Balance is a crucially important component of worldbuilding. The players need to feel there’s a harmony between the story’s traditional yin and yang: role-playing and combat. Yes, there’s a obvious duality; but together in the traditional tabletop role-playing game, role-playing and combat form the foundation of great stories. Today’s worldbuilding advice digs deeper into the…
You’ve been playing for six hours – and everyone is having a great time. But you’re running out of material and you’re starting to lose focus. Eventually, the story’s flow goes off the rails and the session falters. Sound familiar? Today’s GM Advice centers on how best to manage these long sessions so that you…
Part 8 (others at the bottom): https://storytogether.com/2020/04/16/isaiah-the-gray-part-8/ The Gray “Who are you all?” asks Isaiah. “We are the Gray,” answers Captain Issac, a bit matter-of-factly. For the first time since he received his powers, Isaiah looks afraid. “But that’s…that’s my name,” he says. “A coincidence of fate, I’m sure,” replies T’Enora, their Chief of Security.…
Learning new games can be difficult at times. More complex ones especially require that you take the time, really digest the rules, and work with the other players to ensure everyone understands how to play. Tabletop role-playing games aren’t much different in that regard. And sometimes that process of learning the rules can scare off…
We’ve talked about your tabletop role-playing story’s momentum a number of times in this space in weeks past. Today’s post focuses-in on a topic which deserves more attention in this community: the “glue” in-between scenes. Platform for Positive Momentum Similar to Dark Matter in-between Galaxies, the “glue” in-between scenes is hard to define. What does…
One of the first questions I get when a new player joins the table is “what’s a character sheet?” Those of us who have been playing for awhile tend to take questions like these for granted – why would someone who’s never played before know what a character sheet is? And naturally, there are many…
How wonderful is it that we as a species are able to have shared experiences in our mind’s eye? Theater of the Mind empowers us to have a mental canvas that we can concurrently use for art, music, stories…any shared part of the human creative experience. “A stout bush sits atop a tall mountain, looking…
Part 7 (others at the bottom): https://storytogether.com/2020/04/09/isaiah-the-gray-part-7/ Where To Next? Still strapped in, Jimmy C turns to Isaiah and asks: “Well, where to next?” Isaiah centers himself and begins to meditate, using the force to sense his surroundings. To his surprise, he discovers that there are nearly fifty people on this ship, all of whom…
Whether you’re a new player to tabletop role-playing games in general or a new player at an ongoing story, you’re likely going to feel that natural desire to feel like you belong. And being a valued contributor to a tabletop RPG is truly an awesome feeling! So today’s Newbie Tuesday advice is aimed at helping…
If you’ve been playing tabletop role-playing games for awhile, you know what it feels like when the game stalls. The players don’t quite know how to act or what choice to make. And likewise the GM/DM doesn’t quite know how best to setup the players to continue onward in the story. No one likes getting…