Conveying rpg lore to your players. You can give them the mongo journal you created, but there may be other ways to deploy lore in your tabletop rpg. Thanks to Billarnold on the forums for the inspiration on this one. Random Encounter DM Matt emails us on Brett using different ability for skill checks DM...

Playing pretend allowed us to be a cop or robber or doctor or superhero when were kids. Now we play role-playing games and sometimes forget we’re taking on a role. Lets go back and play pretend! Random Encounter Voicemail from DM Cojo Voicemail from DM Cojo Voicemail from Chris Shorb Voicemail from Chris Shorb Email...

Spott hidden in Call of Cthuhlu, perception in Dungeons and Dragons, maybe it’s notice in other games. Some game masters will find these skills to be a royal pain in the ass. You tell the player that they need to roll the skill to see or hear something. What if they fail the check, and the failure brings the...

Team spirit, yes we have it, how bout you? Is Dungeons and Dragons a team game? Certainly it is a collaborative rpg. You need to rely on different class abilities in order to overcome obstacles and have your character survive. Little argument there, but what about being an actual team game, with mechanics, or incentives,...

Some tabletop role-playing games can have a LOT of rules and mechanics. We can often use them or not. Pick what you want, leave what you don’t. But! There may be advantages to codifying rules for your rpg. Announcements New Avalon product on DTRPG – Avalon Trinkets Exploring Eberron giveaway, enter your email here: http://gamingandbs.com/explore-eberron ...

Every PC hurts, sometimes. Healing in table-top role-playing games. You can use spells, scrolls, potions, but then there’s the long and short rests. A combat lasts 2-3 minutes. The party is wasted. You hear it come from the players, “we rest!” Are there other ways to handle the 5 minute work day of an adventurer?...

Brett throws some Advanced Dungeons & Dragons at his home group and realizes how it is turning his game into something different. This isn’t to talk about the rules of AD&D, but to offer insight into how the game provides a different experience for his game group and how Brett runs the fantasy rpg. Announcements Giving a...

Audio in tabletop role-playing games can certainly help with immersion. You can use looping music for background ambiance, or you can use sound effects for things occurring within your game, examples include the crackle of a fire place, sounds of laser guns, battle noises with swords clanging and much more. Does it ever become too...

Game master screens, we talked about them in the past. Do we use a GM screen or do we not? But times have changed as we start to do more gaming via online – Zoom, Discord, Skype…has the purpose of the GM screen changed with the times? Random Encounter Voicemail from Chris Shorb on GM...

Of course the game master is considered a player in a traditional tabletop role-playing game. They just have a different role with different duties and responsibilities. Seriously, being the game master is no joke. You schedule games, maintain order at the table, paint the picture, become well-versed in the rules, create or present the setting....