How to Manage Combat Like a Motherf$&%ing Dolphin
Want to run a fast-paced, exciting combat? It comes down to two things. First, learn how to track initiative. Second, learn about dolphins. Yeah, you heard me.
View ArticleAngry Rants: Definition vs. Discovery
When you overdesign, you lose the opportunity to make discoveries through play. This is true for GMs, but it's ALSO true for players.
View ArticleAsk Angry: Inspiration, Death Spirals, and Balance
Bonus content: an extra Ask Angry! I consider what books and video games can teach GMs, whether Death Spiral mechanics are any fun, and why you should worry about game balance, but not too much.
View ArticleColoring Inside the Lines: Linear Adventure Design
Linear adventures are woefully misunderstood. They seem simple to design, but they aren't. And they seem like they should suck, but they don't. Stop calling them simple. Stop calling them railroady....
View ArticleGM Word of the Week: Paladin
Folks in the know will tell you that the paladin had it's origins in the court of King Charlemagne. And those folks are wrong. Paladins come from fiction. And not the fiction you think.
View ArticleJumping the Screen: How to Run Your First RPG Session
Do you have a little voice in the back of your head saying "okay, playing these RPG things is fun and all, but I really want the screen. I want to run games. How do I run games?" Well, this article is...
View ArticleAsk Angry: Shops and Magic Items
How do you create shops in D&D? How do you handle the buying and selling of magic items? Thanks to a question from a Care Bear, you can find out.
View ArticleFrom Tiny Acorns: Branching Adventure Design
Branching adventures are the most common types of adventures. And that's good, because they are often the BEST adventures. Let me teach you how to do them right. As a bonus, I'll empower you with...
View ArticleSystematic InterACTION!
A long, long time ago, I promised to teach you a cool, simple system for designing and running social interaction encounters. Well, today's the day. And it's only a few years late!
View ArticleYour Mission is to Start an Adventure
Every adventure needs a beginning. Yeah, I know, it's exactly that kind of brilliant insight you can't get anywhere else. So, let's talk about opening scenes.
View ArticleI’m Making This Up As I Go: When Rules Fail
What do you do when the rules fail? Well, you're the GM, so you'd better do something! The game is waiting! You need to make a call! Hurry up and make something up.
View ArticleSave vs. Lawsuit: How To Publish D&D Content
Have you been using my tips to create your own original content? Do you want to publish your content? Do you want to maybe even SELL your content? Great. Just don't get your a$& sued. Fortunately,...
View ArticleAsk Angry Megablitz Three: Building Groups and Campaigns
Better late than never! It's time for the third Ask Angry Megablitz! I answer questions about group size, mismatched player levels, and letting the players pick their adventures.
View ArticleAsk Angry Megablitz 4: Aberrants and Amnesiacs
It's time to clear out more of the massive backlog of Ask Angry questions. Today, I tell people how to pull off some interesting campaign ideas about aberrations and amnesiacs. And also we talk a lot...
View ArticleHere Comes Tagalong: Henchmen, Allies, and DMPCs
Tagalongs: NPCs that join the party. They are often derided, frequently misunderstood, and rarely used well. Because people are dumba$&es. Which is sad because Tagalongs are a GREAT Tool for your...
View ArticleA Very Angry GenCon
Want to know what I've been up to for the last week? I was at GenCon! And here's a whole bunch of stuff about what went on there. Pictures, videos, very personal inspirational stories, me in a dress,...
View ArticleProbability for Dumm… for Gamers
This article is about basic probability, dice, and statistics in D&D and other RPGs. I love this s$&% and I think it's important and useful to understand. So, let's use math to answer some...
View ArticleThe Unexpected NPC
What do you do when your players force you to turn a nameless, faceless nobody into an actual NPC? What do you do when they don't even start with a nameless, faceless nobody? How do you make NPCs out...
View ArticleAsk Angry: Simultaneous Actions and Downtime Activities
This week, I tackle two different questions related by the theme of, umm, players doing things. Yeah. First, how to handle two players going at the same time in combat. Second, how to handle players...
View ArticleAsk Angry: Stealing Agency
This week, I ponder the question of when it's okay to take control of a character away from a player thanks to a question from a reader with a really dumb name.
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