We’re proud to present the 4th 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: “Okay, here are a few questions. First off,…
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…
Welcome to the kick-off of a new column that breaks down gaming into what’s really important, ten things at a time! If you’re unfamiliar with me, I’m Logan Bonner, a game designer/writer/editor. I previously worked on Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast, and currently work on Dungeons & Dragons and various other games…
We’re proud to present the 3rd 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: What should be done if a player does…
Contrary to popular belief, a GM does NOT have to have an intricate session planned when his players get together. One day when I found my self GMing without any warning, I realized I would have to wing it.
We’re proud to present the 2nd 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: I have a problem and I need some…
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…
There are many forms of in game romance, and lots of ways to get it to move naturally within the game.
Magical items are great for plot twists, key items, character advancements, or something similar. They can also be minor, non important parts of the game.
Crack open a book of fairy tales and mythology next time you can’t figure out a new story to embed in your game.
Rituals. They’re something to interrupt. Something that the bad guys are right in the middle of when those meddling PCs arrive on the scene. And, really . . . for a lot of D&D games out there being played right now, that’s about it.
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 create a new monster in double-quick time.
Languages aren’t always easy to integrate, especially if we forget or your players argue about language decisions. Languages can be a dynamic after taste to an amazing campaign, and they can be the dead center of it.
Building a campaign can be tough and sometimes we forget and leave some of the important things out, so I’m going to take you into my world as we start from the bottom, and build up. As some of us know, a campaign is NOT an adventure but does not have to be a full…
Looking for ideas for some Dungeons and Dragons traps your players will love? We’re compiling a list of 101 clever D&D trap ideas right here.
Staring up from the table, strapped down and glaring with furious eyes, was Gannick. Lord Immelir’s lieutenant struggled against the gag, and we chuckled at our good fortune. Who would have known that a gang war would deliver us such a potential wealth of information? Ah, torture…it’s the standby tactic for dictators and warlords looking…
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…