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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

Gnome Stew Invades Con On The Cob!!! and a Little Advice For Surviving Convention Games

Last year I did a review of a local convention in Hudson, Ohio called Con On The Cob. It is one that I attend every year. You can read all about it in the review, but I have to unabashedly say that it is one of the most awesome conventions I’ve ever been to. The size is just right to meet and hang out without it being ...

Gencon Gnomespotting 2010 & Gnome Gencon Tips

There are going to be a fair amount of Gnomes/ex-patriot Gnomes at Gencon this year. We’ve got a lot of things going on: Eureka being distributed through Studio 2 Publishing (Booth #320), The Cooking Up Adventure Plots with Gnome Stew seminar, The Ennies Dinner, running various games, and ritual Halfling murder. So finding us to say hi (we don’t bite above the kneecap) won’t be too hard. There ...

Your Shiny Wazoo at Con On The Cob & Johnny’s Five With Andy Hopp

  To those of you who do the convention circuit, you’ve probably heard about this thing called Con on The Cob – Games, Art, Freaks & Fun. It’s a small-ish convention in northern Ohio from October 15th –17th. It generates a lot of buzz for a very good reason. I went to last year’s Con On the Cob with my gaming company and had a blast. I have ...

What Do You Want From a RPG Convention?

Today I offer no advice, but instead I seek to hear from others. In the near future I plan on organizing a local mini-convention for RPG fans. Nothing against board, card, video, or war games, but I want to focus on RPGs exclusively. The plan is to hold this event at my local library where I can reserve presentation space for free as long as the event ...

6 Rules for GMing Great RPG Events at Conventions

This year I ran four RPG events at Gen Con. I’m confident that each was a  success based upon the feedback that I was given by the players. If you happened to play in one of my games at Gen Con this year (or attended one of the seminars I was involved in) please leave a comment with your feedback about the game that you played in. I ...

Gen Con Wrap-Up I – RPGs

Normally I don’t actually game much at Gen Con, aside from a rare pick-up game or an after hours card/board game with friends. I prefer to cruise the near-endless Exhibit Hall and attend seminars, but this year I decided to check in on the gaming. Games Played Out of the four RPGs I played in this year, two were excellent, one was just okay, and ...

Johnny’s Five – Five Things To Learn From Gaming Conventions

I just got back from my most recent trip to the Origins Games Fair. While we Gnomes will be at Gencon en masse, Origins has always been my home convention. Its about 2 hours away from me, has a lot of people I know and they think we’re the source to go to for game mastering advice. Besides the 2 big name gaming conventions and a few big ...

Confessions of a Gen Con GM: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

This year at Gen Con I ran three scheduled events, several impromptu games, three seminars, and had a wonderful time from beginning to end. With that said, I did have less than stellar moments and noticed areas for improvement as a GM. The great thing about convention games is that you can experiment and try different things as a GM. The downside is that you only get one chance ...

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