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
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 ...
Martin's excellent article on episodic gameplay made me think about my own episodic campaigns. For many of the reasons he outlined, I've found episodic campaigns to be a fun way to run a game and I've run several successful ones.
That said there were a number of pitfalls that I've encountered along the way, and some of these did derail episodic campaigns. I thought it might be a good idea ...
Years ago, with a different group than I run for now, I had a friend who was a “colossal dick” at the table. He was a spot-light stealing player. He had a solution to everything and wanted to take the party lead role in everything that was done. He was a friend of ours. Everyone was polite and didn't overtly challenge him, but the frustration levels spiked every ...
Over in our Suggestion Pot -- the section of Gnome Stew where you can request articles -- Crushnaut related the following problem:
The game started off well. Everyone seemed excited about playing, but now I get the feeling that my player’s interest has waned, although they do not seem to want to admit it. I ask the players if they are enjoying the game and they tell me, “YES! ...
Hey all! I just thought I'd share a personal GMing issue with you.
A couple years ago, I started running a game at a friend's house on alternate Sundays. Most of the group played in a second game on the Sundays I wasn't there. Occasionally, the two groups would swap Sundays if there was a scheduling conflict. This was never a problem, as both games were held at the same ...
