Illusions are Bullshit… But Actually They’re Not

Sometimes, all it takes is one remark to set me off. And this time, I saw one remark about how to handle illusions. I didn’t read the actual remark or the hours of discussion around it, but I have opinions nonetheless.

Resolving Social Interactions: Social Conflict Not Really Defined

Now that I’ve wasted thousands of words and several hours laying the groundwork for portraying NPCs, it’s time for me to lay the groundwork for resolving social encounters. Or rather, social conflicts. Because there’s still no such thing as a social encounter.

Ask Angry July 2023 Mailbag

It’s time to dig back into the Font of Frustration that is The Ask Angry Mailbag! Why the hell can’t people follow basic instructions?

Professor Angry’s Office Hours: How Players Play

Put your books and syllabusi away, kids. We need to settle some things before we go any further. It’s time you either believe me or you get out. Because you can’t run an NPC if you don’t believe everything I’ve said so far. And you can run social and stealth scenes without NPCs.

… and Scene

Now that I’ve explained Macrochallenges — whether you understood them or not — I can finally defend a choice I made years ago that many of you still haven’t forgiving: why I stopped calling Non-Encounters Scenes.

The Angry Update: July 2023

Although the Midyear update covered July, there’s a couple of things I have finagle a little due to my own scheduling dumbassery.

Ask Angry June 2023 Mailbag

It’s time once again to dig into the well of stupid that never runs dry. Yes, it’s mailbag time again.

Stop Hacking… Mic Drop

In today’s ranty bullshit screed, I declare myself the winner of three different arguments about Hacking.

The Angry 2023 Midyear Update

I know it’s a bit early for an update — June isn’t even over yet — but the next six months are going to require a bit of a course correction and you deserve to know about it.

It’s a Trap!

It’s time for yet another lesson in resolving Encounters wherein I apply the same shit I’ve already taught you something like ten times to a specific in-game situation and claim I’m teaching you something new. This times, it’s traps and hazards.

Ask Angry May 2023 Mailbag

Once again, The Angry GM digs into his mailbag and, with his characteristic patience and charity, answers some reader-submitted questions.

Oh, No! More Macrochallenge Bullshit

I really effed up that Attrition Macrochallenge thing, didn’t I? Don’t think so? Well, all the questions and comments I’m dealing with certainly say I did. So let me try that shit again.

The Angry Update: June 2023

It’s the start of a new month and that means it’s time for a monthly update. Here’s what to expect this month.

How to Manage Combat Like a True Game Master

In the second of two True Game Mastery lessons about resolving Combat, I spend half the lesson teaching you how to use what you already know better. And then I teach you something new.

Maybe You Just Don’t GET Attrition

It’s Random Bullshit time. Today, I’m bullshitting about challenge, difficulty, stupid game masters, and why attrition is the most brilliant mechanic ever invented.

Roll Initiative!

In the first of two True Game Mastery lessons about resolving combat, I teach you nothing. Because I already taught you everything you need to know to start combat right. You just don’t know it yet.

Everyone Doing Everything All At Once

True Game Mastery requires balance. True Game Masters know they can’t impose strict and arbitrary turn-and-time-based limits on their characters actions, but neither can they allow totally temporal anarchy. How do they manage complex strings of actions from multiple characters then? I’ll show you.

Definitely Not the Last Word on Dice Swing

Ever since I dropped a side remark about how the swinginess of the d20 was a bullshit nonissue, I’ve heard from literally severals of people asking me to expand. So I expanded. Holy crap did I ever expand.

How to Run Encounters… NOT!

This is the start of a series of True Game Mastery lessons about running different kinds of Encounters. Except it’s not. Because Encounters aren’t what you think they are.