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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 1,109 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.

"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

The Rambling Gnomes: How to Start a Side Game in the Shadow of an Epic Campaign

We got an email from Gnome Stew reader Cody Jones of gameonpodcast.com with this stumper of a question -- one we hadn't heard before. Several of us responded, so we decided to start a new series called "The Rambling Gnomes" for Q&A posts where a bunch of us gnomes nibbled on the same question. Here's Cody's email: I have a question for you fine gnomes. I currently am blessed to play ...

Short Sessions: Managing Subplots

As I said in the first Short Sessions post, subplots can eat up a lot of time and hijack the entire session. As subplots tend to only involve one or two characters, this could also sideline a good chunk of the party while one or two players hog the spotlight. To much subplot time can also drag out an otherwise tight adventure. However, as Troy pointed out in the previous comments, ...

Short Sessions: Let’s Get This Party Started!

By its nature, a short session doesn't offer a lot of game time so it's important to be able to maximize the time you have. As I said in my last Short Sessions post, a three hour session will not equate to three hours of actual play. (I should have clarified this a bit more in my previous post, but I consider a "short session" to be anything ...

Short Sessions: How to Cope

As a thirtysomething gamer, my groups tend to be made up of people with careers and families. As such, we don't have a lot of time to game. In some cases, we're lucky to set aside three hours a week (or every two weeks) to game. And as those of you that have GMed for any significant period of time know, setting aside three hours does not equal ...

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