I originally got the idea of #ifthiswereaTTRPG post series from the Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4 episode “First Contact.” In the episode, the Enterprise crew is clandestinely evaluating whether a planet – which has just achieved warp drive – is ready to join the broader galactic community. Naturally, a slew of things go…
We’re talking about encountering dilemmas on today’s #newbieTuesday post. Group problem solving is a core element of the tabletop role playing game experience. Social situations, puzzles, and even combat oftentimes require a degree of creative problem solving among the group of players. Chaining these dilemmas – and their outcomes – together is most oftentimes the…
Today’s #worldbuildingMonday story centers around the relationship between the scale of the story’s setting and the responsibility on the GM to maintain said scale. The analogy we’ll use today is one between the scale of a city neighborhood and the scale of a whole nation. Tabletop role playing game worldbuilders need to keep in mind…
We kick off the first – hopefully of many! – of Wednesday’s #ifthiswereaTTRPG series with the critical inflection point in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring at the Council of Elrond scene. This scene involves representatives of Middle Earth’s three major “good” civilizations, Elves, Dwarves, and Men, as well as Wizards and Rangers…
For new players, sometimes the action & happenings of the story can be hard to follow. Are we in/out of combat? Who is talking? What was just said? Is it my turn? Where are we going? etc. You should always feel free to ask the party and GM to get you back up to speed.…
We’re discussing time travel on today’s #worldbuildingMonday post. As we’ve seen in books, comics, movies, and TV shows, travelling through time has serious ramifications on the world(s) involved in the story. In Back to the Future II for example, when Biff discovers the sports almanac from 30 years in the future, he’s able to profoundly…
We’re tackling how to manage sources of conflict on both today’s #worldbuildingMonday post as well as this Friday’s #GMAdvice post. From a worldbuilder’s point of view, because conflict in your world oftentimes drive downstream plot progression, identifying and managing sources of those various types of conflict is an important step you’ll be taking. Below are…
Today’s #GMAdvice centers around best practices for keeping the party aware of their surroundings & context. While it is ultimately the party’s responsibility to pay attention, the GM is responsible for setting the table in all situations with the appropriate level of information to give the party the opportunity to make decisions accordingly. And those…
Continuing from last week’s Isaiah the Gray #TBTRPG story, Jimmy C motions to the Away Pod. “After you.” Captain Issac enters the pod, followed by Hanari and T’Enora. Before boarding, Isaiah says to the AI: “Computer, please stay in close communication. We may need a quick evacuation.” “Understood, Commander.” replies AI. With everyone on board,…
Happy New Year to All! 2018 was an incredible year for StoryTogether. We founded nearly exactly one year ago to the day with the mission to show anyone who would listen that playing stories together can be a wonderful experience for just about anybody. We would create original content, rule sets for different play styles,…