When your characters aren’t roleplaying or in combat, they’re probably facing a number of other obstacles impeding the progress of their objectives. Or they’re complaining about Game of Thrones in vague terms so as to not spoil it for...
Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame. Listener Andrew M (not to be confused with network member Andrew Marlowe) suggested I elaborate on a comment I made in Know Direction 198, where I said Nickelodeon’s 2012 Teenage...
There’s been a lot of buzz around the network about backstories lately, between Know Direction 196’s proposed topic and Andrew’s Burst of Insight companion piece to it. Today’s blog is a make-up of sorts for Know Direction 196. While the...
Continuing the topic suggested by Discord chatter AJ, today we look at the importance of balance between rules in the game. Mechanical Balance A game is balanced when all options have equal effectiveness. Rock–Paper–Scissors is balanced because every option...
Discord chatter AJ suggested I discuss my take on balance in games, specifically how necessary I thought it was. This being Behind the Screens and not Dear DovahQueen, I’ll keep us GMs in mind as I address this topic,...
“Different players play for different reasons” is the core of this blog’s philosophy, so naturally I am interested in the topic of player motivation. As should you, GMs. I was recently reintroduced to one of the game industry’s most...
No matter the style of game you play, you inevitably are going to use a map. Sometimes the GM is showing you a map of the world to give you perspective on your region. Other times you are drawing...
We’re picking up where we left off last installment, talking about how to craft your teasers to get your players in the right frame of mine. Speaking of last time… “PREVIOUSLY…” In a world where days or weeks pass...
Teasers for movies are short hints at how a movie will feel. They’re sometimes mocked as commercials for commercials, but they play an important role in setting expectations. Audiences like going into a movie with an idea of what...
Hero Points were formally introduced into Pathfinder as an optional rule in the Advanced Player’s Guide (obligatory shout out to the APG and all Pathfinder’s success as a system owes to it). On top of being codified as an...