Author: Guest Author
| January 23, 2013 | Posted by Guest Author |
Today’s guest author is Jonathon Narvey, who blogs about RPG stuff over at Savage Games. Jonathon is a GM (and occasional player), copywriter and political propagandist. He is also the author of a Cthulhu-themed sci-fi novel with lots of tentacles in it, as well as a novel about Yiddish-spouting gangsters fighting for survival in the Middle Eastside. He drinks six cups of coffee a day, minimum. Thanks, Jonathon! Deadlines concentrate the mind. Giving your players the sense that if they don’t do something fast, “something…
| December 27, 2012 | Posted by Guest Author |
Today’s guest article by Ben Phelps advocates taking non-gaming stuff we all watch and read (books, movies, TV shows) and mining it for ways to improve your game. It’s great advice that’s easy to apply to your campaign. Thanks, Ben! Beg, borrow, and steal. No matter your roleplaying system of choice, those four words guide virtually every bit of game mastering advice in just about every book and on almost every website on the subject. Characters, stories, locations, set pieces…just file off those serial numbers…
| December 26, 2012 | Posted by Guest Author |
Today’s guest article was written by Erik Tiernan, who posts on the Stew as Razjah. If (like me) you can’t pitch a game to your players worth a damn, this article’s for you — simple rules based on practical experience. Thanks, Erik! This article started when I commented (as Razjah) on Martin’s article How Do You Pitch a New Game to Your Players? with seven rules for making the pitch. These rules are based on my experience at college as the president of the Role…
| December 24, 2012 | Posted by Guest Author |
Today’s guest article was written by Tom Puketza, and he has some practical rules for time-strapped GMs looking to create their own tabletop terrain — as well as a fantastic finished piece — to share. Thanks, Tom! Like any gamer, I like tiles, scenery, and terrain. Like any responsible adult, I have a built in conflict with the expense and time it takes to purchase or make the stuff. Still, I caught the terrain bug somewhere. I hold this man responsible. Nonetheless, as good as…
| November 21, 2012 | Posted by Guest Author |
Today’s guest author is Mike Nystul, Lead Designer at Castle Nystul Games. Mike’s game design career goes back decades, and as you may have guessed the D&D spell “Nystul’s Magic Aura” is named for him. He’s currently running a Kickstarter campaign for Cairn, a fantasy RPG where the PCs play woodland animals, and when he offered to write a guest article about one of the game’s eminently drift-friendly mechanics, Harmony, we were excited to share it with you. Thanks, Mike! When writing my new game…
| October 9, 2012 | Posted by Guest Author |
Today’s guest article was written by Gnome Stew reader John Fredericks, and it tackles the topic of gaming with kids as young as four years old. Thanks, John! As parents we all hope to pass on our interests to our children. Whether it is sports, music, art, or gaming, we hope to see that glimmer of interest in their eyes. However, sometimes it takes and sometimes it doesn’t. Not every child (or adult) is wired to like roleplaying games. However, if parents play with their…
| October 5, 2012 | Posted by Guest Author |
Today’s guest article is by Gnome Stew reader Rickard Elimää, and it details a fantastic technique for GMs: the “fish tank” model for creating a mystery adventure. Thanks, Rickard! Why is a mystery like a fish tank? Imagine a fish tank with some piranhas in it. The tank and the water are the environment of the latent mystery waiting to be disturbed. The fish represent the people and their relationships with each other. Now imagine the GM throws the PCs into the tank, sits back…
