Category: RPG Articles
A GM’s Duties
GMs put a lot of effort into running an RPG – some more than others. All too often, folk regard GMs as the ones that should be doing EVERYTHING for a gaming group. So I started think of what we, as GMs, are responsible for; before, during, or after the game. And a few a…
The Other Guys – Supporting Cast (N)PCs in RPGS
The Other Guys. The followers. The sidekicks. Red shirts #1-5. The science guys. The servants/followers who carry the adventurers loot. Sometimes they have names, more often than not, they won’t. We all have them in RPGs. The Stargate SG-1 TV series once had an episode called The Other Guys. It focussed on a group of…
The Pragmatic GM approach (being a GM is hard work)
Being a GM is hard work. There’s no bones about it. Sitting down and planning an RPG campaign is a huge undertaking these days, even if it is only for a few sessions. A lot of players simply think that a GM spends his time thinking up new ways to kill their PCs. Let’s be…
Ronin GM! Getting a new group together
As a GM I’ve got a lot of games that I want to run and my time is pretty much limited. If I ever won the Lottery, I’d likely spend my time running or preparing games for my various gaming groups. The biggest frustration is often finding players for them – I’d love to run…
Magic and Technology in RPGs
Magic and technology in RPGs are usually unhappy companions. Allowing players to get their hands on technology can often unbalance the game. Occasionally, technology is little more than a kind of MacGuffin and plot device, like in the D&D adventure, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks or the Legends of Skyfall gamebook, The Black Pyramid. Fiction…
Epic plot, epic campaigns
Epic campaigns are tricky to run at the best of times. I think its safe to say that most RPGs are character-driven or location focused. When I say “character driven”, I’m talking about systems like FATE where PCs can pretty much do anything with their character in return for some kind of trade off or…
Running Shadows over Bogenhafen (WFRP) Summary
I finished running Shadows over Bogenhafen for WFRP last weekend. The experience I had was interesting, to say the least. Although it was fun to run, there are some significant flaws in the supplement and adventure. Although Mistaken Identity from the Enemy Within campaign book is linear it provided quite a good way to get…
May of the Dead
Undead and Loving It As part of the May of the Dead blog carnival I’ve put together some thoughts on the undead and running them in RPGs. The core ideas is coming up with a single emotion or passion that drives each undead type, and applying that to their outlook and the ways of playing…
Deep Ones! With Guns!
In my [amazon asin=1568821816&text=Cthulhutech&chan=default] game yesterday, the PCs were dealing with a group of Deep Ones who have apparently taken up residence within the Shore area of Edinburgh. If you’ve read HP Lovecraft’s Shadow over Innsmouth (you can read it here, along with other works of HP Lovecraft at , you’ll know what I’m talking…