In the December edition of Atomic Array, game designer James Maliszewski of Rogue Games explained why he included random encounters in his latest adventure, “The Cursed Chateau,” which is billed as an old-school  funhouse-styled scenario along the lines of the classic module “Castle Amber.” Interestingly, he said he did it for the GM’s enjoyment. Maliszewski said he loves to include random encounters because it allows the course of a ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. So, with a gazillion cable TV channels — why is it there is so little on TV that appeals to me, as a gamer?  I mean, you can’t spin the dial without ...

Strangely enough, the GM's role is strikingly similar to that of a professional wrestling promoter, especially the person responsible for booking the matches. You want to see the Dream Team of Brutus Beefcake and Greg "the Hammer" Valentine take on the Hart Foundation of Bret "the Hitman" Hart, Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart and their manager, the man on the megaphone, Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart? (I believe I have ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. Good GMs need inspiration. Movies, TV, music and video games all figure into the mix, of course. But nothing beats a good book. The events of the past month have sent many ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle  and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. Back in the saddle again First, thanks to Martin and the gang for allowing me to take a short hiatus. Dave Arneson, 1947-2009 Unfortunately I wasn’t able to post my appreciation of D&D co-creator Dave ...

A recent online search for folklore information on Scandinavian-styled trolls for a future gaming session I was planning took me to a site I hadn't encountered before. Monstropedia.com turned out to be the proverbial pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow -- and there wasn't even a leprechaun guarding it. But there was an entry for leprechaun -- and those pesky trolls, too -- full descriptions of ...

The gnome NPC just rolled a 1. Tracking down the source of the rumors led to a paranoid gnome minstrel named Barty  who just couldn't stop telling tales about the true (and imagined) indiscretions of the daughters of the finest families in town. Barty was causing other problems, too, which is why the PCs felt that had to intervene. Of course the problem was a particularly sticky one: How do ...

A new year calls for a new campaign. And a new campaign means devising a new villain. It’s the perfect time for a GM to shine. Is there a better test than coming up with an NPC who stands in complete opposition to what your players stand for? For inspiration I checked out my collection of Dragon back issues. The last issue published under Paizo, No. 359 from September 2007, ...

Do you include Spotlight encounters — those designed to challenge individual characters — in your adventures? Giving your cleric or thief a chance to shine sounds easy enough, right? You throw undead at the cleric and traps with pointy things that spring out at your thieves. Likewise, wizards need magic to dispel and fighters require opportunities to perform feats of strength. But, c’mon, that gets a little old after a ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. Providing news about the community your player characters use as a home base is an excellent way to make the setting come alive for your player characters. The previous post discussed sources of ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. One way to help players feel like they are taking part in a dynamic setting is to always have things happening in the background. (While mentioning that there’s a two lovebirds snuggling in ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. One of my earliest exposures to fantasy literature was the comic book "Arak: Son of Thunder" by Roy and Dann Thomas. The 50-issue series published by DC Comics told the hero's journey ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. Screen scene I finally picked up the Fourth Edition DM’s screen. (I was waiting for that perfect confluence of events: store coupon, item in stock and cash on hand). You know the screen ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. Just Paladin Around Some time ago, Martin asked me and my fellow members of the Stew Crew to offer up our recent reading lists. And one item on my short list of “to ...

What’s the Crock Pot? Just a simmering bowl of lentils and herbs, with a dash of DMing observations. Don’t be afraid to dip in your ladle and stir, or throw in something from your own spice rack. Matt Neagley brings up an excellent point. When talking horror games, d20 Modern might work just as well - if not better - than D&D. The Shadow Chasers campaign (and its d20 ...