If you’ve been following my story, you know I ended up missing the PAX Prime DM Challenge this year. I spent a huge amount of time designing my encounters and building my maps. This article is the first in a 3 part series detailing the encounters and maps I built. The theme for the DM Challenge was “Dungeon of Horrors.” The idea …


I was sitting in front of the computer in my least dirty bathrobe with a cup of coffee when the tweet flashed across the upper corner on my screen. @KoboldQuarterly: The new King of the Monsters has been crowned! All hail the horakh, and keep your eye on it! http://cot.ag/9IUVid. It’s finally official! My entry in Kobold …

In preparation for the DM Challenge at PAX Prime, I thought it would be a cool idea to incorporate the monster I designed for Kobold Quarterly’s King of Monsters 2 contest called the horakh. I looked through my garbage bags full of minis – YES! I have a sickness – but I couldn’t find quite the right fit. I needed something memorable. This is the DM Challenge after all! The current champion is none other …

Sound is common in gaming. Many gamers play background music to get them in the mood. I’m going to go over some tips and techniques for bringing sound to the next level at the game table. Sound should complement your story, but not intrude on the gaming experience. If you are constantly being distracted by clicking buttons and adjusting knobs, you won’t be able to focus on running the game. I’ll show…

Gamers love puzzles. Even better – gamers like challenging puzzles. In my far out alternate modern world of cyberpunk, the gaming PCs became engrossed in their first “real” puzzle of the campaign. The best thing about it was that not only was it a “real” challenge – but it used real modern technology…

Everyone knows what metagaming is, but what the hell is metagamemastering? When I use the term, I am referring to the technical elements you employ to enhance the gaming experience outside of the rules. This could be custom handouts or maps, a prop, dimming the light or using a sound effects board. It is completely rules agnostic. Think of it as gaming with production values.

… after reading through several source books (including Burrows & Bunnies), my mind ran rampant with extreme possibilities. I became determined to pull together a cyberpunk campaign that would leave the players wet and gasping for breath. I merged cheap modern day technology with a complete set of game world rules to fashion a fun and immersive experience.

Skill challenges are a strange beast. Either they are really fun or they are a painful, awkward experience. When I first started running skill challenges, I attributed this to bad writing or poor gamemastering. I no longer think this is the case. The skill challenge system is just clunky. The underlying principle is sound. Reward players for non-combat related encounters. But the mechanics get…

I recently moved from California to Washington state. I lost a great group of gaming friends, but I’ve managed to get a new game going in only a few months. The only problem is I don’t know these people very well. I don’t know what their hobbies are outside of gaming. I don’t know what TV shows they watch. I’m not entirely sure what interests or motivates them. A couple times I have thrown…

I’m a big fan of any technology that makes my game run faster. Wizards of the Coast really hit the ball out of the park with their Character Builder. You can churn out five characters in the time it takes to make a single character by hand. It also makes it very easy to tweak your character build and try out different options. The character sheet is concise and easy to read, but I do have one…