What are the Schools of Magic?

I always groan internally when a player casts Detect Magic, because I never remember what the schools of magic are. So I've come up with this quick summary.

Beating the GM Writer’s Block

Do you get GM Writer's Block? When you sit down to prepare and just stare at the page? Here's a discussion of some techniques which helped me prepare for my TTRPG game, with thanks to @SlyFlourish, @ubiquitousrat, @roleplayingtips and @HeroicMaps

Are your players having fun?

Are all your players having fun? Roleplaying games can be challenging, frustrating (particularly when the dice go against you), thrilling, exasperating. But they are a social pastime, and everyone should leave most sessions thinking “well, I’m glad I took part.” I recently made a big mistake. I forgot to think about that extra word “all” … Continue reading Are your players having fun? →

Safety Tools in RPGs

Role-playing games can be a lot of fun, and a great way to spend a few hours exploring a different life and different experiences. But due to the topics they typically encompass – violence, theft, monsters, demons, devils, spiders, bugs, relationships, different tribes/races/species and their interactions, conflict, Mrs Cake, slood, celery and more – they … Continue reading Safety Tools in RPGs →

Coping without equipment

Have you considered how your characters would cope without their equipment? What would they do? Suddenly both exploration and combat become rather different. Now think about it as a GM - you've set up a scenario where the players' characters have had their equipment taken away. How do you make it feel like an interesting … Continue reading Coping without equipment →

Two more Kickstarters

It seems to be Kickstarter season. Hardly a day passes without an invitation to invest in yet another Kickstarter. I'd like to highlight another couple of Kickstarters I think really worthwhile. Extraordinary Expeditions Kickstarter page here I have always been keen to run my own campaign with its own storyline - part of the fun … Continue reading Two more Kickstarters →

Behind the scenes of the GM Notebook

Session tracker

When running a D&D session, you want the essential information to hand in a compact format. I have a spreadsheet which I use for my sessions, which I’m sharing in case you will also find it useful. Contents The pack includes: A4 and US Letter versions of the blank spreadsheet.An example pre-filled spreadsheet based on … Continue reading Session tracker →

When one action isn’t enough (part 2) – Negotiations

In the previous few posts, I looked at the history of Skills in BECMI, looked at the different 5e skills in detail, and explored what skills can (and equally importantly can't) do. The last post introduced more complex scenarios where one action isn't enough to resolve the situation, and considered a complex task: crossing a … Continue reading When one action isn’t enough (part 2) – Negotiations →

When one action isn’t enough (part 1) – Complex Tasks

What do you do when your D&D party come across a situation which is too complex to handle with a single action? Photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash In the previous few posts, I looked at the history of Skills in BECMI, looked at the different 5e skills in detail, and explored what skills can … Continue reading When one action isn’t enough (part 1) – Complex Tasks →