Ask Angry: Star Wars, Fate, and Critical Gaming
In this Ask Angry, I explain what it means to be a critical gamer, how I can recommend a system I don’t like, and why I am so damned critical of Fate.
Your Mission is to Start an Adventure
Every adventure needs a beginning. Yeah, I know, it’s exactly that kind of brilliant insight you can’t get anywhere else. So, let’s talk about opening scenes.
Ask Angry: Running New Systems and Owning Your Rules
We’re doing a double feature today. Yes, that’s right, I’m solving TWO dilemmas. It’s An Angry GM Double Problem Episode. An Angry DP. How do you learn a new system and who owns the rules?
No! You Can’t Copy My Notes
“Angry,” they say, “why don’t you show us your game notes! Angry, teach us how to prep. Show us the way.” I CAN’T DO THAT! STOP ASKING!
Ask Angry: I Stop Him from Doing That!
Have you ever had a player declare an action only to have another player try to stop them by force? GMs HATE the phrase “no, wait, I stop him from doing that.” How do you handle it? Let me tell you.
Systematic InterACTION!
A long, long time ago, I promised to teach you a cool, simple system for designing and running social interaction encounters. Well, today’s the day. And it’s only a few years late!
Ask Angry: Starting a Campaign
Leo G. asks a question about what information to hand your players at the start of a new campaign. And he asks it in an absolutely perfect f$&%ing way. I seriously could not ignore this question.
From Tiny Acorns: Branching Adventure Design
Branching adventures are the most common types of adventures. And that’s good, because they are often the BEST adventures. Let me teach you how to do them right. As a bonus, I’ll empower you with bottlenecks and ballooning pyramids. Just don’t think about trees.
Ask Angry: Shops and Magic Items
How do you create shops in D&D? How do you handle the buying and selling of magic items? Thanks to a question from a Care Bear, you can find out.
Traps Suck
Traps suck in D&D. They just do. Which is a shame, because everyone feels like they have to use them. So, if you must have traps, here’s how to make them suck less. BONUS: As a result of a poop, you also get a proposed experimental way to change the rules.
Breaking the Jell-O Mold: Open Adventure Design
Open adventures are woefully misunderstood. Many GMs think they are a panacea for all of your gaming ills. But they aren’t a balm for everything, they require careful implementation, and they aren’t an excuse to skip having a structure.
Jumping the Screen: How to Run Your First RPG Session
Do you have a little voice in the back of your head saying “okay, playing these RPG things is fun and all, but I really want the screen. I want to run games. How do I run games?” Well, this article is for you. This is how to give yourself the best chance to succeed at running your first session of D&D or Pathfinder or Star Wars or whatever.
Coloring Inside the Lines: Linear Adventure Design
Linear adventures are woefully misunderstood. They seem simple to design, but they aren’t. And they seem like they should suck, but they don’t. Stop calling them simple. Stop calling them railroady. Maybe YOU’RE simple and railroady!
Hitting the Rest Button
Why is a short rest one hour long? Can you change that? Can you change the resting rules to change the structure of the game? What other stupid questions can I can answer about resting mechanics in D&D.
Ask Angry: Inspiration, Death Spirals, and Balance
Bonus content: an extra Ask Angry! I consider what books and video games can teach GMs, whether Death Spiral mechanics are any fun, and why you should worry about game balance, but not too much.
Alignment in D&D 5E: S$&% or Get Off the Pot
Alignment doesn’t exist in 5E. It’s vestigial. Practically non-existent. And yet, it’s still there. Why? Because the designers couldn’t take a firm stand on anything. But YOU can. If you hate alignment, get rid of it. It’s easy. But if you LOVE alignment, you can actually make it useful.
Ask Angry: Changing Plots, Dungeon World, and Reskinning
In this week’s Ask Angry, I blitz through three different questions in a desperate attempt to work through the backlog. Is it okay to change plot twists if your players figure things out too early? Can you use the Dungeon World die rolling mechanic in D&D? Is reskinning really that bad?
How to Manage Combat Like a Motherf$&%ing Dolphin
Want to run a fast-paced, exciting combat? It comes down to two things. First, learn how to track initiative. Second, learn about dolphins. Yeah, you heard me.
Ask Angry: It’s Okay to Have Damage Rolls
No one will ever let me actually throw away a “throwaway” remark, will they. Fine, I’ll explain why I once said that damage rolls are weirdly out of place in D&D.
The Shape of Adventure
Did you know adventures come in different shapes? It’s true! And, if you’re going to make your own adventures, you’ve got to get them in shape!
The Third Lesson: Costly Opportunities and Harsh Realities
There are three vital lessons that every GM has to figure out. And figure out sooner rather than later. How to adjudicate actions. How to narrate the game. And the harsh reality that there’s no such thing as making the best decision “for the game.” And also the harsh reality that being a GM pretty much sucks.
Attack of the Genericons: Challenge, Difficulty, and Monster Building
If you’re going to build your own monsters – or even if you you’re just going to run a game – you have to understand what challenge is and how it infuses every game experience. And you also have to understand how it got built into monster design systems. I THOUGHT I’d already covered this, but apparently, we need to really unpack it. So settle in.
Monster Building 202: The D&D Monster Monster Building Lab Practicum
Last week, i dissected the hell out of the D&D Monster Manual and Dungeon Masters Guide to tell you everything you’d ever need to know about how monsters work. This week, we’re going to assemble our own creations! And we’re going to populate the temple of a mad monkey god too. Because why not?
Monster Building 202 Supplement: Monster Building with Angry
This is a supplement to the Monster Building 202 course. Go read that first. Then come back here. It’s a chat between The Angry GM and Twitter frienenmy @Maialideth about how to create a hobgoblin warcaster.
Monster Building 201: The D&D Monster Dissection Lab
It’s like they always say, you have to cut up a lot of bunnies before you learn enough to make a bunny of your own. So welcome to the D&D Monster Dissection Lab. We’re going to cut up a lot of creatures and see how they work. And that’s going to help us make our own creatures.
Monster Building 101: It’s Alive, IT’S ALIVE!
Custom monster building is one of the most useful and versatile tools in the D&D and Pathfinder GM’s toolbox. And notice that I didn’t say “reskinning” or “reflavoring.” Real custom monster building takes effort. And it’s totally worth it. But if you can’t make the effort, don’t f$%&ing bother.
Ask Angry: I’ll Keep My d20
Given the choice, I’ll take a binary dice mechanic over a narrative dice mechanic any day. Why? Because I actually give a s$&% about the story. That’s right. You heard me.
Ask Angry: Thinking Critically
Crit systems – you know, critical hits and fumbles – are ubiquitous. You can’t get an action RPG without them anymore. But they are actually kind of stupid and out of place in most games. Why do they persist? Do you have to have one? And what’s the best way to handle it?
I Can’t Abbreviate This Article But I Can Abbreviate a Stat Block
Can we abbreviate a D&D 5E Stat Block enough to include monster stats inline with the adventure? Without creating a layout nightmare or wasting huge amounts of page space? The answer is yes. Can we abbreviate the discussion about user interface design and how it relates to RPGs and why it’s important? Hell no!
Ask Angry: Creativity Workout
I don’t shy away from had questions. So, if you ask me “how do I get more creative,” I’ll give you an answer. It’ll be a bulls$&% answer filled with stupid analogies about weight lifting and nutrition, but it’ll be an answer. A CREATIVE answer.