There won’t be a usual Behind the Screens this week due to Anthony’s holiday arrangements. Take care, everyone! Have a safe and happy holiday!
There are all types of games for all types of gaming groups. They range from grim-dark, gritty, realism to swashbuckling high adventure in fantastic realities and landscapes. I’ve found, much to my chagrin, that players tend to prefer the...
One of the persistent challenges faced by GMs everywhere is the constant struggle to get your group to do something you want them to. You’ve planned out an elaborate series encounters but your players decide not to go in that direction....
I had a question come in from a reader asking how proficient with the rules he should be before taking a seat behind the GM screen. How long did it take me to master the rules? How did I...
Also known as, “No, Jeremy, that’s a ridiculous idea and it’ll never work.” A Case Study. Warning this article contains the following: Rise of the Runelord Spoilers Math the wild ravings of a spiteful GM Have you ever been that kind of situation?...
Today’s blog post is less a piece of advice and more an RPG-related experience that I wanted to share. It happened over the weekend. And it reminded me of why I love this game so much. This story begins,...
It happens to every GM eventually. Whether prepping becomes too much work. Or managing players becomes too challenging. Or it becomes to hard to find the thread of the story. Burnout. That point where GMing starts to feel more like work than does...
Today’s article is dedicated to the age old tradition of lying to your friends. Or, in more eloquent terms, the Narrative Skill of Artful Deception and Misinformation. GMs have many responsibilities at the table. As judges as rules experts, we should always...
Happy Thursday, August 4th, everyone! Otherwise known as the First Day of GenCon 2016! Sadly, I won’t be making it to the show this year. Soon the Know Direction feed will be flooded with exciting industry announcements that we’ve been...
A 2 x 2 room, an Orc, and a pie… The simplest and most condensed encounter imaginable. There’s a location – a 10-ft. square room. There’s an obstacle – the Orc. And there’s a reward – the pie. Presumably...