This is the fourth and final article in this series -- the home stretch. My definition of "roleplaying-intensive" is in Part 1, along with tips 1-3; tips 4-6 are in Part 2 and tips 7-9 are in Part 3.) 10. Driftable Mechanics (This topic was suggested by Gnome Stew reader Irda Ranger -- excellent suggestion, IR.) "Drift" just means taking an element -- usually a mechanic -- from one RPG and ...

Combat plays a significant role in most RPGs, and where there's combat there're characters getting hurt. Something I've observed is that rules for healing time are a major factor in setting the tempo of your campaign. How so? Let's consider a few dramatically different approaches: D&D -- Push the Healing Button! D&D in all its forms has always made healing spells, items and potions pretty readily available. How many parties go ...

If you've gamed long enough, you've probably been subjected to the "bait and switch" at least once. The GM has given you the campaign pitch, you roll up characters according to that pitch, and then you find out that the actual game is very different than the one you've been playing. Sometimes this is obvious at the start ("this campaign is more about noble court intrigue than combat" ...

I apologize for the almost exclusively "D&D-ish" nature of today's Hot Button, but I think it definitely deserves addressing. It's a question that also comes up in other games that have similar distinctions (such as Palladium's alignment system or Star Wars Light Side/Dark Side distinctions). Do you allow evil player characters in your standard campaigns? I mention "standard" because I'm sure all of us old-timers can recall at least one ...

(The first three steps, and my definition of "roleplaying-intensive," are in Part 1; tips 4-6 are in Part 2.) 7. Make Good on Your Promises By this point, you've made two promises to your players, one explicit and one implicit: Here's the kind of game I'm going to run. This is the explicit promise you made in in step three, when you pitched a roleplaying-intensive campaign to your players. The follow-through ...

When it comes to your campaign, if you come across something you like -- an idea, a character from a novel you're reading, a cool scene from a movie -- steal it and use it in your game. Period. There is absolutely no reason to be bashful about shamelessly borrowing and stealing elements from any source under the sun. If you like it and you think your players will ...

When I started up my current Mage: The Awakening chronicle, I made a conscious decision to not use battle maps. When combat or exploration comes up, I doodle sloppy maps on the huge white board in our game room, and adjust them on the fly. Signposts Could I have used battle maps instead? Sure -- but I wanted to put up a signpost for my players that says, "This aspect ...

(The first three steps -- and my definition of "roleplaying-intensive" -- are in the first post in this series.) 4. Choose Your System Wisely Suggested by the Stew's own Patrick Benson in the comments on the first roleplaying-intensive game post, picking a system that reinforces the kind of game you want to run is critical. Some games are just better suited to a focus on roleplaying than others -- despite all ...

As a general rule, I'm not a big fan of game prep -- for me it's more like work than fun, and the real fun comes when I'm running the game. The catch, of course, is that in order to have the crazy fun of actually GMing for your group, you have to do at least some game prep. Different Games, Different Prep Times What I've noticed over the years ...

There are probably as many ways to define "roleplaying-intensive" as there are gamers, but for talking purposes here's the definition I use: A game in which mechanics take a backseat to character interaction, where all (or nearly all) in-game decisions are purely character-driven and where most (or all) in-game conversation happens in-character. I've been running a Mage: The Awakening chronicle since October of 2007, and from the outset I ...