Aug 29
Reskinning is an amazingly easy way to get extra mileage out of the Monster Manual and/or throw more experienced players for a loop when you describe a creature as one thing (goblin), but use the mechanics of another creature (Hydra!) I’ve been reskinning monsters for years but recently decided I wanted to take things a …
Aug 29
Skill Challenges, as far as I’m aware, first made their appearance in D&D 4e. The idea was to present a challenge to the players that had to be defeated or overcome through use of Skill or Ability Checks checks – almost like a combat encounter, but with less stabbing. So, for example – navigating through …
Oct 26
The dice matter. There are times when I wish they didn’t, but they do. As a player, I go into most games with the goal of rolling dice the least amount of times possible. If never is an option, that’s what I’m going for. I really enjoy the social aspect of role playing and …
Aug 17
Using the PC’s backstory: In my last article, I wrote about creating effective backgrounds for player characters. This included advice on how to write background that are not bogged down with too many details as well as a discussion about how to allow GMs to effectively use this background information in the story. Today …
Aug 02
Backstory: It’s quite common for a DM to ask their players to come up with the background or backstory of their new character before the start of a new game. I see questions on forums quite often where players are asking for advice on how to do this, or what to include. I am …
Jun 30
Note to readers, this article was inspired by Table Topics # 68 – Setting DC’s in D&D You can listen to that episode here: www.therpgacademy.com/table-topics-episode-68-dcs-in-dnd Fewer skill checks, please. Role Playing Games, by their very nature, are an odd mixture of free-form cooperative storytelling and rigid mechanics. Everyone approaches this mix according to …
Jun 20
Note to readers, this article was inspired by Table Topics # 88 – The matrix. You can listen to that episode here: www.therpgacademy.com/table-topics/the-matrix Introduction to Player Narrative Control: The idea of Player Narrative Control is that you allow players to create details of the story that then become real in the game world. …
Jun 13
Note to reader: This article was inspired by Dungeon Talk Episode 1 of The RPG Academy Podcast. You can listen to that full episode at : www.theRpgacademy.com/dungeon-talk-episode-1-the-beginning/ What’s in a name? Less than you might think. When I first started running games I was terrified that a player would ask me questions I couldn’t …
