Category Archives: DMing

Making Death Interesting

Posted on 28 July, 2013 by MssngrDeath

I’ve died six times. Given the amount of time I’ve been playing D&D, it’s a little surprising that I’ve only died six times. One was from a TPK during the first session of a campaign, and I decided that maybe … Continue reading →

Posted in DMing, House Rules | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Published Adventures

Posted on 1 June, 2013 by MssngrDeath

My opinion on published campaign settings is documented and correct (because it’s my blog and I can say things like that). But published settings go hand-in-hand with something that I’ve never discussed: published adventures. Stargazer’s World talked about them recently, … Continue reading →

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On the Talkative Tavernmaster

Posted on 7 May, 2013 by MssngrDeath

The problem with providing any sort of advice on DMing is that inevitably you’ll come across something that can’t be explained in a thousands words via a blog. I would love to give tons of information on how to actually … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, DMing | 6 Comments

Alternate Hit Point Systems (or, Various Ways to Make Crits Stop Being Fun)

Posted on 16 April, 2013 by MssngrDeath

There’s a quiet assumption in 3rd Edition and its related systems that hit potions don’t actually keep track of damage. Getting cut by a sword is normally quite severe if not fatal, and gunshots and firealls aren’t any better. Rather, … Continue reading →

Posted in DMing, House Rules | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Players Making Failure Interesting

Posted on 26 March, 2013 by MssngrDeath

So we had a TPK on Saturday. The party came across the guardian to a gate we had to open. In the first round, the fighter won initiative, charged, and did 75 points of damage in one hit, dropping the … Continue reading →

Posted in DMing | 1 Comment

On The Dungeon Master Experience

Posted on 21 March, 2013 by MssngrDeath

Chris Perkin’s penultimate article came down last week, which bothers me. As soon as I find an article on Wizard’s site that’s worth reading, it goes away. It’s like Leverage all over again. I was going to link to his … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, DMing | 3 Comments

Pre-Campaign Survey

Posted on 3 March, 2013 by MssngrDeath

I mentioned a campaign survey once that I used for my campaigns, but I never actually published it. You can find it here. The idea is that players fill out the survey by indicating where they want the campaign to … Continue reading →

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Live GameScreen

Posted on 25 February, 2013 by MssngrDeath

I have to give props to Live GameScreen, and not just because I invented it. It’s the tool I’ve been using at the table for almost three years now, and along with MapTool (for online gaming) it’s the only software … Continue reading →

Posted in DMing, Gaming Systems | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

System Depth and Published Material

Posted on 23 February, 2013 by MssngrDeath

When a player is building a character, I generally go through the same steps with them every time, or suggest that they go through the steps on their own if they’re sufficiently well-versed in the system: Decide what character they … Continue reading →

Posted in DMing | 4 Comments

Marathon Sessions (or, Sleep Is for the Boring)

Posted on 17 February, 2013 by MssngrDeath

Note: One of the problems with having a post backlog that I go through is that sometimes I talk about issues that aren’t as topical by the time the post goes live. Trust me, three weeks ago House of Cards … Continue reading →

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