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.
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I sat there at the gaming table, waiting to actually game. We’d started an hour ago, and after all of the usual bullshitting around, looking up youtube videos, and sharing jokes, we’d finally gotten into it. A brief encounter that set us on our path and the Game Master had to look up some info. While we waited, one of the other players started asking advice about leveling ...
While I rarely do this anymore I've found that it's quite common in some games, especially those where each member of the team is absolutely vital to its success, for PCs to be run while their players aren't at the session. Sometimes the absentee PC is given to another player; other times it's NPC-ed. Still, I've heard a number of exchanges similar to this:
GM: Sorry you couldn't make ...
Imagine this fairly common scenario: The character sheet talks about a backwoods, uneducated fighter with a low intelligence score. The player knows that the word puzzle on the wall can be solved by removing every third letter and putting the min order. The fighter might not know this, but the player does. Should the player be able to bring in their knowledge and find some way for the ...
Am I the only one creeped out by the fact that it's 2010?
For me, the winter holiday season is a time of reflection when it comes to RPGs. With the hustle and bustle of the various holidays (my household celebrates Christmas, Chanukah, and New Years' Eve), I rarely have time to game in the latter half of December. With gaming in my blood, I usually do find time ...
Not long ago, I was surfing the boards (I won't mention where) and I came across a post from a gamer who insisted that it was the GM's job to serve the players. I'm paraphrasing, but it seemed to me that he was saying that the GM should always allow player decisions to trump her designs. It's a viewpoint I've heard echoed before.
In the early 90s, I played ...
Gathering the party, even a party of veteran characters, is a standard literary trope. One or two protagonists learn of a threat and seek out old friends. Often they are shocked and surprised to discover what their friends have been up to in the meantime. The clever thief may now be a legitimate business man with a family, the paladin may now be an alcoholic mercenary, and the ...
Tori sat at the head of the table behind her GM's Screen. Today was the start of her new post-apocalyptic campaign and the group would start by generating characters.
Tori: Okay, what are you guys thinking of playing?
Marc: I want to play a scavenger that kitbashes vehicles and equipment.
Gina: I'm going to play a merchant with leadership skills.
Brandon: My guy is going to be a gladiator that fights ...
