The Dragon’s Tower

Chatty DM posted an article asking us why do we run games? There are almost as many answers as there are people answering. No one else would, the ability to have a creative outlet, to give the usual guy a break.

It got me to thinking about the people I know who love the job… and suck at it. These people really ruin the game for everyone. One bad player can give the DM a hard time, annoy the rest of the group but… the game goes on. A bad Dungeon/Game Master can’t be escaped without finding a new group or having a confrontation that no one will enjoy. Often enough, such an argument won’t work anyhow, just splitting up the group and breaking friendships.

So if you’re thinking about being a Game Master, for whatever system, sit back and ask yourself Continue Reading »

One of the things I miss from 1st and 2nd Edition AD&D are the tables. So many tables…. For everything. d20 has some of these but d20 Modern has almost none. The explanation given is that there’s just too much in a modern universe to give tables for what could be found in a packet, car, apartment. Perhaps so but this site sure lists a lot of it and I created these tables Continue Reading »

GM’s often view players the way men view women, “Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.” See this example. I found this comic in the links provided by Treasure Tables and the one linked above illustrates an awful lot of games I’ve run. It does not matter what you’ve set up, players will find a different way to do things and no matter what you say, will steadfastly resist being steered back in the direction of the original problem.

The best way to deal with Continue Reading »

And Chatty DM proves it! Check it out.

He gives ideas for a variety of ways to use glowing things in encounters but my favorite is the chest made of solid light. He comments, “I’d bet my next round of XPs that no one will want to touch it before at least some honest research is done.” I agree! And I’ve got to admit, I’d be laughing my ass off while I watched the PCs deal with it, too!

One character idea I’ve always wanted to try was a spy/thief/hidden role but so far none of the campaigns I’ve played in have ever fit the concept. Imagine it, a character with no identity, who’s nowhere on the modern radar. It would give you a lot of freedom, I think. But creating it would take some thought and this page on Continue Reading »