When someone asks you to run a game, what do you do? It’s tempting to say yes, but do you really have the time? Here’s some advice for avoiding DM guilt and letting your friends down easy when you just can’t fit a game into your schedule.
Orcus is not a nice guy. He’s got an arsenal of evil powers that will have your PC begging for death. But the fun doesn’t stop there; he’s the Demon Lord of the Undead, and membership has its privileges. Here’s a look at five of the ways Orcus can leave your PC in anguish.
Random plot generators? Just clicking through them can provide at least 1d4 hours of entertainment. If you find a good one, you might even generate a nifty plot hook for your next adventure — but even the bad ones are good for a laugh.
25 questions – that’s all you need to answer to know your inner D&D4E character. And don’t come whining to me if your inner character sucks!
What comes out of a meeting between an uber-villain and a red dragon? A how-to guide!
All the information you need to start, run, and end a campaign with as little preparation as possible.
Power your way to great gaming sessions by optimizing your prep time.
D&D Tuesday tips for DMs (DNDTTFDM) 04-15-08 PCs are the backbone of your campaign. Villains help flesh out the adventure! Here are some easy ways to make that villain brilliant, annoying, intrusive, challenging. In other words, these are my thoughts on making villains easy to hate and remember! The love-to-hate-them villains should: Miss appointments. The villain asks…
Who needs a gridmap? You forgot your gridmap? Or your minis? Or you need a change of pace for your campaign? Here a 5 ways to replace the battlemat. Top 5 ways to run a game without a grid map Whiteboard or chalkboard When I was in college I would often get together with some…
Random thoughts With the ever-growing geek population I wonder if we’re ever going to live through a “taped glasses and hunched back is sexy” trend. 7 quick ways to make your campaign better Just because you have planned a fun campaign and your next few games are prepared doesn’t mean your campaign can’t get better. …
Cameo time Looks like I’m going to have a special PC cameo during my next game. A good friend of mine who has never played an RPG has recently shown interest. So what will I focus on for that special occasion? Make him understand the DM gets free pizza, chips, and salsa. Let him roll…
Build a better world in less time This is a quick read that will help you shave dozens of hours in world building. A lot of work went into this document and the content was edited and updated since it was first written. Have fun. Download the Instant World Builder PDF (right-click and “save as”)…
I bundled the Instant World Builder in a single file but I decided to wait for a few days before releasing the .pdf file. The reason? I want to make it better. So this is an unofficial addition to the project. Generic NPC quirks A great way to add flavour to a region of a…
This article is part 8 of the Instant World Builder series. The color commentator Two of the characters in my ongoing campaign once met an NPC – completely improvised at the time – who stuck around and became a fan of the 2 PCs. The NPC was a bard and would travel the world singing…
Prepare a better campaign in less time This is a quick read that will help you shave dozens of hours in campaign planning. A lot of work went into this document and the content was edited and updated since it was first written. Have fun. Dowload the Instant Campaign Builder (.pdf file) (right-click and “save…
Random thoughts This morning a rooster decided it was a good idea to start crowing right next to my bedroom window. It’s 8am right now and he’s been going for 3 hours straight. A wizard NPC looking to play mind games with his enemies should just summon roosters when they’re trying to sleep. Running an…
Have you read the first part of this article? Read D&D rat chase – Part 1 here! The Woldians say… This article stemmed from an e-mail discussion between Robert – a Dungeon Mastering reader – and Kim & Jerry from Woldian Games. If you haven’t done it yet take the time to check it their…
Running a chase scene – Part 1 Robert sent me an e-mail when I was in L.A. to get some tips on running a chase scene. I did not get to write down my thought at the time because I was hanging out with Merlin. Lucky for him and I, Robert also asked a few…
Boredom alert! There’s nothing wrong with a game that’s slowing down. Dungeon masters are only human and can’t possibly plan for everything. Dungeons & Dragons players also often have A.D.D. – which is the main reason TSR called the old version of the game Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. (A.D.D.) So what’s a DM to do…
Instant Campaign Builder Part X: D&D superstars This article is part of the Instant Campaign Builder Project. It’s tweaking time All the hard work is done. The campaign is almost ready to be unveiled. Almost! There’s still a few things you can do to make it better. In no particular order here are 4 things…
Instant Campaign Builder Part IX: Ending the campaign This article is part of the Instant Campaign Builder Project. Why plan the ending? I strongly suggest planning the ending, the last scene of your campaign before the first game is ever played. Here’s why: