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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

Apr 28, 2011 by 19

The Themed Campaign

So stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A Dragonblooded paladin who is trying to make a more noble name for his people, a shadowy thief/assassin Eladrin kicked out of his people for his devious ways, a high ranking human cleric of pelor  fresh from the convent, and a tiefling warlock with a dark past walk into a tavern where a man in a corner gives them a ...
Nov 4, 2009 by 4

Reinforcement: A Simple Tool for Conveying Theme, Tone, and Flavor

One of the best ways to convey the theme of your campaign, the tone of your game, and the flavor of the game world is to use reinforcement -- specifically, reinforcement of small things. This technique is based on two principles: Choose elements that represent what you want to convey, and repeat them. As part of your game prep, consciously choose a few things you can reinforce. They don't ...
Jun 5, 2009 by 6

Use A Quote To Set The Tone Of Your Campaign

I love quotes; movie quotes, inspirational quotes, Biblical quotes, and even fortune cookies.  In geek culture, quotes are very popular.  If I say: “I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.” I am betting most of you know the movie (Aliens), the speaker (Ripley), but more importantly you know scene that the quote came from.  In my group of ...

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