The Magic of GM Never Roll Systems
Steve RechnerI’ve become absolutely addicted to systems where the GM never rolls the dice…
Tag: GM Techniques
Slaadi in Dungeons and Dragons Part 2: Batrachian Beasts From Beyond
RJD20Horrifying outsiders often invade our D&D worlds. They pillage green earth, gather frightened prisoners, and spread corruption far and wide, slaughtering, not rankling. Planar denizens run rampant as villains in plenty of TTRPG systems: devils, demons, and elementals among countless others. One outsider entity in particular haunts far fewer D&D adventures than it should: slaadi.
Genre Police: Keep On Marching
Geek NativeProfessional GM Ben Jackson-Ellery shares some wisdom and practical tips for anyone hoping to set up and run tabletop RPG campaigns “West Marches” style.
Canon, Your Homegrown Setting, and You
Our lives change constantly, as do our views and levels of creativity. For those of us who construct vast Dungeons & Dragons settings and worlds for our players to place their characters in and explore, this brings a dilemma. How do we stay true to all the wild escapades, heart-racing adventures, and ground-breaking campaigns that occur in our world? We all have an opinion on the role of canon in works of fiction—and we should carve one out for our own worlds as well.
The ultimate guide to buying and selling magic items in 5E D&D
The basics of buying and selling magic items in D&D 5e is something that many people feel as if the core rules could go further on. So, here’s a handy guide!
Genre Police: Towards a shared language
Have you heard of gamers talking about West Marches style of RPG campaigns? Do you know what it means? The Genre Police kick off a series on RPG terminology and using a shared language for our games.
Defeating the apocalypse one fight at a time: A review of ARC
If you accept character death as a consequence of failure in ARC, then everyone else in the group gets an XP boost, the doom clock advances one movement, and you create a new hero.
Warhammer World Building: Gilead System
Warhammer World Building creates campaign settings using Cubicle 7’s Warhammer RPGs: Soulbound, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. This month the column covers creating a personalized Gilead System using the core rulebook and supplements for Wrath & Glory.
Five tips for teaching someone to be a Dungeon Master
Teaching someone to be a Dungeon Master is one of the most valuable things you can do to support the hobby.
A new DM will be able to help you out at the table. They will be able to jump in when you need a week off. They will commiserate with you when the players do some unexpected shenanigans.
Most importantly, they will go on to run games for other players and carry on the tradition of showing people how to roleplay
Genre Police: Dialling Back In
The number of players can really be one of the most important decisions you make as a GM and can actually affect your ability to play.