Ask Angry: Oh No, More Answers

It’s time for yet another Ask Angry blitz! And the first two questions I answer are a little bit of site news. And then I answer real questions. Yay!

Here Comes Tagalong: Henchmen, Allies, and DMPCs

Tagalongs: NPCs that join the party. They are often derided, frequently misunderstood, and rarely used well. Because people are dumba$&es. Which is sad because Tagalongs are a GREAT Tool for your GMing Toolbox!

Dear GMs: Metagaming is YOUR Fault

Well, it happened again. Another week on Twitter, another fight about why metagaming is bulls&$%. But what is metagaming? And why is it a waste of time to worry about it? Well, I’ll f$&%ing tell you.

What Even is an NPC (And How to Do Them Right)

Building compelling NPCs is a tricky, tricky business. And it’s made even trickier by the fact that people don’t even REALLY understand what NPCs are. That’s a shame, because good NPCs are literally the key to emotional investment in games.

Ask Angry Megablitz 4: Aberrants and Amnesiacs

It’s time to clear out more of the massive backlog of Ask Angry questions. Today, I tell people how to pull off some interesting campaign ideas about aberrations and amnesiacs. And also we talk a lot about what makes horror horrible and why I hate Lovecraft.

Previously, On The Angry GM: The Art of the Recap

GMs suck at giving recaps. They give too much information or too little information or the wrong information or they make it boring or they let the dumba&$ players do it or they do it by e-mail. Recaps are a very powerful that no GM understands, let alone uses well. Except me. Because I’m a genius.

When Episodes Ain’t Episodes: How to Structure a Session

Tabletop RPG sessions are a lot like TV shows. The problem is the one very important way in which they are not at all like TV shows. If you always want to leave your players hungry for more, you have to learn how to structure your SESSIONS like episodes, NOT your adventures.

Ask Angry Soloblitz: Reflecting on D&D 4E

I know you should never give an opinion about an ex- in a public forum, but it’s been six years now since I broke up with 4th Edition and it’s time to talk about why our relationship had to end.

Save vs. Lawsuit: How To Publish D&D Content

Have you been using my tips to create your own original content? Do you want to publish your content? Do you want to maybe even SELL your content? Great. Just don’t get your a$& sued. Fortunately, the OGL and the DMs Guild can help. If you know how to use them.

Ask Angry May Madness Superblitz

In the first ever Ask Angry Superblitz, we’ll answer a bunch of questions that have been piling up in the ole inbox! Enjoy!

I’m Making This Up As I Go: Pulling Story Out of Your A$%

The problem with players is that they always want to run around and do things in your game. Things you weren’t ready for. Or ask questions you don’t have answers for. And sometimes, even your own brain will turn against you and demand you add a crazy idea to your game. So how do you change the story of your game on the fly?

Tone Policing Sir Bearington

We tell a lot of funny stories about gaming. But just because a story is funny doesn’t mean its good advice. In fact, most funny stories are funny because they aren’t good gaming. It all comes down to tone.

I’m Making This Up As I Go

Improvisation is the single most important thing that can utterly ruin your game if you f$&% it up. It’s also widely considered to be unteachable by f$&%ing sissies who are afraid of working at things. Not me. Let’s embark on a series to teach you how to improvise, why it’s important, and why you shouldn’t.

We’ve Got Fighting Spirit, How About You?

Have you ever wondered why players let their characters die? And why every fight must be a fight to the death? Its because hit points are stupid and people don’t die at 0 HP anymore. But don’t worry. I fixed it.

Keeping Pace

Pacing: it’s one of those words that everyone thinks they know. And they don’t. Let’s talk about Pacing, Flow, and how to build a good pace into your adventure.

Ask Angry: Seeing in the Dark

Is darkvision overpowered? Underpowered? How are races even balanced? And what the hell is Al actually TRYING to ask me?

Death Sucks

Lots of things piss me off. But one thing pisses me off more than any other for the purposes of this article: when people ask me how to punish PC death. Isn’t death punishment enough? Why do GMs have such a hard time dealing with death?

Ex***tion and Information Management

Tabula rasa is the philosophical belief that every player enters your game stupid. And if you don’t want them to stay that way, you’d better learn how to use your scene-building knowledge to manage information.

Ask Angry: Unsucking Mazes

Mazes suck in D&D. They just do. But you can’t say a thing like that and NOT have some f$&%er demand you explain how to make them not suck. Fine. Let’s take the suck out of “mazes suck.”

How to Code a Scene

Let’s travel back to a bygone era when the modems were measured in bauds and the online role-playing games didn’t have any graphics and discover how old The Angry GM actually is and how much of a massive nerd he is. Oh, we’ll also learn the basics of designing RPG scenes.

How Can This Be True?

Every creator eventually has some dips$&% ask them “where do you get your ideas?” It’s a stupid question. And it’s the reason more people aren’t creators. Do you want to know where I get my ideas? I make them! From my brain!

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.

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.