Hello there readers. Welcome to another Behind the Screens! First off. I have a confession to make to all of you. And that is that I – the writer of a biweekly column dedicated to giving out GMing advice...
It’s that time of year again. The days are shorter. Shadows grow deeper. And the things that go bump in the night become a little bolder. It’s also time for a somewhat more recent tradition for my gaming group,...
This week Behind the Screens, we’re continuing our journey through the first level of RPGamer needs. Last time I laid some of the ground work of things to consider when hosting a gaming session. Most of that was logistical...
I’ve been doing some thinking lately on the specific requirements of what makes a great gaming session. Why do I end a game feeling energized and impatient to start the next game some nights but disheartened and bored other...
Hell of an August is drawing to a close so it’s time we wrapped up our discussion of Lawful Evil. Last article, I waxed poetic about how cool it was to walk the straight, narrow, and Evil. This week,...
Let’s talk E-Vil, baby. Let’s talk about you and me. Let’s talk about all the good things and the bad things. Let’s talk Eeeee-vil! Early 90’s references aside, evil – villainy specifically – is a narrative topic I love...
With GenCon less than a day away (as of the posting of this article anyways), and as I pack my bags, I thought I might talk a little bit about preparation. How do you do it? How much is...
At the end of PS265, Alex and I had a bit of post-show dialogue about how much mystery a GM could and should inject into his game and whether the players ever getting a chance to find out was...
No no, I’m not going on hiatus. You’re still getting regular content and so forth. Nope, today I’m going to talk about what to do with your gaming group to make sure that you survive those long breaks between...
TPKs, the Total Party Kill. It goes by a number of other names, like total party wipe, total player kill, and so on. Its a topic that every RPG player is introduced to eventually. That dreaded situation when all...