Archive for February, 2010

The Characterisation Puzzle: When personalities are hard to find

This entry is part 1 in the series The Characterisation Puzzle

Developing a characterisation is like a jigsaw puzzle. You solve the bit around the edges first – the most obvious characteristics – and then try and fill in the middle a bit at a time until the whole picture presents itself. There is usually one critical “piece” of the puzzle, which – when ‘solved’ – [...]

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Win a copy of Underdark

You can win a copy of the new hardcover Underdark book for D&D 4E thanks to Gator Games. How to enter Entering is easy and you have two options: Option 1. Leave a comment below telling us you’d like to enter the contest. Option 2. Follow @gatorgames or @johnnfour on Twitter and send us a [...]

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50 Paladin Hooks

This entry is part 3 in the series Character Hooks

By D.L. Campbell One of the first posts I ever read at Campaign Mastery was the amazing 50 Barbarian Hooks. I instantly thought, ‘I hope there will be more of those!’ followed by ‘I wanna try that!’ Another list has joined the party (though I’m still greedy for more – hint, hint everybody) and I [...]

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The Frozen Lands: A Science-Fiction Campaign Premise

I often come up with ideas for new campaigns. Some of these are rubbish and discarded almost immediatly; some get saved, stored up for when I might need them; but most often they just get thrown away because I have no hope of ever using the idea. One such concept came to me recently, and [...]

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Scenario Sequencing: Structuring Campaign Flow

In a previous blog, I’ve written about my Superhero campaign currently facing a big finish (A Grand Conclusion: thinking about a big finish). This post will be a sequel of sorts, because any big finish naturally invites the question, “what’s next?” In this case, “next” is a sequel campaign. Many of the preceeding characters will [...]

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Ask The GMs: Systematic Systems Choice

How do you choose the right game system? The Ask the GMs questions here at CM never seem to stop, which is great, because they never fail to inspire new discussion topics. This one’s been sitting on the backburner for a while because we had so many already cued up, so we’re pleased to finally [...]

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Relatively Uncertain: Taking Control of Game Physics

Every campaign needs a game physics, whether the GM knows it or not. And, in fact, they all have one, whether it’s specified or not, and whether the GM knows that or not, as well. Boy, that was a short article! Now that we’ve established both need and solution, can we move on to another [...]

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Maps Have Three Parts – Part 3: Negative Spaces

This entry is part 3 in the series Maps Have Three Parts

When mapping, I tend to focus on the corridors, rooms, streets, caverns, and buildings. However, every map has more than just these areas; each has three zones in your design control. Next map you build, think of these zones and how you can change things up to be fun and interesting for your gaming. This [...]

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