Why You Can’t Interrupt Your Players
In another article I absolutely don’t want to write, I explain why not being able to boss your players around isn’t a lack of Game Mastering skill, it’s a personality defect. That should go over big.
Tactical Infiltration Action
It’s time for the long, lost, missing Encounter resolution lesson: how to resolve stealth actions and infiltration scenes. And after you read it, you’ll totally understand why I tried to cut it from the roster. Dumbasses.
Shallow Kombat!
“Angry,” everyone keeps asking me, “how can I fix D&D’s shallow-seeming, boring combat?” Well, here’s your answer: “You can’t! But maybe you shouldn’t!”
Ask Angry November 2023 Mailbag
Another month is over. And as I look to the fresh hell of yet another new page on the calendar, I consign myself to the stale hell of responding to reader-submitted questions.
Note Taking for Gaming Fun and Profit
After many long years of refusing, I’m finally revealing the truth: just how do you take good game session notes. The answer isn’t what you think and you’re not going to like it. Which is pretty much standard for me.
How to Teach An Old GM a New System
Experienced Game Master suck at learning new TTRPG systems. But then, game publishers suck at teaching new TTRPG systems. It’s a match made in hell. Fortunately, Angry is here to help.
True Campaign Managery Course Introduction and Outline
With this new, ongoing series of lessons, I — the Angry GM — intend to teach you everything you need to know to keep a Campaign alive until you grant it the sweet mercy of death.
Ask Angry October 2023 Mailbag
Another month, another monthly Ask Angry mailbag, and another batch of people who can’t just ask a simple, straightforward question without treating me like a moron.
A Very Special Ask Angry Episode: Help! My GM is a Tyrant!
In this very special Ask Angry episode, I explore the view from the other side of the screen. What can a player do when their GM goes to The Angry GM for advice.
Resolving Social Actions
It’s time to wrap up this whole How to Run a Game Like a True Game Master thing by explaining how to Determine and Describe the Outcome of Social Actions in Social Encounters. And how to portray non-player characters properly.
Ask Angry September 2023 Mailbag
To end the month, let’s open the gift that keeps on giving — or keeps threatening to give me an aneurism — the Ask Angry mailbag.
Mastering the Thousand Cuts
As I didn’t die in a fiery conflagration, I owe you a real lesson on the Art of the Cutaway. Here it is. Maybe next time, I’ll get lucky.
Professor Angry’s Office Hours: The Art of the Cutaway
Time for a brief aside to answer a question from Aspiring True Game Master Sloth about managing the Action Queue when parties split themselves between scenes or tasks and an introduction to an art you already know.
Declaring Your Players’ Social Actions
It’s time for the actual, practical advice portion of the “resolving action scenes” lesson. And you did not read that title wrong. Because the first practical thing you’ve got to learn is that True Game Masters declare their players’ social actions for them. I shit you not.
Ask Angry August 2023 Mailbag
Ending the month with another few pulls from the grab bag of content goodness that is the mailbag.
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 Game Masters Don’t Play
Let’s continue the discussion from last week and explore how Game Masters don’t roleplay. Ever.
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.
Angry Story Time: The Big Battle Example
I promised you a long-ass, comprehensive example of a fully narrated battle. So here it is. Enjoy.
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.