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
1,186 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
My group is currently playing a D&D 4th Edition campaign, and I love having lots of accessories in front of me when I play. I have a couple hundred D&D Miniatures from past sets, and they rock -- for the price, they simply can't be beat. And I've been using fan-made power cards, printed out on cardstock, ever since we started our campaign.
As a GM, I like any ...
As GMs we tend to create a “toolbox” for managing our games and campaigns with. This toolbox changes and evolves over time. The toolbox is often eclectic in what it holds, with tools as simple as GM screens to high technology solutions like online databases. You can build a great game experience with just the raw materials of friends and a game system, but it is lot easier ...
One of the things that I love to do at the gaming table is to create a sensory experience for the players. I like to use music to set the mood, handouts and props to give a tactile feel, and unique pieces of scenery on the gaming space to create a sense of perspective. I love to get the players mentally involved in the game with outside props ...
The way a GM sets up their personal fortress of solitude at the gaming table is very indicative of their style. Some GMs run their games behind a stack of books and official published material, while some GMs run their games with just a pair of dice, a pencil, and a notepad. Some of us turn everything digital and call their laptop savior, while some of us make ...
Let's face it. Our memories aren't what they used to be. It's true for all of us, though the old guys like me do feel the pinch a bit more acutely. Add to that that game systems are constantly changing, we're always trying new games, genres, and systems, and that we've got our own games to plan and it's plain that quite a bit is going get ...
