090 Keeping Players Engaged
Keeping players engaged, there are a few things you can do. Often times it’s because they’re bored or not engaged. As a GM you can do a few things. Hell, Brett goes as far as doing one-on-ones. “How are you liking your character? What goals are you trying to achieve?” It’s gotta be his promotion...
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089 Interpreting Die Rolls
Interpreting die rolls, or do you use degrees of success with systems that don’t facilitate such a mechanic? Of course there are role-playing game systems like Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars RPG or Powered by the Apocalypse Dungeon World, and even Savage Worlds all have some type of heightened success or failure. But what about the popular...
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088 Collecting Role-playing Games
Collecting role-playing games, we treasure our beloved tomes of rules, maps and scenarios. We keep things because they can be used as resources. Or maybe it’s nostalgia. But in this episode Brett and I visit Alex Kammer, Director of Gamehole Con [sponsor], at the Gamehole where we talk to him about being an avid collector of TSR’s Dungeons...
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087 GM Screens
GM screens are great for referencing rules without having to page through a thick rpg rule book. Some of us choose not to use them because they can be intrusive and create a physical barrier between the players and the game master. Use them or not, there can be some pretty creative screens out there...
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086 Secret Convo in RPGs
Secret conversations in rpgs. We pass notes. Game Masters pull players aside to talk about something that may not be privy to the in-game situation. Does it matter if the rest of your group hears these conversations? Sometimes this can take attention from others. Like the theater diva of the group seeks attention, so would...
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085 Counting Coup in RPGs
Counting coup in rpgs, it stems from an old tradition of the Native Americans. In roleplaying games it can be considered a different way to handle combat. It doesn’t always have to be ‘to the death’! What if a nonplayer character needs the party to do some bidding, yet they still need to convey their...
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084 Inclusion in RPG Hobby
Inclusion in the RPG hobby, there are times when we are not doing our best at welcoming others into awesome world of role-playing games. Even when interacting with people of other genders, ethnicity, etc, we can say the wrong thing without even being aware of the fact. Of course there are people that consciously choose...
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083 No Shows at RPG Cons
No shows at rpg cons, it happens. Before being perturbed, it is possible that someone had an emergency come up and could not get to to the convention. But what can you do? Well, the con organizers probably have some method of refunding your ticket or getting you into another game if you’re a player...
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082 Dedication to System
Dedication to system, or system mastery, is often used in the same context. While it may take ‘dedication to an rpg system’ in order to gain mastery of its rules, it’s not always the case. There are advantages and disadvantages to being dedication to sone system. System mastery is obviously an advantage, but what about...
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081 Player versus Player
Player versus player in roleplaying games, without agreement and understanding in advance it can turn out to be a royal fiasco. We specify player versus player and character versus character. Brett talks about how there has been positive gaming experiences when players go back and forth with their characters, but it doesn’t always happen that...
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