GM's Perspective

By Lance Hawvermale

Sometimes the dungeons aren't enough.

Sometimes the swordplay, the spell-slinging, the sneak-attacks fail to satisfy a GM's imagination, and he must seek a new avenue of adventure, a new format for delivering to his players a memorable gaming experience.

By Steven Creech, Exec. Chairman

If you've never had to go through the process of buying or selling a house, just ask anyone who has and they will tell you it is a very stressful time. This process is not only costly in terms of actual finances, but also that of time investment. For nearly a year now, I've been trying to sell my house in order to buy a newer but smaller house. This ordeal (and I don't use that word lightly) has fired up the imagination and made me think of how it might be translated into gaming opportunities. Oh, what a sick and twisted mind I have...

By John Grigsby

It's been a while since I've written one of these, but since my group has entered a state of dormancy (we're down to two players right now), it seemed like a good time to work on my two homebrew campaign settings. Both have been around for a while, but neither exists on paper beyond a few scattered notes, and I felt that it was time to correct that. Further, with the recent release of Unearthed Arcana, it seemed like a great time to actually put some solid commitments down. Thus, over the next few months, I'll be sharing with you some of the joys and pains of creating your own campaign world. You're invited to watch the creation of these two worlds, and of course, your input or your own experiences are welcomed.

By Teramis

Part 1. Skills Training: "It's not just a job, it's an adventure."

"You return from the adventure, sell your loot, level up, and get new skill points. Roll hit points, and get the skills you want. Everyone done with that? Ok. It's the next week and you're sitting in the tavern. An old man comes up to you and says..."

Wait. What's wrong with this picture?

By Teramis

"Sure it's a great adventure, but it just doesn't fit into my world."

How many times have we heard (or said) exactly that? I, for one, have seen many, many intriguing adventure ideas all wrapped up in detailed events, settings, interactions and supporting characters that had zero relationship to my world, my adventures, my characters. To translate the packaged adventure into my own campaign universe seemed a daunting task...until I turned on my logic-brain and learned how to field-strip an adventure.

By John Wommer

It is a sleepy morning in the human city of Dalewood. The humans, who are feeling the mixed blessings of relief and triumph after victory in a drawn out war with their Orcian neighbors, are slowly waking and going about their day. The sun shines, a gentle spring breeze moves through the city when a dull boom and brief rumble moves through the city.

Near the public square, a bakery has exploded in a gigantic blast of fire and heat. Morning crowds of shoppers are thrown like rag dolls, and many are killed or injured. The fire started consumes a half a block of businesses before it is extinguished. In the end, over a hundred are dead, several hundred injured. Authorities determine that the source was a delayed fireball, set sometime during the night in the awning of the bakery.

By John Wommer

I have been involved with RPGs for 26 years now. As a player, DM, retailer, advocate I have had to face unfounded bias and accusation against my hobby and myself. I have been accused of participating in, or being party to, devil worshipping, drug use, sexual immorality, corrupting minors, engaging in witchcraft; I have survived Mazes & Monsters, the kid in the sewers, the killer D&D ninjas, the D&D devil worshippers stealing pets and sacrificing them; I have seen blatant and misleading pamphlets and tracts denouncing D&D without one correct fact or presumption, just stolen artwork; I have been ostracized within my own church, looked upon skeptically by members of my own family. In short, I have openly played, enjoyed, and supported RPGs, especially D&D.

By John Wommer

DM "Ok, I need you to make a skill check, use your Int mod."
Player1 "You mean Int & Cha mod, right?"
DM "Uhm, no. Just Int."
Player 1 "Last week, it was Int & Cha"
Player 2 "No, it was Int & Wis."
DM "Look guys, it was just Int."
Player 3 "Well, the PHB says...."
(all others) "Shut up!"

I played AD&D for 7 years before I decided to DM. One of the biggest problems I had was that I disagreed with a number of rules - many of which I was okay with playing under, but couldn't bring myself to run a game under. The groups I played with had house rules, but they were minor changes and we all just sort of knew them, there was nothing formal.

By Peter E. Aperlo

Congratulations, new GM! You have just been promoted to CEO of Adventure, Inc.! The players are your staff and your combined goal is to put out the best product possible (i.e. an enjoyable gaming experience). Yes, that's how you should think of it—as a job. Sure, the players can sit through a gaming session in a mental fog, munching chips and rolling dice when prompted, but not you. You're in the spotlight, the driver's seat, and the success or failure of Adventure, Inc. rests squarely on your shoulders.
Now that I've scared you with the enormity of your responsibility, perhaps a little business school is in order. If you look at each gaming session as if it were a staff meeting, you can apply some the principles that have been developed in the field of organizational behavior to make your meetings both more productive and enjoyable. Here are a few:

By John Wommer

In a recent survey, d20 Magazine Rack asked for opinions on declining d20 product sales. At the time of this writing, the leading indicator by respondents was "Too many publishers with too many products". Ironically, this response closely resembled an idea I had for GM Perspective when I was accepted to write for the column. So this time, we'll explore a GM's perspective on when too much is, well, too much, and how to make a good choice from the multitude.