Running a RPG with lycanthropes? Perhaps you want silver to be the element that can harm werewolves. That would make sense… but why? What world building reason can you think up to explain silver’s ability? If you’ve got a great answer to this challenge why not pop it in the comments below? In the meantime; […]
4 reasons why Critical Failures are a bad game mechanic; 4 why they work
Roleplayers are familiar with the Critical Success or Critical Hit rule. The player rolls a natural 20 or similar maximum value and as a result successfully strikes an otherwise impossible target or hits their enemy with such force that extra damage is done. Critical Miss rules are not as common in core rules but they […]
Retractable whiteboard for tabletop melee battles
Some gamers use blackboard tablets, plastic covered maps, tiles and other clever adaptations in order to have re-usable surfaces they can draw on and move minis around on. What about an actual whiteboard? Buy at Uncommon Goods. The whiteboard is made from plastic, paper and tyvek and rolls up. The screen is 9.5″ in length […]
RPG Ideas: 6 alternatives to poltergeists
Sometimes the GM needs to give the players a good scare or challenge them with a standard haunting. A poltergeist often makes sense as the spirit manifests itself initially on a small scale, with clues for the characters to pick up on, and then the drama escalates as the group tries to do something about […]
19 common mistakes new GMs make
It’s not always easy being a GM. You’ve a game to prepare, a world to create and in addition to plot, combat and other in-world intrigue you also have the real world to deal with when it comes to players, scheduling and even finding a venue. Wizards of the Coast’s latest book in the D&D […]
From the Inkwell: Evolutionary gaming versus mortality in RPGs
Randall C Ellis is the writer and designer of titles like Sojourner’s Quest and Sojourner’s Moon. Established in 2012, the publisher Sojourner Games began with the idea; We believed that an exhilarating answer to the Old School Renaissance need for an adventure fantasy role playing game was possible. In this guest post Randall discusses his […]
11 clever items fantasy adventurers always forget to pack
There’s a scene in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire when the heroes are stuck on a tropical island and really need water to survive. They’re saved by a “spigot”; a device that can be hammered into a tree, so that the water from behind the bark and flow out. It’s usually called a tap and […]
4 great places to get free art for RPGs
This guest post is from Chris Tregenza, the creator of the 6d6 RPG, and helps game designers, bloggers and even GMs find suitable artwork for their projects. The 6d6 Core 2nd edition is available at DriveThruRPG this week, is published under a Creative Commons license and uses Creative Commons art itself. The use of Creative […]
10 ways to keep your Commoner or low powered character alive in Pathfinder
by J.M. Perkins – author of The Ultimate Adequate Commoner – the everyman’s guide to surviving and thriving. 1. When in Doubt: Run Away! Normal adventurers don’t retreat often, assuming (usually) that any challenge they are likely to face is ‘balanced’ to their level. Commoners never have this luxury, and so you should run away […]
Laniakea: Why your sci-fi RPG is too small
This video can be whatever you want it to be. Space porn? Yup. Education? Yup. Inspiration for your next sci-fi setting? Oh yes. The term to take away from this, I think, is supercluster. The plot device to borrow from the video may well be The Great Attractor. My evil GM mind is already a […]
