I am always giving advice to various gamers on various game forums. I am constantly giving the same advice over and over again (cut/ paste repeat). Once a year I think about the advice and put together The List.

In the World of Star Trek," authored by David Gerrold, Gene Roddenberry explains how a central character trying to solve one or more needs builds drama into any type of story.

What traditions or habits does your gaming group have?

I am always giving advice to various gamers on various game forums. I am constantly giving the same advice over and over again (cut/ paste repeat). Once a year I think about the advice and put together The List.

It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

Another year, another set of tips.

This Christmas game concept is infectious. So lets say some monsters from somewhere else try to destroy Christmas (actually they are destroying humanity, Christmas was just incidentally the day). So of course the Elves will stop them. And what about some other mythics?" This is the rule set I created in about three hours.

It is December 24th. People around the world are doing last minute shopping, traveling, and getting their work done. The world is filled with moments of joy and amusement as the world is desperately getting ready for a joyous holiday (or going to the movies or Chinese food w/ the family… depending on the tradition).

Then, the Gates open and the world changed. Mythics began to appear. However, out of the gates, yes those magical gates, out pours death and mayham into the Malls and Streets. They don’t have a name, nor do they give one. Some call them demons, aliens, or experiments; others just call them Monsters. The Elfs, they call them Grinches. 

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One of the most powerful tools found in the World Building 102b article is the Worksheet. Here is a place to put the settings you might make with them.

For hundreds of years colonist from Earth have lived on Kerren.  They came to Karren to live a simplier peaceful life. A pity that dream never materialized. 

Kerren is a world in an age of Saurians.  Giant megafauna live among huge trees. Smaller saurians and giant insects live in their shadows.  The Humans live in Clusters, walled cities usually along cliffs, to protect themselves. 

Kerren is a world of little metal.  The colonists expected resources to maintain a minimal level of technology.  Those resources did not exist or were unobtainable given their tools.  They adapted to the materials they had.

In short their life was simplier, but it was not peaceful. 

Zhan are extradimensonal blobs that fall from rifts caused by electrical storms.  Zhan infect living things, twisting them into rampaging monsters.  If Kerren was not dangerous enough, now “things” roamed the lands.

However, the Colonists found allies on Kerren- The Dragons. Working with this native animal species, The Ryders defend their people.  Riding their dragons they destroy Zhan as they fall before they can contaminate the world, remove Zhani monsters in Grey Zones, and wrangle Mega Fauna and Jumpers. Together with their Dragons, Ryders help build and maintain the colony.

Another year, another List. I am always giving advice to various gamers on various game forums. I am constantly giving the same advice over and over again (cut/ paste repeat). Once a year I think about the advice and put together The List. These are this year’s ten most common pieces of gaming advice I have given out.  They should be useful to you to some level.

D’hui said, “What is “homebrew”?

Sometimes, you just need a new plot.

GM’s block is a serious problem in the roleplaying world. Related to writer’s or actor’s block, it prevents the GM from being creative and enthusiastic about their work.

This article is also know as World Building 1A.

I personally always recomend creating your own game worlds for your campaigns.  It makes the game your own, rather than something you are just using.  Most people will not run characters that other people create. why should game worlds be any different.

From Feudal Japan to the modern Pizzaria, you can learn a great deal about gaming from food.

Literally, Campaigns are like plants.  They can only grow if the conditions are right.  The GM must plant them in the correct place and right environmental conditions (i.e. the players must like the ideas behind the games and be willing to play in them). Just like the gardener must prepare the soil and growing environment, the GM must create the basics of the campaign before play.

This is a great article posted on another site (who reposted it from another site, who took it from another), but I thought many would enjoy it here. It is The Lazy Man’s Guide for Constructing a Call of the Cthulhu Adventure, written by Sandy Petersen, original author of the Call of Cthulhu.

Larping is Live Action Role Playing. Instead of sitting around a table, play is done “in action”, up and moving about. Any resolution besides social ones are done by some “lite” mechanic. It can be a great deal of fun.