Take Part in RPT Map Week #1 Hola Game Master! Starting next Monday, April 20, @Auke and I are running a fun, free, chill event on Discord for those who like to make maps. Each day for a week there will be a map hook I created. The theme is Locations Under Pressure. Read the […]
Continue reading
Tuesday, I shared out the tip to create Back Pocket Encounters you can push into play in case you need to change the pace, stall, or provide a transition or clue. In response, Roleplaying Tips GM TT writes: Examples of each of the 3 Back Pocket Encounters would have been nice. Thanks for the suggestion, […]
Continue reading
What do you do when the party gets stuck, the game gets bogged down, or you simply need to stall for time? In a recent Tiny Prep Challenge on our Discord server, one GM mentioned they were preparing a “backup/extra encounter to keep the fight-oriented players happy, if things go too lore-heavy.” This is an […]
Continue reading
Here’s a super Daggerheart point crawl map created by @muted and shared with the Roleplaying Tips community that I thought you might enjoy. From @muted: I am running a loop countdown (started on a location just outside of the dungeon – the Dig) and the dungeon is a collection of a few custom Daggerheart environments […]
Continue reading
Run your campaigns like the best board game in the world. In 2018 I got back into board games in a big way. I had stopped playing in 2003, so did not get to experience the new wave and evolution in design of the 2000s and 2010s. Then I dropped into a board game day […]
Continue reading
Players can draw on my maps and on my table. And I love it. My group used to have a player assigned to drawing the map. I would describe things, player would struggle to make squiggles, party would still get lost. Then I tried simplifying my maps to make them easier to, er, map, which […]
Continue reading
We got to talking about living graffiti on the Discord and @ØCÇÜL? STOÒL shared this great idea: If you can’t see the image above, the message in part reads: I always pictured Druidic hobo signs to be a thing, like most folks that saw branches growing in a strange pattern might notice but someone proficient in Druidic […]
Continue reading
For my Obsidian Invictus campaign, I’m aiming to make every magic item unique. Potions was a bit of a head scratcher. I don’t want a lot of extra prep. In fact, I want the opposite. But Roleplaying Tips GM Daniel saves the day with some cool ideas on making potions distinct. He sent me this […]
Continue reading
I like graffiti. I got the idea of adding vandals to my dungeons from Barrowmaze Complete by Dr. Greg Gillespie. Buried under the several feet of tephra that surrounds Obsidian Invictus is a vast network of crypts built in a former age to service a Beast. And the characters have discovered the way in. It’s […]
Continue reading
I’ve got a great checklist for you today. @Exile In Paradise, a fantastic mod helping fellow GMs in my Discord, shared with me a great list of AI generated questions and details for creating colonies, outposts, and settlements in space. This is in response to Orbital Trouble: d12 Space Outpost Hooks. I normally don’t spit […]
Continue reading
I was chatting with @Kodia Tomekeeper in the #tiny-prep-daily channel. She’s embedding a skull in a tree in her campaign. That reminded me of faces carved into certain trees in some campgrounds around here. They look amazing. Faces are powerful. They symbolize and communicate. My favourite example would be the Magic Mouth spell. A friend […]
Continue reading
Resource tracking has come up twice in my orbit recently, so I thought I’d share a couple thoughts on how to reduce tracking friction on encumbrance, spell slots, and other meters and pools. Case in point, Roleplaying Tips GM @jcauseyfd asks on the Discord: Has anyone run across any good systems/mechanics for DnD (5e) to […]
Continue reading
Game Master! I received this funny list of player directives from Roleplaying Tips GM Noel and thought it would be a great way to start the week. We begin first though with some GM screen talk. Noel, I’d love to see pics of your screens sometime! Hi Johnn, I know what you mean when you […]
Continue reading
Reducing GM Pressure: One Thing Added, One Removed Go easy on yourself. And keep it simple behind the screen. I ran Night’s Black Agents for the first time on Sunday. We did the chase scene with the nuclear briefcase. Great game. Tricked my players to play again in March. The PCs are super agents. The […]
Continue reading
How to simplify things at the table and drop dynamic game pieces onto it. In response to a description tutorial I sent out, Wizard of Adventure GM Will asks: I want to know more about the “Moves” section Thanks Will. I first discovered Moves in the Dungeon World RPG. At first, I didn’t understand the […]
Continue reading
Do you play solo RPGs? That’s you, a game system, some dice – maybe, and a quill and parchment. If you quest for some sci-fi solo evenings, here are several recommendations from Wizard of Adventure @ExileInParadise based in response to a recent newsletter about asking the right questions to oracle in solo games. Exile’s a mod […]
Continue reading
A great way to craft and maintain a consistent atmosphere without the heavy prep. I’m experimenting with a Sensory Bible for my Obsidian Invictus campaign to solve a specific problem. How to keep the vibe consistent without writing a tome of lore? One of my first steps was creating a Sensory Bible for the city, […]
Continue reading
How to end combats without grinding down to the last health point every time. Roleplaying Tips GM Paul asks: One thing that has always been difficult is that when the party have relatively low skills in combat and magic. A fight can take up to 2 sessions to get through. Fatigue playing a major part […]
Continue reading
5-Minute Megadungeon Maps. You have a great idea for a massive complex. But the thought of drawing every 10ft. corridor before you even know what goes where is so daunting that you never actually start. I’m faced with this proposition right now as I need to map the megadungeon for my Obsidian Invictus campaign. I […]
Continue reading
Running “dungeons” in any genre or setting. Roleplaying Tips GM Richmond grabbed my book, Logical Dungeon Design: Tactical Cartography, and sent me this note: Johnn, I have read the first chapter and part of the second. I don’t know how useful it will be for the game I am currently running, but I may be […]
Continue reading
Have you ever been running a dungeon crawl, feeling good, when suddenly a player asks a question that stops your dice cold? “Wait, why is there an ice room right next to a lava chamber?” “What do these monsters actually eat?” “Why are the ceilings only ten feet high if giants live here?” I call […]
Continue reading
Today’s word of the day is indite, which is also today’s tip. So, here is how I indite better descriptions. Earlier this month I shared my 3-step description trick in a Tuesday Tutorial with Platinum Wizards of Adventure. I call these descriptions Lore Drops. They give us a robust mental framework we can apply to […]
Continue reading
Ack Ack Johnn! Before I give you today’s tip, I have exciting news. First draft of my new book on dungeon design is done! It’s called Logical Dungeon Design: Tactical Cartography. Here’s the cover: It’s about how to design dungeon maps and levels that respond to the players. Living Dungeons. This book is also about […]
Continue reading
To screen or not to screen, that is the question from Roleplaying Tips GM Eli: Johnn! Thank you for these wonderful articles. I was wondering, could you tell me why you do or do not use a DM screen? I’m interested to hear what you think! Thanks Eli. I stopped using a GM screen in […]
Continue reading
How to make logical dungeon maps. Nonsensical maps were a major theme in the fantastic feedback I received from Monday’s request about your biggest pain point with dungeons: How to make dungeons make sense and believable? Most GMs think they need to design a dungeon for the adventure they are running right now. You sit […]
Continue reading