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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

Sep 30, 2008 by 7

Short Sessions: Time-Saving Tips

Howdy! It's been a while since I did a "Short Session" post, so I thought it was time for another! When running a short session, your biggest enemy is time. You only have a short amount of it to get a lot accomplished. The last thing you need is to get bogged down with unnecessary time-consuming tasks. Here're a few time-savers I've developed over the years. Use Familiar Locations If your ...
Jun 11, 2008 by 9

Short Sessions: Cutaway Scene

A few years ago, I found myself with a quandry. I was running a game of 7th Sea on a week night with four players in what we futily hoped would be a three hour session (I'd soon be happy with two hours). I knew that everyone would be coming from work or school and want dinner, so I needed a technique to make every moment count. What I ...

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