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Category Archives: DMing
Multi-Round Actions (Part 4, Tactical Feats)
I never felt like tactical feats really got the respect they deserve. I think the designers wanted to give characters neat tricks that meshed with their combat style while keeping them accessible enough that any character who wanted them could … Continue reading
Posted in Game Design, House Rules
Tagged D&D 3.5E, D&D 3E, Pathfinder
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Multi-Round Actions (Part 3, 4th Edition)
Channeled spells are great and all, but they don’t exist in 4th Edition. This entire endeavor started because I was tired of the “if you don’t make an attack, you’ve wasted your turn” design philosophy and play methodology of 4E, … Continue reading
Posted in Game Design, House Rules
Tagged D&D 4E
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Multi-Round Actions (Part 2, Channeled Spells)
When I thought of “things in D&D that can take more than one round”, the first place I went was “spells”. However, that space in D&D is largely filled with “spells not designed for combat” and “sorcerers trying to use … Continue reading
Posted in Game Design, House Rules
Tagged D&D 3.5E, D&D 3E, Pathfinder
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Non-Binary DCs (or, Why Players Can’t Have Nice Things, Part One of Infinity)
D&D is largely a binary system: you either succeed at something or you don’t. There are no partial successes or glancing blows, and aside from critical hits and natural ones on Reflex saves there’s nothing in the system that rewards … Continue reading
Confessions of a DM
I usually have something to say about the articles I mention here, but as soon as I saw “Confessions of a DM” on Table Titans I knew I had to just link to it and throw up my hands. I … Continue reading
Posted in DMing
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60-Minute Session Design
I think a person can judge their proficiency in some area by determining the relative complication of the things in that area that frustrate them. For example, I cook fairly frequently. I’m no executive chef, but I can turn ingredients … Continue reading
Cooperative Session Design (or, Everybody Has a Plan Until Players Show up)
Preparing for a session is hard, not least because it’s rarely clear what a DM needs to prepare. If you spend hours mapping out the sewers where bandits are hiding, you can be sure that the players will instead look … Continue reading
Posted in DMing
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“Rules as Written” (or, Hate the Playa, not the Game)
I was loitering at my friendly local gaming store (patronize it with money!) lately, and a conversation sprouted about play styles. Specifically, we discussed a particular style of play formed around building powerful characters and having them do powerful things. … Continue reading
DM Mentors
Gnome Stew had an article recently on the concept of the GM Confidant, which is a GM that assists another GM with the campaign without actually participating. A confidant is there to discuss ideas, add to existing concepts or create … Continue reading
On Inspiration
Left Oblique and I go back and forth a lot on what systems, players, DMs, and gaming in general are and should be. A lot of it comes down to simulationism versus narrativism, but it’s not always that clear-cut. One … Continue reading →