Roleplaying
Oren, Mike and Chris discuss the difficulty in recreating popular storytelling tropes like main characters, mentors, and prophecies in roleplaying. They highlight TV shows with tropes that make them feel like tabletop campaigns, and swap stories about how resourceful and willful players can be. Read more »
Your players will spend a great deal of time interacting with the non-player characters. The unpredictable nature of running an adventure means that you will be improvising NPCs as often as not. Fortunately, making them up on the spot becomes easy with practice. Read more »
When designers sit down to create the character generation section of a roleplaying game, they must decide where on the scale of structured to free form they want to fall. The question is a difficult one with no obvious answer. At one extreme are systems … read more »
One of the panels I was fortunate enough to attend at Geek Girl Con this year was “Writing for Roleplaying Games” led by Amber E. Scott. Ms. Scott is a freelance writer who has written numerous books for Paizo Publishing’s Pathfinder series, as well as … read more »
In gaming, an ability is defined as overpowered if it is more powerful than it should be. How you decide that can be tricky, but it usually boils down to an ability being stronger than other powers of the same cost or level. Three ranks in … read more »
The idea of a campaign that takes place almost entirely in one area is a strange one to many game masters. A stationary story presents a list of new demands on the GM, but it also creates new opportunities. It allows the players to really … read more »
Making a new character that you find fun to roleplay can be a lengthy process for many players. You want to have an interesting personality, a backstory to give a hook for adventuring, and something that helps you stand out from the stereotype of your … read more »
Your adventure is planned, the maps are ready, and you’ve even managed to prepare some great props for your next gaming session. Are you still looking for something more? Want something new to grab your players’ attention and refocus them when the action is about to start? Read more »
The subject of player versus player conflict (PVP) has always been a difficult one. In a roleplaying game, you feel like you should be able to do anything within your character’s ability, including stab that annoying elf in the face. However, if that elf happens … read more »
Most seasoned game masters will agree that visual aids are a great way to immerse your players in your campaign world. A printout of the Lightning Rail, or a diagram showing, to scale, a Sky Squid alongside the player’s starship are just a couple of ways … read more »
