Two weeks ago I introduced you to two of the most fearsome villains any of my characters have had to face and talked about the importance of a villain’s backstory. This week I’d like to discuss the purpose of...
Whether you’re running a running a campaign or writing an adventure for publication you need to provide your players with memorable antagonists. Dangerous foes who challenge the players, inspire anger and a bit of fear as they thwart the...
We’ve talked about creating backgrounds even touched on a few unusual background concepts, this week I’d like to discuss rewarding players for creating effective backgrounds by letting them bring their backgrounds into the action. Assuming your players have turned...
Character development begins with an effective background and progresses through the entire life of a campaign. About a month ago I talked about character backgrounds and offered suggestions for GMs and players to effectively integrate those backgrounds into the...
This week I’m going to give you a selection (often weird) of background concepts as a companion to last week’s article about Writing Effective Character Backgrounds. For many, it’s the holiday season and I’m going to take this week…well...
I’ve been running and playing RPGs for a long time and one of the things that I often notice giving players and GMs a hard time are character backgrounds. Let me preface all this by saying the content of...
Two weeks ago, I mentioned the Research rules from Ultimate Intrigue oh so briefly, this week we’re going to talk about them a little bit more in depth. Particularly, how you can use them in conjunction with improvisational role-playing...
Mist clung low to the ground and the moon glared down full and bright through the skeletal trees that framed the gravel road leading up to the empty schoolhouse. The mood was nearly perfect even if it was a...
Two weeks ago I talked about how character sheets can function as a map to a game system and to a lesser degree how a character sheet can function as an outline for a designer. At the end of...
When I pick up a new sourcebook or adventure for an RPG I usually begin by thumbing through the book for the art and maps. This helps me get a feel for the material before I begin reading. The...