The Angry Update: April 2023
Angry’s here with his April content update. And it’s a long-ass update for an important-ass month. Fortunately, it’s also mostly skippable.
What Does Detect Magic Detect?
Just a little digression about magic: detecting it, identifying it, and why D&D’s answers to what can be detected are stupid as hell.
Professor Angry’s Office Hours: Dealing with Problematic Actions
As I made a mess of that last True Game Mastery lesson on Problematic Actions — given the feedback anyway — I’m holding a special study session to answer your questions and clarify my points.
Dealing with Problematic Actions
Action adjudication is pretty straightforward. Except when it’s not. And when a tricky action comes along, Mere Game Executors are stuck executing the game’s pre-programmed code like robots while True Game Masters follow the Three Laws of Game Mastering NonRobotics.
Ask Angry March 2023 Mailbag
The Angry GM is answering more reader-submitted questions this week. And he ain’t holding back.
The Angry Update: March 2023
March is here like a lion and, like a lion, I’m… dropping an update in your savannah. Or something. I don’t know. I didn’t think this analogy through.
The Tao of the Dice
It’s tough to know when to call for a die roll and when not to. And no matter what anyone’s told you — including me — there’s no substitute for good, mature, adult judgment. So throw away your checklists and simple rules and trust your gut.
The Joy of Secrets
You know what players love? Discovering secrets. You know what GMs and game designers hate? Players discovering secrets. That’s kind of messed up; don’t you think?
The Declare-Determine-Describe Cycle
True Game Masters know that nothing breaks a roleplaying game’s flow quite as much as the game’s rules do. So they take a methodical approach to keeping the rules in their place.
Update to the Update to the Update
Articles will be further delayed, but just a little bit. Sorry.
Ask Angry February 2023 Mailbag
The Angry GM is answering your questions today. And he’s answering a lot of them.
An Angry Supplemental Update: February 2023
With Slapdash Alpha Playtest Crunch weighing on me, I’ve had to adjust my schedule. Sorry.
Inviting the Principal PC to Act
A True Game Master paces the game with smooth narration, flowing seamlessly from scene to scene and moment to moment. Unfortunately, a TTRPG is a dialogue, not a monologue, and eventually the players get to kill the pace by talking.
The Angry GM on The Redcaps Podcast
I was invited to sit down and chat on The Redcaps Podcast and shoot the shit about this and that. And that episode’s live now. So give it a listen. And, if you enjoy it, subscribe to The Redcaps Podcast on your platform of choice and check out the archive. It’s pretty cool.
The Angry Update: February 2023
Happy February! Time for all the news that’s fit to get Angry about. That’s right… it’s time for The Angry GM’s February 2023 site update.
Better Narration Through Visualization: A Lifestyle Guide
Narration: the art of telling your players what’s what and who’s where. If you find yourself muddling to provide good Scene-Setting Narration, maybe it’s not your skills that are the problem, maybe it’s your lifestyle. Seriously.
Game Mastering Makes No Sense
True Game Masters take Ownership and Build investment. And those concepts are so vital to Game Mastering that I’m never going to mention them again. And what I do mention won’t make sense. Because GMing is nonsense.
What it Means to Master a Game
I can’t teach you to be a True Game Master — yes, that’s my plan; I love doing the impossible — I can’t teach you to be a True Game Master without telling you what it means to master Game Mastering.
Update to the Update: Everything is Different Thanks to the OGL Crapshow
Everything can change in a day. Especially when our corporate overlords are involved.
Have an Angry New Year: Angry’s 2023 Content Update
It’s 2023. And here at TheAngryGM.com, I plan to grab this year by the lips and yank as hard as I can. Here’s what that means for you, dear reader.
How Chrono Trigger Saves the World (Repost)
Save the World campaigns are pretty divisive. Mostly because GMs always screw them up. Want an example of a great Save the World TTRPG campaign? Look no further than Chrono Trigger, a Super Nintendo game from the 90s.
Why Run Games Anyway: An Angry New Year Story
The New Year is a good time for reflection. Searching the past for the clues that’ll help you find a better future. So, this New Year, Angry invites you to think about why you even do this whole game mastering thing.
The Best and Worst of D&D 5E
Time for clickbait part 2! Here’s the best and worst things 5E has to offer. According to Angry.
The Best and Worst of D&D 3.5
I ain’t a reviewer or a critic. I don’t trash things for easy laughs. I don’t do tier rankings. And I don’t do clickbait lists. In that spirit, he’s my list of the Five Best and Five Worth Things About D&D 3.5.
Fumble Beats Crit
Hot take: fumble mechanics are more valuable than crit mechanics. In fact, crits are only valuable if the monsters are rolling them. But I’m only proving one of those things today.
Chrono Trigger Giveaway Winners Chosen
The winners of the Chrono Trigger giveaway have been selected!
How Chrono Trigger Saves the World
Save the World campaigns are pretty divisive. Mostly because GMs always screw them up. Want an example of a great Save the World TTRPG campaign? Look no further than Chrono Trigger, a Super Nintendo game from the 90s.
What Examples Can’t Show and Designers Don’t Know
When it comes to explaining roleplaying games, there’s a giant, glaring question no one seems to be able to sufficiently and properly answer. And that is: just what the hell does it mean to be a Game Master. And really, that’s the first question anyone must answer before they can teach anyone else how to run games.
My World Has a Sky… And Yours Should Too
Weather, lunar phases, dates, and seasons? Why keep track of that crap in your game? Well, there’s several reasons, but only one that matters.
We Don’t Need Failure States After All
There’s this discussion that happens anytime anyone brings up death, failure, and loss in RPGs online. About how RPG systems should be better at handling failure because it’s so vital in RPGs. And that discussion… is wrong.