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
Balance is something that you need in your life. You cannot work all of the time or you will eventually burnout even if your work is fun. You cannot spend every moment with your friends and family no matter how important they are to you, because everyone needs a moment to themselves. Taking anything to an extreme may cause more harm than good. Balance helps us to ...
Recently, I have found myself gravitating towards games that include a task resolution mechanic that includes a way to measure the margin of success on a check. It started over a year ago, with my short-lived Witchcraft campaign, and then flowed into my year-long Corporation game, and recently it became a requirement for picking the system for my latest campaign, In Nomine. Of all the mechanical elements of ...
As many of you know, Google has released in a limited beta its new communication platform, Wave. This will not be a review of the Wave software; that you can find all over the net: TechCrunch, Wikipedia, LifeHacker. What this article will be is a look at how Wave can be incorporated into your game.
Without getting all technical, Wave is a communication platform that can best be described, ...
I have been running two 4e campaigns, and while I enjoy the system it certainly is not my favorite. Combat tends to be longer than other games that I enjoy, and while one of 4e's strengths is its tight rules system I find it limits my creativity as a GM in some cases.
I am now ready to start adding the house rules to my games. Once you have ...
I've been working on my own RPG system for years now. How hard can it be? I've played RPGs, and I have GMed RPGs for over 15 years. Plus I'm good at RPGs. Really. I can run kick ass home and convention games and I am diverse in the systems and genres that I run. My players like my games, whether they are long time friends or total ...
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.
Tinker, tinker, soldier Why?
As a DM, I don't tinker with the rules much.
Oh, as a writer, I've dabbled plenty — articles in Dragon magazine and in a couple of pdf supplements.
But ...
When you first think of running a campaign, there's probably one overwhelming motivation for your game. Whatever you do, don't forget it under the weight of all your research and preparation. Design your campaign to satisfy what you're aiming for.
My group's current D&D3.5 campaign was conceived with two strong motivations in mind. We knew 4e was coming, but we had lots of supplements for third ...
