Scrolls of Destiny: Weapons for Hire (A Game of Thrones Puzzle)
Playing the new Game of Thrones RPG? Toss this Scrolls of Destiny puzzle in your game for a quick, fun challenge for your PCs!
“What’s My Motivation?” – Relationships
This week’s installment will look at how building relationships between characters and NPC’s leads to stronger characterization on both sides of the screen, greater depth to your campaign, and thus enriching the overall roleplaying experience.
“What’s My Motivation?” – Alignment
“What’s My Motivation?” is intended to be a regular column that uses a variety of methods found in the disciplines of acting, writing, and improvisation to help Dungeon Masters create compelling NPC’s and further flesh out their campaigns. This week’s installment will look at how the standard alignment system, which many times is derided as…
One Die Short: Keeping Secrets
Greetings! And welcome back for another installment of One Die Short. The below page depicts the first meeting of the PCs, an important, and sometimes overlooked aspect of building a good campaign. Interaction between PCs is crucial, and can make or break a game. Surprisingly, it’s also something that isn’t often used to its fullest…
Question Keith (Yeah, that Keith) #1: Hidden Hit Points?
We’re proud to present the 1st in a series of monthly articles by Keith Baker. Best known for creating the Eberron Campaign Setting for Dungeons & Dragons and the card game Gloom he’s also worked on at least five games that you’ve never heard of. Yet. Question: My DM has decided to implement a house…
DM’s Guide to Jumping Dimensions and Planes of Reality
This post is for those DM’s who need to create a quick random plane for those dimension jumping heroes who just love going off the beaten track and messing around with the whole of the universe.
How to Generate New Monsters in Minutes
How to create a new monster in double-quick time.
Reality Shift Part 3 – Living to Serve
In Reality Shift Part 1, I introduced the RS concept which asks: “what would our D&D worlds be like if we dropped the idea that the game rules are a model of reality and instead adopt them as the actual reality of this imaginary world?” Reality Shift Part 2 gave the first answer to that,…
You Want to Do What?! The Art of Improv in GMing (Part 3)
Not every player interaction can be a violent confrontation resolved at the business end of a longsword. No, seriously.
You Want to Do What?! The Art of Improv in GMing (Part 1)
With enough time and preparation, just about anyone can run a D&D game. But how do you create new stuff “on the spot”, under pressure, and when your players demand it?
Are your NPCs ubiquitous and ignored?
NPCs are ubiquitous and ignored. Dismissed as unimportant, as if that’s what the “N” and “P” stood for in NPC: uNimPortant Character.
30 Fiction Writing Tips That Will Make You A Better DM (part 3)
In the spring of 2007 I did not work. I wrote. A lot! This was before I started writing for Dungeon Mastering. I was writing a novel (which is still just a draft). Writing fiction is tough, but it’s also fun and rewarding. For me it was also a great learning experience. I polished skills…
30 Fiction Writing Tips That Will Make You A Better DM (part 2)
My stint as an aspiring novelist made me a better writer and a better storyteller. I thought I’d share a few writing techniques that I learned through books, websites, and experience and how I use them to be a better DM.
30 Fiction Writing Tips That Will Make You A Better DM (part 1)
My stint as an aspiring novelist made me a better writer and a better storyteller. I thought I’d share a few writing techniques that I learned through books, websites, and experience and how I use them to be a better DM.
Running and Converting “A Witch’s Choice”
This is a guest post by Chris Perrin. He will be reviewing an adventure path from Rite Publishing for Dungeon Mastering. Chris loves red dragons so he should fit right in with us! In many ways, A Witch’s Choice is a dream come true for many Dungeon Masters. If anything, the guys at Rite Publishing…
The Path of Madness: How to Play an Insane PC
We explore how to play a character with a touch of madness and provide examples to ponder.
10 Character Concepts You Don’t See Every Day
Don’t be just another hard-luck orphan with a sword. Here are 10 unusual character concepts that will bring your PC to life.
How to Create Awesome NPCs On the Fly
Uh-oh! Your players took the path less traveled, and now you need an NPC. What do you do? Here’s some helpful advice for making great NPCs with little notice.
You Don’t Have to be a Genius to Run Great Side Quests
Do your players want a side quest? This article tells you how to kick off a side quest, how to deliver it, and which hazards to avoid along the way.
New updates to the monster card tool
What’s new from the DM tools website?
Which classic D&D Character Are You?
Deep down… Who are you? A power-hungry mage like Raistlin? An emo ranger like Drizzt?