24
Nov/2008

by Carl_G

I love 4th ed, there I said it. I can see the issues people have with it, but I also see the potential for a wonderfully simple game to DM. I am running a bi-weekly game for my friends and I am also running a somewhat infrequent fill-in game for our Sunday group whenever our dm has something else that needs doing. I will say the two games have varying paths, and the Sunday game is in for a treat this week. I have some fun stuff planned, a return trip to town with some unexpected results...a trip... Read More

02
Sep/2008

by StupidSmurf

Greetings, Bombers! This morning's offering is a new series I'm trying out: Tales from the WTF Files! These "tales" would consist of "war stories", explaining certain situations where you can only sit back and wonder "What the $%^#% was John thinking?". Call it "Tales of dm Insanity" if you will; things that just...well....make you want to shake your head. Every once in a while, though, I'll expand it and throw in tales of past players doing WTF stuff. But for the most part, this'll be DM-relate... Read More

29
Aug/2008

by StupidSmurf

It is my considered opinion that a terrific Dungeon Master is:

One part Rules Lawyer
One part Referee
One part Impartial Mediator
One part Good Buddy
Two parts Actor
Two parts Writer
Three parts Storyteller
Five parts Complete and Utter S.O.B.

Let me break it down.

Rules Lawyer: While no one asks you to know every single rule, you better have a good grasp of the fundamentals of the game you're running. Missed/blown calls frustrate players and m... Read More

25
Aug/2008

by StupidSmurf

As promised in my previous blog entry, this one deals with how I approach a campaign, design an adventure, and what my characteristic quirks are. We had our first session of our newest campaign this past Saturday (Recap to come later), so since I have campagin design fresh in my mind, let's jump in!

When I start planning a campaign (and we're talking D&D here), I usually ask myself three questions:
"What have I already done?"
"What do my players like?"
"How can I take th... Read More

21
Aug/2008

by StupidSmurf

With the summer down to its last third, it's time for our gaming group to reset. Having sort-of finished the Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign super-module, it's time to get back to our regular favorite, D&D (3.5 of course), in our favorite setting, Forgotten Realms.

(speaking of Forgotten Realms, even though I already knew a bunch of stuff about what was happening with the Realms in 4.0, I decided "what the hell" and thumbed through a copy of the 4.0 Realms hardcover yesterday when I bo... Read More