prep
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3 tips for preparing better narrative play in your DnD sessions
I often see people asking about what they need to prepare for their RPG or DnD session, and though what needs to be prepared depends on the system and the group, here are 3 tips to help you prepare for narrative play in any of your games. Create some questions to ask your players when Continue reading
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I Tried Node-Based Design in my Mystery TTRPG Campaign, Here is What I Learned
Node-based design was created by Justin Alexander of the Alexandrian and was, primarily, a method for planning and running mystery ttrpg campaigns. Though it can be divisive in the ttrpg community, I was planning to run a mystery campaign in Night’s Black Agents and I did not believe my usual method would work. I thought Continue reading
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Cognitive Load Theory in Roleplaying Games
Cognitive load theory is the idea that our working memory is imposed by the complexity and distracting elements of new information before we start to make connections. In roleplaying games, complex and distracting elements of new information can result in a loss of player engagement. In this post, I briefly describe cognitive load theory, how Continue reading
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How to create a NPC for your RPG campaigns
For me, NPCs are the heart of my RPG campaigns and the manner in which I create a NPC for my RPGs has changed over the past two campaigns. Now, no matter what system I use, my NPCs will always include four key elements: a drive, threat, dilemma, and conflict. Originally inspired by an RPGgeek Continue reading
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Web DM Campaign Tracker and Blades in the Dark Clocks
One element of my planning for my TTRPG campaigns that I have yet to formalise or implement a tool for is campaign tracking. Jim Davis recently described a campaign tracker he uses in planning for his sessions over on the Web DM YouTube channel and I think pairing it with a Kanban board alongside Blades Continue reading
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Using Tanglegrams for Dungeon Crawling
Dungeon crawling has been the standard game structure for many roleplaying games for a long time. During this time people have presented all manners of preparing them from a series of randomly generated encounter tables for every room or corridor to entire algorithms that generate the dungeons and its mundane contents. Some game masters run… Continue reading
About Me
An ARPIA award-winning Australian tabletop roleplaying game designer.
Find MY GAMES on itch.io or DrivethruRPG.com
Top Posts
- How to improve player engagement in roleplaying games using questions
- Frame scenes in your roleplaying games with the inverted pyramid
- Cognitive load theory in roleplaying games
- Kaiju generator
- How to write a backstory for a DnD character
- How to create a NPC for your RPG campaigns
- How to play a solo RPG (Ultimate Guide)
The Bardic Inquiry 