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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 1,110 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
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"If you aren’t reading Gnome Stew, you’re missing out." -- Wolfgang Baur

Dec 14, 2011 by 5

Troy’s Crock Pot: Playing in the Big Room

For the novice gamemaster, designing a level of a dungeon can be a daunting, yet rewarding, task. Keep in mind, a good dungeon crawl should contain a variety of elements. There should be something to challenge each party member’s specialty ability or skill set, as well as something to amaze, to amuse, to frighten and  perhaps something it would be best to evade or avoid. Above all, though, is the big ...
Jun 16, 2009 by 15

Troy’s Crock Pot: Transition sessions

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. Caught twixt and tween The mop-up session, the bookkeeping session, the just "finish-the-damn-dungeon-so-we-can-get-on-to-something-else" session. The transition session. I really don't enjoy DMing those sessions as much as I should, I suppose. Admittedly, they are challenging ...

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