16.png
 

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
"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

Dec 22, 2010 by 28

Why Not Just Give It To Them?

Treasure, magic items, technology – the sorts of things that player characters usually acquire by facing challenges or spending resources.  That is the typical formula for most games.  The players must have their characters accomplish something in order to gain the reward of an item. Why not just give these things to the PCs though? Some readers might be laughing at this idea right now, and ...
Jul 15, 2010 by 4

Seven More ways to Spice up Your Treasure

This is part two of a two part article. The first part, focused on non-magical treasure, can be found here. Part two is focused mostly on magic treasure. As discussed in part one, treasure is supposed to be an exciting part of most games, but it often boils down to “How many gp worth? Got it. Great!” or surreal laundry lists of items. This is the second set of ...
Apr 6, 2010 by 11

Mad Props and the Character Box

Do your players dig props? Do you want more props, but don’t want the expense (of both time and money)? Are you worried about what to do with the props? Do your players ever disagree as to exactly who had that potion? Here’s an inexpensive and effective idea that I’ve used. Caveat: I borrowed this concept from the GM who brought me back into the RPG fold. Cool ideas ...

,

What's Gnome Stew?

Written by a team of veteran GMs, Gnome Stew is the most widely read game mastering blog on the planet.

Subscribe

3,945 subscribers strong. Let us send Gnome Stew articles your way via RSS feed or email.

Our Books for GMs

Written by the authors of Gnome Stew, Eureka offers 501 system-neutral adventure plots and Masks provides 1,000 system-neutral NPCs.

Support

Click one of these links, shop normally, and we earn a small percentage (at no cost to you).

Connect

Tell us how we can make your time behind the GM's screen easier and more fun.

More Delicious Stew

The only good gnome is a stewed gnome.

Gnomish Stuff

Other things you'll find in the Stew.

Metagaming, Noooo

It's why you always kill the grand vizier.