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
1,109 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
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 ...
I’m an unapologetic fan of the “Wheel of Time” series by the late Robert Jordan and its current author, Brandon Sanderson. (1)
It was interest in trying out the 2001 roleplaying game based on the d20/Third Edition system that moved me to the GMing side the screen in the first place.
I ran two solid campaigns using those rules. It went pretty well. Yes, the channellers can rule combat encounters ...
Last year, my group had two simultaneous D&D 4e games going, one set in the Forgotten Realms and one in Eberron. They both ended, and I don't see myself ever playing a long-term 4e game again -- and I just realized that this isn't the first time this has happened.
A quick aside: I could care less what anyone else plays -- as long as you're having fun, you're ...
One of my initial disappointments with the Fourth Edition’s Player’s Handbook was lack of space devoted to development of a character’s story.
Not their abilities — their individual story.
As a GM, I love when players bring a concept to the table that allows their growth along storylines. Extra feats and class abilities are fine and dandy — but these are basically add-ons to a character’s combat capabilities.
Missing from 4E ...
I usually save links for Gnome Rodeos, but I'm so swamped with last-mile work on Eureka (Gnome Stew's upcoming book) that I haven't had time to do a rodeo lately -- so this one gets a quickie article of its own.
The University of Michigan (my alma mater -- and believe me, the irony isn't escaping me) recently completed a study of niche hobbyists, including gamers. They looked for ...
The Desire is a full color 57 page PDF for Fourth Edition D&D by Nevermet Press (www.nevermetpress.com). (Also included was a grayscale PDF, oriented in Portrait, intended for easy printing. That's a nice feature, though one I didn't take advantage of.) Please note that the PDFs were freely provided by the publisher for review purposes.
Structure The PDF begins with a blurb about Nevermet Press followed by A Message ...
This past GenCon, Paizo Publishing released the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Now if you've been a GM (or DM, I'll use the generic here since it's what the Open Game Content and Pathfinder uses) for more than a couple of weeks then you probably know that Pathfinder is a refinement of the previous (D&D3.5) version of Dungeons & Dragons. Today's article takes a look at Pathfinder from a prospective ...
Rule-Breaker Cards My previous article on rewards mentioned ‘rule-breaker cards’ (also known as ‘swash cards’ or ‘adventure cards’). Put simply, a rule-breaker card is a one-shot exception to the normal rules of the game. Some gamers find that they add a welcomed element of chaos and opportunity to the game, and provide everyone with a ‘spotlight moment’. But some gamers don’t like that they also mess with ...
June 20th was Free RPG day, a day when the gaming industry in conjunction with various local gaming stores, gets together to celebrate RPGs by hosting various RPG sessions and giving away free stuff. Among the offerings this year, Dias Ex Machina (DEM), publishing through Goodman Games, offered up Hearts of Chaos an adventure set in DEM’s Amethyst campaign setting, which comes out this September. ...
Our first anniversary contest ended last night, and rather than dawdle like lazy little gnomes, we decided to get the lead out and announce the winner the next day -- today, in fact.
The only catch is that because of the way Gnome Stew is set up, we need a certain amount of pointless, filibuster-style text at the start of this article, or you'll be able to read the ...
A couple of weeks ago, Wizards of the Coast offered Gnome Stew -- and several other RPG blogs -- the chance to write an article about the Player's Handbook 2 in exchange for a pre-release copy of the book. Specifically, an article about the book from a GMing perspective. We jumped at that chance.
I've been poring over the PHB 2 since early March -- reading, taking notes, and ...
Courtesy of Wizards of the Coast, Gnome Stew is one of a handful of RPG blogs lucky enough to receive a pre-release copy of the Player's Handbook 2. Ours came on Tuesday, and the book won't be in stores until March 17th.
Understandably, we're not allowed to post excerpts from the book -- but how about a couple of photos? Here's a shot of the front of the book ...
Timon and Salcheech tossed related questions into the Suggestion Pot, both dealing with gaming with 9- and 10-year-olds. Specifically, Timon was looking for advice on pacing games for that age group, while Salcheech was interested in scaling the game to that age range, as well as, whether morality lessons could be incorporated into the sessions.
Interesting questions, and I think it’s great these Stew readers are introducing the game ...
You know how a bicycle that sits out in the rain can get all funky and red, maybe a little stiff to pedal, but it will still get you where you need to go? Some of these links have been sitting out in the rain for a while... but they still go great places. Hop on and let's explore.
Holiday Gaming
Phil's post on the Holiday Gaming Hiatus is great ...
Oh the weather outside is frightful.
Waiting four hours overnight in the parking lot of a Casey’s General Store for a snow plow to come by and clear a path home certainly provides plenty of time to think about the game effects of winter weather.
Historically, winter has been the bane of warfare. While there have been notable exceptions, the general rule was that armies suspended their campaigns once the ...
