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.

Stop Hacking… Mic Drop

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.