Gnome Stew
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Post Game Debrief
Posted: Fri, 29 Aug 10:23:39
Category: Game Mastering, GMing Advice, Between Sessions
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Posted: Fri, 29 Aug 10:23:39
Category: Game Mastering, GMing Advice, Between Sessions
Last month, I started a new way to manage the information for my campaigns, and I have been excited about it. Excited enough, that I started doing something that in my 40 years of gaming I have not really done before, that is to have a post-session debrief. It happened by accident, the first time, […]
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Gnomecast #219 – Fabula Ultima Review
Posted: Wed, 27 Aug 09:41:04
Category: Editorials, Gnomecast, Reviews
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Posted: Wed, 27 Aug 09:41:04
Category: Editorials, Gnomecast, Reviews
https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/CG_219-Fabula-Ultima-review-Final.mp3 Josh and Chris take over the Gnomecast as Ang is on her Gnomecation. They talk JRPGs and the JRPG TTRPG Fabula Ultima. They played through a session 0 and four four hour sessions. Now they’re here to give you their thoughts and feelings on the game. Links: DIE by Kieran Gillen and Stephanie Hans […]
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To GMPC or to Allied NPC?
Posted: Wed, 20 Aug 10:00:16
Category: Game Mastering, General, GMing Advice
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Posted: Wed, 20 Aug 10:00:16
Category: Game Mastering, General, GMing Advice
Does the word GMPC even mean anything anymore? Let’s find out. Tally Tally is one of my favorite characters ever. He also happens to be an NPC. He was a hobgoblin from a space prison ship my group ran into during session one of a new campaign. They found a crashed part of a prison […]
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Gnomecast 218 – Revisiting Niche Protection
Posted: Wed, 13 Aug 11:00:33
Category: Gnomecast
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Posted: Wed, 13 Aug 11:00:33
Category: Gnomecast
https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/CG_218-Niche-protection_final.mp3 Join Ang along with Jared and JT as they revisit a topic they discussed way back in episode 80: Niche Protection! When is it important to make sure that each PC has a specialty that is theirs alone? When can you ignore that worry? They discuss it all again! Links: Ginny Di on Sympathetic […]
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The TTRPG Shift?
Posted: Fri, 08 Aug 10:00:53
Category: Editorials, General, Hot Buttons
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Posted: Fri, 08 Aug 10:00:53
Category: Editorials, General, Hot Buttons
You ever just realize everything about something you love changed when you weren’t paying attention? It’s happened to me twice when it comes to tabletop Roleplaying Games. In 2014 Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition released to the public and took the ttrpg space by storm. It was a throwback, self-referential, nostalgic game that built on […]
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Handwavium
Posted: Wed, 06 Aug 10:00:14
Category: Game Mastering, GMing Advice
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Posted: Wed, 06 Aug 10:00:14
Category: Game Mastering, GMing Advice
Handwavium is a neat concept in fiction that can be applied to tabletop RPGs. It can be used as a McGuffin for a goal. It can be used as a solution for an esoteric problem at hand. It can be used as part of a riddle or clue. It can even be used to give […]
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Moms that Game
Posted: Mon, 04 Aug 11:00:48
Category: Editorials, General
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Posted: Mon, 04 Aug 11:00:48
Category: Editorials, General
Not too long ago, I was in an online roleplaying community hangout where I was the only woman and the conversation turned to the types of the people that play roleplaying games. The prevalence of men vs. women in the hobby came up and one guy commented sadly that his wife used to be a […]
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Gnomecast 217 – GM Burnout
Posted: Wed, 30 Jul 11:00:47
Category: Gnomecast
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Posted: Wed, 30 Jul 11:00:47
Category: Gnomecast
https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/GC_217_GM-Burnout-final.mp3 Join Ang along with Chris and special guest Carl Lehmann as they talk about GM Burnout. How it happens, what to do when you’re in the middle of it and how to prevent it. LINKS: Symphony Entertainment Fultimator
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Manage Your Information
Posted: Mon, 28 Jul 10:00:34
Category: Game Mastering, GMing Advice, campaign management
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Posted: Mon, 28 Jul 10:00:34
Category: Game Mastering, GMing Advice, campaign management
Over the past few months, I had been in a bit of a gaming slump. Of my two groups, neither group was gaming well, and I was starting to get those detached feelings that typically come from when I am not getting emotionally fed from my games. This was not my game or game group’s […]
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Your PCs Are Superman: What Big Blue Can Teach Us About Level 20 Characters
Posted: Fri, 25 Jul 13:00:14
Category: Game Mastering, GMing Advice
Comments: https://gnomestew.com/your-pcs-are-superman-what-big-blue-can-teach-us-about-level-20-characters/#respond
Posted: Fri, 25 Jul 13:00:14
Category: Game Mastering, GMing Advice
When your PCs reach the upper echelons of power, there is a fundamental shift in the kind of story you’re telling. So yes, if you want to send your PCs into dungeons, hunting for loot, or solving crimes, the characters are too powerful. The math does break. There aren't any challenges. But that’s because at level 20, the question is no longer “will they succeed.” The question is “How will they succeed?” And also maybe a little, “Will they be able to live with themselves after?”
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