I GM like I’m playing a board game now. Wait. Before you hit the delete button and say you don’t want chocolate board games getting mixed with your tabletop RPG peanut butter, hear me out. This might be a boon for your improvisation and encounter-building feats. First off, I’m speaking to GMing mindset and strategy […]

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Do you charge taxes? I got a chuckle from DaveW’s post on the RPT Discord about levying taxes on the characters: My current campaign has a silver per wheel and copper per leg toll for the fortified town the players start in. An ox pulling a four wheeled cart is 4 sp, 4 cp to […]

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Yesterday, we played Stars Without Number. D&D meets classic scifi. A nice and simple old school approach that leaves lots of room for roleplay and creativity. We had players in Canada, U.S., and Germany. We used Zoom with a whiteboard, and our Dice Service that Wizards of Adventure have access to. I also used Freebooter […]

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Am I responsible for my players’ fun? I think I run contrary to many game masters out there when I say, no. My job is to stage a great campaign, full of interesting challenges and choices. The story is something we all create together as we play. I’m a GM, not a parent. We’re playing […]

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Here’s a query I received a little while ago from Wizard of Adventure JL: How to make conquering/managing/defending a domain FUN (for the players, not just the DM?) I like this question because it gets to the heart of a common GM challenge: making the world matter. Characters with no attachment to your setting will […]

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Here are a few books I find useful for GMing that aren’t about GMing. Some books are common but highly recommended for every GM, and some are obscure, more for folks who like rabbit holes. Sign up to my newsletter to get new book recommendations sent to your inbox. A Book of Fantastic Dungeon Inspiration […]

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The first rule of DungeonCraft: Give everything a secret. Ray Winninger’s Dragon column back in the day was fantastic and the first thing I eagerly read each issue. And his Rule #1 is something I abide by to this day, decades later. TigerShaman offered a fantastic tip along these lines in my Campaign Studio GM […]

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My 1,040 Page Brainstorming Tool (Johnn’s GM Bookshelf #03) One of the most useful books on my GM bookshelf is David Perry on Game Design. This tome’s so large it seems more weapon than spellbook. However, its massive size is one of its greatest strengths. Perry is a veteran video game designer, and while this […]

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Here’s a way to combine world building with character building while using precious session time more efficiently. I’ve been seeing headlines in the RPG-osphere about campfire chats where, during the party’s rest time, you roleplay and explore the characters together. I have a specific method for this that works well, which I’ll share with you […]

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Platinum Wizard of Adventure Arvindh asks: Can you teach me how to create a murder mystery? Sure. A quick caveat before we begin though. A TTRPG murder mystery experience is different from a book or film. With static and scripted mediums, the audience is passive. Writers rely heavily on information silos to keep the audience […]

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Each empty space on our map offers an opportunity. We often focus on the big things like rooms, doors, and treasure, but the real magic is in the clutter. The makeshift gardens, the forgotten tools, and even the weeds. As GMs, our goal is to make our settings feel lived in, and I was recently […]

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Play a game and build character backstories at the same time. Wizard of Adventure Auke shared this little gem on the Roleplaying Tips Discord #gm-help-requests channel: I recommend a co-operative backstory-building improv session. Sit around a table with a large sheet of paper and co-create a mindmap. Start by writing down all the PC names. […]

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