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…
After the success of my puzzle-based adventures with my local gaming group, using such puzzles as those found in Scrolls of Destiny I and II, I began looking around for other ways to bring in my and my players’ interests outside of gaming. Since many in our group are avid followers of the forensics shows…
How to create a new monster in double-quick time.
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,…
Puzzles and Mazes and Riddles oh my! Puzzles and Mazes can be implemented in so many ways, we’ll start with mazes. A lot of people hear maze and imagine large shrubs and a minotaur hiding somewhere, or a series of stone walls in confusing settings or something similar to the Labyrinth. Remember, a maze can…
Illusions – how you use them and how to use “Disbelieve”. 4E: (Page 68, DM’s guide) “Illusions can mimic any terrain. Creatures that realize that an object is an illusion ignores its effects, while those that do not realize the truth behind the illusion react to it as appropriate. Use Character’s passive insight checks to…
In my article “DMing Muse” I mentioned a few elements that are good to put into a DnD game, and then decided that “Wait a minute, this would be great to talk about also!” So here I am again! Some of the elements I mentioned in that article are traps, monsters, friendly npcs, non friendly…
By Guest Blogger Jason L. Dawson Players are clever. They scheme, plan, plot and connive their way into and out of the most difficult situations we as the DM can create. This is especially true if you have players in your game who are tactically minded. I have the singular joy (and curse, at times)…
How to handle the unease, paranoia and dread of a haunted house without losing the fantasy hero charm.
I ask James Wyatt about his choice for the next campaign setting, how the decision is made and his plans for the fifth edition.
I sit down with Designer Manager James Wyatt and grill him about message board critics, the new ardent class and his old gnoll slaying days.
We explore the lands beneath the waves and what your group could get out of adventuring there.
Focusing on your players is one of the most important things you can do as a DM besides actually showing up to the game. As an improviser, focus is vital. If you’re not actively listening to your scene partner, you are not only missing the scene, you’re missing the point!
Not every player interaction can be a violent confrontation resolved at the business end of a longsword. No, seriously.
Tips for building your own fantasy holidays and sample celebrations, such as the drow Festival of Webs.
I know this sounds contradictory to everything a DM knows to be true, but your job is not to write the story — it is to set up challenges and obstacles, and it’s your players’ job to find the solution.
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?
NPCs are ubiquitous and ignored. Dismissed as unimportant, as if that’s what the “N” and “P” stood for in NPC: uNimPortant Character.
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…
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.
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.