Why are some parts of tabletop roleplaying games so weirdly hard to handle: social interactions, traps, wilderness travel, downtime, and lots of other crap that should be core fantasy adventure gameplay. The problem isn’t bad mechanics, but missing mental models. There just aren’t any conceptual tools that help Dungeon Masters and players understand how the world works, make strategic choices, and actually play the parts of Dungeons & Dragons that shouldn’t be nearly as hard as they are.

Box text seems like it should help Dungeon Masters run better Dungeons & Dragons adventures, but it hurts games and Game Masters a lot more than you might thing. Let me tell you why read-aloud text weakens scene-setting, kills pacing, overloads players, and keeps GMs from building one of their most important skills at the table. Whether you’re using published modules or writing your own adventures, it’s time for you to quit your dependence on box text.

A Dungeon Master does not merely draw a dungeon. Not if they care at all about actual, good game design. I’ve already showed you how to plan out a pretty good Dungeons & Dragon dungeon adventure. Now I’m going to show you how to make a pretty good dungeon map. And, as a bonus, how to turn a realistic floor plan into a good gameplay experience. It’s all to do with a trick called blockout.

Any idiot can run a game. Trust me, I've played lots of games run by lots of idiots. But True Game Masters build their players' Investment and take full Ownership of the game. And this 25-part, year-long course will tell you exactly how to do that.

Want to learn how to twist, bend, break, and rebuild the rules of your game to your liking? Want to see a bunch of new rules and systems created by The Angry GM? Start here on the path to becoming a hack like The Angry GM himself.

Do you want to read war stories and recaps from The Angry GM’s campaigns? And then listen while he explains why he does the crap he does at his table? Check out these articles for practical game-table examples and a peek behind Angry's screen.

Want to read a bunch of random useless gamer theory bulls$%&? If you really want to, these articles are loaded with useless bulls$&%.

Do you want to see The Angry GM berate a bunch of hapless GMs just like you just because they dared to ask a question? Want to ask a question yourself? Start here to read the Angriest Advice Column about gaming on the web.

Every so often, the Angry GM stumbles on something — a book, a game, a system, a blog, whatever — that is so utterly and amazingly not s$&% that he’s forced to admit he doesn’t actually hate it. Even though he didn’t create it himself, he doesn’t hate that thing. And that’s worth talking about.

Want to dig back through every article the Angry GM has ever posted? Mostly? In order? This archives the place to do it.

Love the site? Wish you could somehow get all the best bits of advice and read them anywhere? Even places with no internet? Even while pooping? Well, now you can. In book form!

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