36.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

Feb 9, 2010 by 18

Suggestion Pot – Asking The Players To Ride The Rails

Stew reader LesInk threw an interesting morsel into the suggestion pot the other day. It is about the concept of railroading and how you force an event to happen when the plot absolutely calls for it. The concept is an interesting one, and LesInk put forth a great solution along with the question and story.   Dear Gnomies, I believe ...
Sep 29, 2008 by 16

Hot Button: Who Trumps Who?

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 ...

,

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.