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New to the Stew? There are 619 articles packed with GMing tips and advice in our archives. Why not start with our Top 30 Game Mastering Articles?
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Dungeonaday.com – Awesome In Any System

This past weekend I just finished running a medium length campaign for my group. The game had been a play test and world-building project. The group travelled far and wide across the world and grew to great heights of notoriousness . . . uh, I meant fame.  A couple of sessions before the projected finish of the campaign, a few members of the group told me how much ...

Shock: Social Science Fiction

This article is part of the Game Cryer's Holiday Gift Guide. You can see other gift ideas for you and your gaming friends at the main Gift Guide page here. Shock: Social Science Fiction from GlyphPress was on my wish list for quite some time, and when I finally got my grubby little paws on a copy I was overjoyed. As the name implies, it's a science fiction game ...

Review: Realms Of Cthulhu

A long while back, fellow gnome DNAPHIL offered up the chance for the readers to pick what book he would pickup from Gencon and review. The two leaders were the new Hackmaster and Realms of Cthulhu (I'll be abbreviating it RoC). Phil picked up his copy of Hackmaster and and reviewed it here  and here. I picked up Realms and proceeded to let it get piled under ...

Our Ladies of Sorrow

When I first saw the summary page for Miskatonic River Press’s new adventure book Our Ladies of Sorrow I was Instantly excited about getting my hands on a copy. Not only is the cover art phenomenal (click through on the link above to see the original as opposed to my butchered version on the left), but the promise of a mythological ghost story featuring goddesses of grief madness ...

HackMaster Basic Review Part 1: Characters

Back before GenCon, I asked you guys what game you would like me to review, and you chose HackMaster Basic. I picked up the book at GenCon and started reading it right away.  I kept you up to date with my progress on Twitter with the tag #hmbreview . Now, weeks later, summer breezes have turned to autumn chills, and I have finally gotten through the book and done ...

GM Spotlight: What Fantasy Craft Brings to the Table

One of the most fun things for me to do at GenCon is to wander the Dealers Room and check out the new stuff. GenCon is a natural place for RPG Publishers to launch new books and this year was no exception. One of the books that caught my eye was Fantasy Craft by Crafty Games. After the con, I received a free copy of Fantasy Craft for this ...

Gencon’s VIG Program – The Way You Should Do Gencon – Plus Interview With VIG Director, Rachel Araucto

This year’s Gencon was my second year attending. My first year, the decision to go was last minute and a few factors kept me from having a very good time. This year, I decided that i was going to make sure and enjoy myself. One of the ways I did that was by participating in Gencon’s VIG (Very Important Gamer) program.  A few of the Gnomes had done ...

Spotlight Review: Instant GM I & II

This year at Gen Con I attended a seminar given by Ramsey “Tome Wyrm” Lundock titled Secrets for Instant GMing. Focused on how a GM can improvise when the players do something  unexpected the seminar was informative and well done. I enjoyed the seminar enough that I bought a copy of Lundock’s books Instant GM: A Bag of Tricks and Instant GM II: On Your Mark, Get Set, ...

Mouse Guard RPG Review: Want to Play a Mouse with a Sword?

I first heard about the Mouse Guard RPG at GenCon 2007, when I stopped by the Archaia Studios Press booth to buy a couple of Artesia T-shirts. On the table was a small placard announcing that a Mouse Guard game, designed by Luke Crane, was "coming soon." I perked up for four reasons. One, I like Mouse Guard, the comic by David Petersen upon which the RPG is based. ...

A Review of Corporation RPG: Fast, Brutal, and GM Friendly

A Bit of Background The Corporation RPG was released in the UK in 2006 by Brutal Games. The game was available in print in the UK, but there was not a US distributor, so we Yanks could only get it directly from Brutal Games, shipped internationally. The PDF was posted on RPGnow, in May of 2008, which was how I first encountered this game. In the time since its ...

4th Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide Review: Big Changes, Good Book, Crappy Map

As soon as I'd read -- and loved -- the 4e core books (reviewed right here on the Stew), I was excited about seeing the 4e Forgotten Realms setting book. I paid full price for the privilege of getting it at the one store in my area that had it on release day (our lone Borders), and tucked into it right away. After several days with it, here are ...

Spotlight Review: Fudge is Tasty!

One of the great characteristics of our hobby is that there is so much variety amongst game systems. Some gamers play every system that they can get their hands on, while others stick to a core system that suits their particular styles. Yet no matter what system is your favorite you can always get fresh ideas by exposing yourself to a new system. Sometimes just learning about a ...

Review: Dwarven Sweatshoppe Custom Dice Tray

A few months ago, I decided I wanted to buy my first dice tray. My druid character in our ongoing D&D 3.5e campaign uses a lot of dice, and our GM (who comments here as Sarlax) has always used a dice tray and seems to quite like it. I knew I didn't want the generic light wood/green felt octagon that I've seen in most gaming stores. It's too large ...

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