting call soon for [REDACTED] so I needed to pull together the campaign synopsis, which is one of my favourite exercises for a new campaign. They are an absolute necessity for…

  • Interlude: Pre-Rolling

    Back when I ran a whole lot of Pathfinder on a regular basis, I got in the habit of pre-rolling a bunch of d20 rolls. Before a session I would roll the d20 a bunch of times, say twenty or thirty, and record those numbers in order. Then when I needed a roll for an…

  • My Basic Session Planning

    Before we get to today’s post, a little Extra Life update and reminder. I am currently just over a third of the way to my $1000 goal, which is excellent! Thank-you to everyone who has donated or spread the word, your support is going mean the world to sick kids at the Stollery. If you’ve…

  • Playing Card Treasure Generator

    I talked about why I started using playing cards as a random generator in the previous post. In short, as a young gamer I didn’t have the spare cash to pick up every new gaming aid that came out, so I improvised with what I had. And like any gamer, what I had were decks…

  • Playing Card GPC Generator

    I didn’t always have the budget for gaming that I have now. I’m certainly not complaining, it’s nice to be able to pick up a supplement if I want to, without having to decide to go without groceries or maybe hold off paying the phone bill for a bit. But I did have to get…

  • Encounter Locations – Part 2

    Last time we talked about what inspires encounter location design, and how to start the process. Inspiration for an encounter location can really come from anywhere, so when you have an idea make sure to record it. You may not get to it right away, but it’s great to have a list of ideas on…

  • Encounter Locations – Part 1

    One of the things I’m enjoying about running a D&D 5e campaign is a return to setting creation. I talked a bit in an earlier post about the world I created for the campaign, and what a welcome change that was after years of pre-written material. As a busy GM I’m not knocking published material…

  • Getting Back in the GM’s Chair

    Tonight my Thursday Knights convene after our annual summer hiatus. We’re diving back in to the Jade Regent Adventure Path, just a smidge of the way into the first book. It can be tough coming back to your regular game after some time away, so I thought I’d share three tips to make the transition…

  • RPGaDay, Day 2: First RPG GMed

    Since Dungeons & Dragons was my first game played, you might think it was the first game I game mastered. But that ‘honour’ goes to another TSR product, Gamma World. For those not in the know, Gamma World was set in a grim, post-apocalyptic world full of strange technology and irradiated mutant creatures. Some of…

  • GM Resources: One Page Dungeon Contest

    There is such a wealth of Game Master resources on-line, I often find something extremely useful and then lose track of it. The One Page Dungeon contest is one of those resources, and I’m indescribably happy to have found it again. The contest idea makes it cool enough: design an interesting dungeon (including map) which…