If we’re lucky, we’ll get the opportunity as DMs/GMs to complete our tabletop RPG campaigns. Whether it’s scheduling difficulties or life getting in the way, finishing long-term campaigns can be a relatively rare opportunity. So this week’s DM/GM advice zooms in on how best to capitalize on that good fortune when it occurs – and…
I’ve spoken with many tabletop RPG players who are intimidated by the idea of becoming a GM/DM. Whether it’s conducting a session, doing the voices, or worldbuilding – or anything/everything in between! – these players just have a hard time envisioning themselves in the GM/DM chair. So today’s Game Master advice post aims to help…
Every group of players at the table is unique. They each have their own wants, needs, goals, and play-styles. Balancing these factors can be a challenge, especially if the players’ perspectives are quite different from one another. Today’s GM/DM advice centers more specifically on how the game master can better balance contrasting play-styles in their…
No matter how thorough the rule book for the tabletop RPG (TTRPG) system you’re using, there are going to be times when a situation is more or less up for interpretation. And naturally, players care about the result in these situations. After all, they’ve invested considerable time, effort, and energy into their characters, the party,…
Whenever a tabletop story begins, Schrodinger’s character exists: are they just words on a page? Or are they a real and tangible being? As GMs/DMs, we’re tasked with providing the story canvas from which these characters can truly be brought to life. So this week’s Worldbuilding advice is all about the process of providing that…
In stories today, shock value has in many cases replaced the simple beauty of being in awe. That sense of amazement – of wonder – is both an underrated and crucial component of tabletop role-playing game stories as well. This week’s GM/DM advice aims to help the worldbuilder invest in these moments so that the…
When you’re the GM of a tabletop role-playing game, it’s pretty standard to expect that the players’ characters will come with various degrees of backstories. Some will be short and sweet and others complex, and full of twists and intrigue. Either way, the onus will be on you, the GM, to integrate various aspects of…
The characters in your tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) story are likely to encounter all sorts of obstacles and opportunities. Whether they’re epic battles, heartbreak, or perhaps summiting your world’s tallest peak. But no matter what those milestones in your story look like, it’s crucial that the theme, meaning, and choices of/during those experiences have an…
When you sit down to start your next tabletop RPG campaign, you’re sitting at a fertile, nearly infinite sandbox of story. And every TTRPG story is different – its twists and turns, worlds and characters – with its many facets up to the GM & players. So before you all take that crucial first step…
Every group of players at the table is unique. They each have their own wants, needs, goals, and play-styles. Balancing these facets can be a challenge, especially if the players’ perspectives are quite different from one another. Today’s GM/DM advice centers more specifically on how the game master can better balance contrasting play-styles in their…
