This is one in a periodic series of articles looking at second cities — places to base a campaign in published settings other than such signature cities as Waterdeep, Greyhawk or Sharn. City: Hardby (5,100) Published setting: Greyhawk (Wizards of the Coast/TSR) Why it’s a good choice: Clearly, the City of Greyhawk is the heart of the Flanaess, which means many of the great adventuring sites are near to the Free ...

One of the most intriguing — not to mention challenging — dungeon spoils are those things that are simply too large to carry easily or at all. Usually these things are intended as stationary effects. The item is fixed in a location and generates a magical effect or grants a one-time boon. Imagine an obelisk that wards a room against undead creatures or a fountain whose waters grant cures ...

In the December edition of Atomic Array, game designer James Maliszewski of Rogue Games explained why he included random encounters in his latest adventure, “The Cursed Chateau,” which is billed as an old-school  funhouse-styled scenario along the lines of the classic module “Castle Amber.” Interestingly, he said he did it for the GM’s enjoyment. Maliszewski said he loves to include random encounters because it allows the course of a ...

There's a fox in the henhouse over at Open Design, Wolfgang Baur's design project that produces d20 OGL and 4E materials for its patrons. This particular fox is games designer John Wick, who was the principal designer for 7th Sea and Legend of the Five Rings rpgs and has recently released Houses of the Blooded through his Wicked Dead Brewing Co. Wick's been taking aim at some d20 sacred cows, ...

Making players — and by implication, their characters — feel as if they are in over their heads is the hallmark of a savvy GM. Especially for your horror-themed game session. It also takes players who are willing to buy into the moment — the payoff comes when the sick feeling in the pit of the stomach starts churning. Creating that moment of dread requires more than dropping a dragon ...

Ryan and Jay, those d20-rolling enthusiasts over at 3.5 Private Sanctuary, devoted   Episode 87 of their podcast to the subject of divinity and the role of gods in a campaign world. And at one point, Ryan and Jay make a solid case for always using default pantheon — the Greyhawk-lite list of gods and goddesses from the Player's Handbook — for every campaign. Basically, their argument boils back to the ...

Labor Day in the United States marks the end of summer, a day when municipalities close their outdoor swimming pools. Schools in the northern states used to wait this late to start, but niceties such as high school football and mandated number of school days nixed that. The other seasonal tradition is the fashion-maven's adage: Don't wear white after Labor Day. The origins for this are a bit obscure, ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. I spent the past weekend with some friends at the Bristol Renaissance Fair, which straddles the Wisconsin-Illinois border and for nine weeks of the past 30 or so summers exists in a ...

Two readers are stirring the Suggestion Pot with map-making questions. BladeMaster0182 writes: Hi guys. I would like an article on mapmaking. Every DM does it and I couldn’t find an article on it. I know many of us do it by hand but some of us (like me) lack the artistic talent to draw out their dream world. There are some map making programs, but most I have found are ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. Caught twixt and tween The mop-up session, the bookkeeping session, the just "finish-the-damn-dungeon-so-we-can-get-on-to-something-else" session. The transition session. I really don't enjoy DMing those sessions as much as I should, I suppose. Admittedly, they are challenging ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. So, with a gazillion cable TV channels — why is it there is so little on TV that appeals to me, as a gamer?  I mean, you can’t spin the dial without ...

Strangely enough, the GM's role is strikingly similar to that of a professional wrestling promoter, especially the person responsible for booking the matches. You want to see the Dream Team of Brutus Beefcake and Greg "the Hammer" Valentine take on the Hart Foundation of Bret "the Hitman" Hart, Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart and their manager, the man on the megaphone, Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart? (I believe I have ...

Gnome Stew reader Noumenon requested the following article in our Suggestion Pot: I just want to know how you deal with spells like Hypnotism, Charm Person, and Suggestion. Monsters you know the PCs are going to try to kill, but how do you plan for them to start controlling your NPCs? Martin's note: I want to personally apologize to Noumenon, who emailed me about this article just over one year ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. Good GMs need inspiration. Movies, TV, music and video games all figure into the mix, of course. But nothing beats a good book. The events of the past month have sent many ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle  and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. Back in the saddle again First, thanks to Martin and the gang for allowing me to take a short hiatus. Dave Arneson, 1947-2009 Unfortunately I wasn’t able to post my appreciation of D&D co-creator Dave ...