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New Episode Out Now!
If you have ever played a TTRPG, or partook in a campaign, you likely have a few stories on times you really got into it. Those moments are vital and important to the TTRPG experience,
In the newest episode, out now, we discuss advice and tips on how to make it more likely that your sessions are remembered. Get it now, wherever you can find podcasts!
When you GM a table how do you keep the band together?
🎶 THE RPG BAND COMPOSITION TOOL
Your RPG Group Is a Band — Here’s How to Make It Work
Most RPG advice focuses on rules or GM technique. But the real reason campaigns thrive or collapse is simpler:
Your RPG group is a band. Every player is a musician. They being a way to play as an expression of self. The game you choose is the venue.
If the band and the venue don’t match, the campaign falls apart.
Here’s my full taxonomy.
🎤 THE MUSICIAN ARCHETYPES
David Bowie — Universalist
Björk — Experimentalist
Zack de la Rocha (Rage Against the Machine) — Ideologue
James Hetfield — (Metallica) Crunch Technician
Jack White — OSR Improviser
Taylor Swift — Narrative Pop Star
Kate Bush — Mythic Dreamer
Brian Eno — Ambient Worldbuilder
Dee Dee Ramone — Gamist Loop Player
Prince — Multi‑Instrumentalist
🎭 THE VENUE TYPES (with example games)
Crunch Venue
Pathfinder 2e • Shadowrun 5e • GURPS • D&D 5e: Structured, tactical, build‑driven. Best for: Hetfield
OSR Venue
Old‑School Essentials • Dungeon Crawl Classics • Shadowdark: Dangerous, improvisational, rulings‑not‑rules. Best for: Jack White
Narrative Venue (PBTA / FitD)
Apocalypse World • Blades in the Dark • Band of Blades: Fiction‑first, dramatic, thematic. Best for: Taylor, Björk, Zack
Mythic / Atmospheric Venue
Mörk Borg • Heart • Wanderhome: Symbolic, poetic, surreal. Best for: Kate Bush, Eno
Gamist Venue
Knave • The Black Hack • Maze Rats: Fast loops, simple rules. Best for: Dee Dee
Cozy Venue
Wanderhome • Ryuutama • Tea Dragon Society RPG: Gentle, low‑pressure. Best for: Bowie, Taylor
Exploration Venue
Cairn • Into the Odd • Electric Bastionland: Discovery‑driven, procedural. Best for: Jack White, Eno
Simulationist Venue
GURPS • HarnMaster • RuneQuest: Realism, internal consistency. Best for: Hetfield, Prince
⚠️ THE COLLAPSE THRESHOLD
1 mismatch → friction
2 mismatches → unstable
3+ mismatches → collapse
GM can only fix ONE mismatch (remember the GM is a player too)
🎼 THE TAKEAWAY
Book the right venue, make sure the band can play in harmony and your campaign will sing.
Going to try to do RPGaDay 2025. We're going to try to get caught up asap.
Game Masters, especially the ones just starting out need lots of love and understanding. Today I want to look at encounters. What are they and what do they do for us? The fun has to start somewhere.
I start to "Hulk up" when I hear about a "Dungeon Master/Game Master shortage." It only takes one person to step up and run a game. The price is wrong, BOB! I don't need a fancy 2025 D&D Beginner's Boxed Set to learn how to be a DM or be told the DM is now obsolete! We're here to stay, Brother!
Game Master Advice: Ditch the Stat Block.
Sometimes all it takes to run a good fantasy game is a d20 and a little bit of improvisation. Come with me on a brief dive into minimalist d20 fantasy roleplaying.
Leave the books in your bag if you can. Preface: This advice is mostly intended for veteran, long term GMs. I wouldn’t recommend some of this starting out, but please take what is useful to you. There’s no right or wrong way here. It’s also important to note this technique has been around for decades. I first read about it in XDM by Tracy Hickman. I believe Robin D. Laws may have mentioned it in…
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Continuity in Fantasy TTRPGs.
Talking a bit about what a GM can do if/when holiday break comes around. Sometimes we even get lucky and the players come back. Sometimes a year or two later.
GM Tips for keeping a game going for years. The holidays are upon us and some TTRPG campaigns go on hiatus for the season. Some, sadly, do not return from the break. There are ways to get the band back together even after a long break of even a year or more. Family and friends are an important part of the holiday season regardless of what cultural traditions one embraces. Some of us don’t have…
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A logistical guide for the first time GM (2)
In the second of this series, I talk about the practical things to include in a pitch and session zero
So, in part 1, I covered the logistics of the “when” and “how many” of your game. As a first-time GM you’re going to need to “set out your stall” and say what it’s about. 2. The Pitch and “Session Zero” A “pitch” is the sales technique where you explain the basic proposition of your game. The style of your pitch and the things you choose to include in it will evoke responses in your players…
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