Want to write better adventures? Want to prep more efficiently? Sick of players skipping all of your best content? Prep Smarter, Not Harder, with Encounter Theory Encounter Theory: The Adventure Design Workbook is a fresh way to look at adventure design by Ben Riggs, the voice of the...
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The D&D Adventurer’s League is in the midst of some important changes. While I have no inside information about what drove those changes, why they happened, or what changes might yet happen, I have some thoughts about what might have precipitated them, and why they’re REALLY important for the...
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WHERE you play the game is important. I mean, it’s not as important as having good people, and a good game, but a well-thought-out game space can enhance the enjoyment of any event. Here are a few design principles that I’ve uncovered in the process of creating game spaces in my own home, and in surveying game spaces in other people’s conventions, stores, and homes.
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In a perfect world — one where you have as much time as you need to prep for your games, no one in your group ever has scheduling conflicts and you don’t have to worry about gaming getting in the way of work, school or other concerns — how often would you GM games? Twice a month?...
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Pink shirts are all well and good, but when it comes right down to it I can think of at least two GMing challenges that have intimidated me for years: Running a convention game. Reading Carolina’s excellent TT post I Was a Virgin Convention GM was a good step, but this one still intimidates...
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Recently on TT we’ve looked at the longest sessions you’ve ever run, and at some models for GMing short sessions on weeknights. With session length on the brain, TT reader and frequent commenter Walt C. emailed me to suggest this two-part GMing question (thanks, Walt!): What’s...
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This guest post by longtime GM and fellow GM-Fu panelist Phil Vecchione grew out of a comment Phil made at the first-ever Treasure Tables meetup. Knowing that Phil is a great GM, hearing his success ratio was a light bulb moment for me — I suddenly felt a lot better about the campaigns...
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An interesting side topic came up in the comments thread for Does Age Matter in Gaming?: sexual themes and younger players. In thinking about this, two GMing angles came to mind: • Deciding whether or not to incorporate sexual or other mature themes into your games at all. • How that...
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Inspired by TT forum member Rophan’s thread that asks How old are you and your players?, three related questions: Does your age as a GM matter? Do the ages of your players matter? How about the age of your GM when you’re a player? And if the answer to any of those questions is...
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Back in grade school, this used to crop up from time to time — the GMs I knew (myself included) spent a lot more than their players did on games that the whole group enjoyed, so why not pool funds to buy books? I never felt quite right asking my players to do that, and I don’t remember...
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Hey you. Yeah, you. Do you know about Gnomecast 21? Why isn’t it in the archives? What are they hiding? If you value your safety… don’t go searching for Gnomecast 21…
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