Author: John Arcadian

As Game Masters, we each have our unique and individual style for running games. There are certain elements we all feel comfortable with and enjoy using in our games. We don’t want to get stuck in the familiar and the easy when we present a new game for our players, and I recently came across a nifty way to broaden the elements I include in my games. An excellent way to get inspiration that removes me from my comfort zone. The other day I heard…

I’ve recently completed a move to Mississippi and I have two new groups of players in two very different games. I’m running a very new player friendly game for some people who are unfamiliar with role-playing in general, and I’m running a somewhat advanced game with a mix of experienced players and new to gaming players. As I get used to the new play styles, I’m noticing some interesting things about the groups. The game for the new group is tailored towards teaching what role-playing…

My last article was about the trope of mind controlled characters. Reading through the comments and seeing the many diverse options and attitudes towards mind controlled PCs, I can realize where there are narrative moments where it can work but that it is still a very tricky subject. So here are 5 tactics I wrote up (or grabbed from others’ ideas) that can help prevent mind controlled PCs from causing issues.       1. Limit Damage One of the biggest complaints that I’ve heard…

I’ve recently finished a long move out of my home state of Ohio. During the many long days of packing and unpacking, I watched a lot of netflix in the background, and being a geek I tended to watch lots of geeky tv series and movies. I realized a pretty common trope in a lot of fantasy, sci-fi, and supernatural shows is one of the main characters getting mind controlled – as in, really common. I was a little amazed by the amount it got…

My room-mate and I often take a night or two a week to watch through episodes of some series together. This is the closest either of us get to watching “TV” in the traditional sense. Our latest effort, House Of Cards, is a series on Netflix that deals with Francis Underwood, the current Majority Whip getting passed up for Secretary of State and using his influence and power to destroy his Washington enemies with politics and backstabbing. It’s a great series and got us talking about how…

Every so often I get the urge to run a game around very tight themes – a game where all the characters are thieves in a thieves guild, a game where all the players are members of a military organization with specific ranks and duties, a modern game where intrigue and politics rule the day, not pure combat, etc. Something with a definite, described theme with information provided to the players about what type of game I’m intending to run. Sometimes I’ve even done weeks…

If you would like a printable version of this post for quick reference, I organized it into a PDF which you can find here. I have recently become intimately aware of the extreme effects of having sickness ravage my body. It is the same kind of awareness I gain after most conventions I go to, or when travelling by airplane. Anytime I’m exposed to masses of people and am putting even just a moderate amount of energy into travelling or socializing/working, that con-crud, nasty flu…