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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

Oct 13, 2010 by 11

First Time GM – Game Prep II – Techniques

First Time GM is a series of articles dedicated to the newly-minted game master, making his or her first tentative die rolls behind the screen. Today’s article deals with techniques used to prepare for a game. A broader look at the process is here. GMing is an art form; no two GMs will prepare in exactly the same manner. In addition, the list of techniques for game ...
Aug 19, 2009 by 10

Challenge and Complexity Does Not Equal Drama And Action

As gamers we tend to think of high mechanical difficulties as bearing more drama and action. The less likely it is for us to make a roll or succeed at an action, the more exciting and tense the gaming will be. Sometimes this is true. Pulling off an incredible feat by rolling the natural 20, watching 10s explode to push you over the edge of  the required number ...
Jun 9, 2009 by 10

It’s Getting Late: Seven Ways to Stop Playing Before the End of an Adventure

We've all been there: The game is going gangbusters, but it's getting late. People have work or school in the morning, and you have to stop soon -- even though the adventure isn't over. Before my baby daughter Lark was in the picture, I was up for gaming until two or three in the morning on Saturday nights. I could sleep in the next day without any worries, so ...
Feb 10, 2009 by 13

Micro Sessions – Gaming in that ten minutes you weren’t using anyway

What do you do when you have a chunk of time with nothing planned out?  Standing in a line, between the ordering and the eating at a restaurant, waiting for a meeting to start? Don't waste that time. Instead, have the tools on hand to game. Most commonly, that means carrying around your Tiny Notebook and working on your next session, fleshing out NPCs, or roughing out an encounter or ...

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Metagaming, Noooo

It's why you always kill the grand vizier.