Campaign Mastery

How do you handle PCs who seem to be immune to magic? A recent inquiry in Ask The GMs asked us, Hi! I’ve just started an AD&D campaign where the all the PCs have got really good saving throws. Less than 50% of any spells I cast on them will work on the Dwarfs and […]

How do you create a campaign that gives the players absolute freedom but still leaves the GM in control? Recently, Campaign Mastery was asked, Is it possible to create a truly player-choice driven campaign (within reason)? I’m trying to create a campaign that’s anywhere from 75 – 90% roleplaying (there will be dice, but not […]

What are the best ways to handle splitting the party up – especially over the long term? An interesting question was asked of us recently: I’m planning a pretty good science fiction game that will most likely involve party splits during a good percentage of the game. While this seems like it may be a […]

Campaign Qualities Are Like Feats For Game Worlds I’m flipping through FantasyCraft, a new d20 OGL RPG from Crafty Games. The first place I always go to in such books is the game master section. And amongst the 80 pages or so that brim with great tips and advice in FantasyCraft, I home in on […]

How do you extrapolate from existing rules to cover new situations? Recently, Campaign Mastery was asked, If a giant has rapid shot can he throw 2 rocks in a full round action? (d&d 3.5) This sparked some debate over whether Campaign Mastery should answer rules questions of this sort; we aim to deal with big-picture […]

How can a campaign last for decades, and what does such longevity imply? A question recently asked us, I remember Mike mentioning his decades-long superhero game a few times, and am currently planning my next campaign, so I was just wondering how y’all can extend a game so far. Even if the players are still […]

Traps in some game systems are standalone elements. However, I consider them a hazard if they factor into a combat in any way. Encounters without combat that just have traps in them I would consider hazardous for your health, but not a combat hazard. Traps have been around RPGs since day one. In my first […]

Mistakes – ones you’ve made in the past and how you got past them, one’s you’re making now and don’t know how to solve. That’s the theme for this month’s RPG Blog Carnival. I remember reading some great advice awhile ago: it’s ok to make a lot of mistakes as long as you don’t make […]

This month’s RPG Carnival is about RPG conventions. GMing at cons is a fine art. It’s high pressure chaos that includes a lot more table and environment management than your typical home game. Add in a group of total strangers as players with unknown skills and game knowledge, and you have a recipe for an […]

The first type of hazard we talked about was Terrain. Another variety of combat hazard is environmental. What are the physical surroundings like? Are there any interesting global effects in place? My definition of environmental hazard is one that affects everyone. If a hazard is limited to just certain areas of the battlemap, then it […]

There are many kinds of combat hazards, such as giant bubbles that trap combatants who bump into them, or a narrow band of strong wind that pushes combatants around. GMs often do not have enough variety in their hazard selections. Use these categories to inspire and keep combats fresh. Terrain hazards A classic combat hazard […]

The first helping hand you can offer your poor, underrated and under-appreciated combat hazards is to give them a great name. A name with gusto, panache, or spirit gives hazards a surge of vitality and interest. A great name inspires. Instead of calling the mud in the middle “difficult terrain”, call it Grom’s Brown Demise. […]