Award-Winning GMing Advice
Gnome Stew won the silver ENnie Award for Best Blog in
2011 and
2010 -- thank you for your support! Online since 2008, we've published
1,183 articles packed with GMing tips and advice, as well as
two books for GMs. Our
top 30 articles make a great starting point for new readers.
"I check Gnome Stew every day." -- Monte Cook
"fantastic blog for game masters, dungeon masters, and rpg fans" -- Wil Wheaton
"If you aren’t reading Gnome Stew, you’re missing out." -- Wolfgang Baur
This is part one of a two-part series on index cards. The second part will deal with using index cards at the gaming table. Unless you’re new to gaming, or live and die by the laptop, you’re probably familiar with index cards at the gaming table. A stack fits in your hand, and they can be used for any number of things, from notes to character ...
It’s not the most intuitive notion, but taking a break from gaming is a good way to improve your GMing. Don’t just take a break from GMing, take a break from gaming. (Some of you may know that my wife and I had our second daughter recently. No, this is not the result of sleep deprivation; I had this piece half-written before the third trimester.) ...
My object all sublime I shall achieve in time To let the punishment fit the crime - Gilbert & Sullivan, “The Mikado” Consider the following: A player has just conceived and executed a plan so audacious, clever, and funny that she gets ...
Gripe all you want about 4E, but I’ve learned more than a few things from everyone’s favorite whipping-boy RPG. As a player, I spent more than a few tense moments at the beginning of many encounters, wondering how the party was going to survive this onslaught. Once I recognized the pattern (thanks to a comment by Martin), it all made sense. A number of factors contribute ...
When I was younger, I thought I could stand on my own. It wasn't easy; I stood like a man made of stone. “Something About You” by Boston We humans get tense under stress. Mentally and physically, we lock up in an attempt to control ourselves and our environment. It’s a natural stress response, ...
“Never game with someone you wouldn’t count as a friend.” We’ve all seen and heard variations of the above comment, but experience is starting to tell me that it’s just not true. I have good friends who are gamers, but I don't enjoy gaming with them. On the other hand, I enjoy gaming with some excellent players whom I consider mere acquaintances. ...
Public Service Announcement: Today is St. Valentine’s Day. Please remember to give the loved ones in your life a symbol of your appreciation. A greeting card, a box of chocolates, and/or a floral arrangement are all traditional gifts.
Flowers, chocolate, and the ubiquitous mass-produced gift card may seem dull and stereotypical to some, but millions of them will be given today. And nearly all ...
Some GMs would never tolerate a computer at their game table; if a notepad worked for E. Gary, it’ll work for them. Some would be lost without a browser opened up to thirteen tabs, and multiple Excel sheets for calculating THAC0. And some, perhaps living out some brash fantasy as a librarian, swear by the lowly index card. So what’s the best way to run a ...
It’s Black Friday! No, not that kind of Friday. (But now I want to watch that movie again.) And not the kind where nerds stand outside electronic stores in the wee hours, waiting to buy something that will probably cost less in a couple months, either. And no, we’re not talking about the kind of Black Friday that leads stockbrokers to autodefenestration. (Although ...
“Life is like a box of ammo.” – Duke Nukem At Con on the Cob (about which much more later), I ran across one of the cooler props I’ve seen in the last year (including Gen Con). These are the AmmoCounters from Das Spiel Unker (a German pun for ‘The Basement Gamer’). Some background: In addition to RPGs (and parentheses), I ...
"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. " - Joseph Campbell Today is Veterans Day in the United States. In many other countries, it is known as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day. In commemoration, there will be parades, ceremonies, and even free meals and drinks (albeit non-alcoholic). It hasn’t always been this ...
First Time GM is a series of articles dedicated to the newly-minted game master, making his or her first tentative die rolls behind the screen. Today’s article deals with techniques used to prepare for a game. A broader look at the process is here. GMing is an art form; no two GMs will prepare in exactly the same manner. In addition, the list of techniques for game ...
Back in July, renner complimented us, rubbed the Gnome, and posted this on the Suggestion Pot. I’ve been playing/GMing a rules-heavy RPG system (Gurps), and now I’m moving towards FATE RPG, which is a very rules-light system. So, my suggestions for articles are: 1 – How can a rules-heavy GM adapt to a rules-light ...
A discussion on the GM Mastery mailing list (an adjunct to Johnn Four’s excellent Roleplaying Tips weekly e-zine) involved speeding up game play, and the concept of the Standing Operating Procedure was brought up. For routine and repetitive tasks (setting camp, visiting town, etc), SOPs are a handy technique to quickly put the players and GM on the same page. In addition, they allow the GM to handle ...
It’s that time again, when summer starts to wind down and back-to-school sales start to spool up. In honor or celebration (or simple vote-whoring), many states in the US will have Tax Free Weekends. For two reasons, this is an excellent time to stock up on school gaming supplies (sorry, but Cheetos are still taxed). Reason Number One is simple: No sales taxes on school supplies. The ...
