For half an RPG campaign, the players’ party has been battling a jerk trying to summon a terrible demon into the game world. In the mid-campaign climax, they assault the ritual in which the cultists are trying to open the portal. Dun-dun-dun! But the critical words here are half the…

If you’ve read even a few posts here on the RPGuide, you know that Erica and I are story-first gamers. Regardless of the system, we generally prefer the title Storyteller to Dungeon or Game Master. …

Last time, we talked about how damage in role-playing games can take on ridiculous proportions. Hollywood and video games have primed us to accept some pretty wild things, and the mechanics of most role-playing games really just reinforces that — characters take terrible beatings and are right as rain the…

Time to rant about a pet peeve of mine, then talk about how I avoid it at my table. And today’s rant is combat, damage, and injury in role-playing games! I’ll start by saying that RPGs are games, so there is a certain amount of suspension of disbelief — and…

I use cutscenes in my role-playing, just like video games, and they can be a fun Storyteller tool. Movies are basically one long cutscene that tells the audience everything they need to know to understand and enjoy the story, which is why video games began using them as a way…

My friend is running a Dungeons & Dragons game for his kids and a gaggle of others, ages 11 through 13. For many of them, it’s their first role-playing game. He tapped me to play along, to help teach the game from the player side of the screen — and…

“Which enemy looks the most injured?” “That robot sentry seems the worst off. You can see wires sparking and its leg servos are malfunctioning, so it’s dragging one foot.” “Great! I’ll attack that one.” Bam! A hit! “Time to roll damage! I deal–” “Don’t bother. It’s dead.” Don’t bother. Those…

Exposition is an important part of most RPGs. If there’s a mystery, a riddle, or backstory, it’s going to come out eventually. And it’s the Storyteller’s job to plant the seeds and scatter breadcrumbs, but the characters don’t always find them, and the players don’t always put them together. But…

We recently posted about graceful exits when someone can’t play at the table anymore. Erica’s migraines mean that a loud, raucous game session with clattering dice is agony, so she’s had to retire her character. But the exit point that she worked out with the Storyteller is a little ways…