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.
The Best and Worst of D&D 3.5
I ain’t a reviewer or a critic. I don’t trash things for easy laughs. I don’t do tier rankings. And I don’t do clickbait lists. In that spirit, he’s my list of the Five Best and Five Worth Things About D&D 3.5.
Fumble Beats Crit
Hot take: fumble mechanics are more valuable than crit mechanics. In fact, crits are only valuable if the monsters are rolling them. But I’m only proving one of those things today.
How Chrono Trigger Saves the World
Save the World campaigns are pretty divisive. Mostly because GMs always screw them up. Want an example of a great Save the World TTRPG campaign? Look no further than Chrono Trigger, a Super Nintendo game from the 90s.
What Examples Can’t Show and Designers Don’t Know
When it comes to explaining roleplaying games, there’s a giant, glaring question no one seems to be able to sufficiently and properly answer. And that is: just what the hell does it mean to be a Game Master. And really, that’s the first question anyone must answer before they can teach anyone else how to run games.
My World Has a Sky… And Yours Should Too
Weather, lunar phases, dates, and seasons? Why keep track of that crap in your game? Well, there’s several reasons, but only one that matters.
We Don’t Need Failure States After All
There’s this discussion that happens anytime anyone brings up death, failure, and loss in RPGs online. About how RPG systems should be better at handling failure because it’s so vital in RPGs. And that discussion… is wrong.
Gaming on the Clock: Running a Game in a Time Slot
Sometimes, a GM has to fit an entire gaming experience in a single, limited time slot. And a GM has to do some ugly, ugly things to make that happen.
Presentation Matters
Let’s complain about a how a twelve-year-old game’s brilliant ideas were marred by the language used to communicate them. Because that’s a GOOD use of my time.
The Big Boneyard Beach Battle: An Angry Table Tale
Angry, asked everyone, how did you run that giant battle on the beach between the skeletons, the sailor NPCs, and the PCs? Even my players asked me how I did it. Well, I’ll tell you how I did it. If you’re sure you really want to know.
Ask Angry October 2022 Mailbag
Once again, Angry opens the mailbag and answers some reader questions.
Introducing: Your Character
It turns out that it’s actually important for players to periodically describe their characters to the group. Unfortunately, players suck at everything. Especially describing characters. Fortunately, I wrote a script you can force them to follow.
Nonsucky Milestones and Robot Skeletons: An Angry Table Tale
It’s time for a Table Tale with a twist. This one’s about robot skeletons and skeleton skeletons and how I learned to stop worrying and start hating milestone advancement very slightly less.
Well Begun is Half Done
How you start your game determines how it goes. And that doesn’t just affect you, it affects your players. Fortunately, Angry’s got a startup script you can install in your GM brain.
What if Your Players Don’t Want To?
I’ve been pushing GMs to turn all the bookkeeping and character maintenance crap in D&D into a game of its own. Or rather, into a part of the game at the table. But many GMs have raised a question: what if their players don’t want to do that crap.
What Training Looks Like and Why It Matters
One of the most important Townbuilding tools, believe it or not, has to do with Training. And that’s why it’s such a problem that no one knows what PC Training looks like.
Ask Angry August Mailbag
It’s time for another dig into the grab bag that is the Ask Angry mailbox.
How to Corrupt a Warlock (Or Anyone Else)
So, how does one go about turning a warlock — or any PC — to the Dark Side? In what will likely prove to be the most divisive and controversial post I’ve ever written, I’ll tell you…
There’s No Such Thing as a Skill Challenge
In this rambling pile of bulls$&%, I complain about a forgotten piece of 4E mechanics and how it never should have been brought into 5E. Which it wasn’t.
Strategy, Tactics, and Teamwork for Dummies Teaching Dummies (Part I)
Do you want your players to think strategically, act tactically, and play as a team? Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is I can help. The bad news is you’ve got some hard work to do.
Tutorializing the Hard Way
If there’s one thing people ask me a lot, it’s how to get their players to. So, I’m going to teach you a great trick for getting your players to. You’re just not going to like it.
Town Mode: What Happens in Town Mode
It’s time to explore Town Mode once again. But before you waste too much time on this s$&%, you might want to know why it’s actually worth it.
Town Mode Lesson 1: Town with a Capital T
On the heels of Let’s Start a Simple Homebrew Campaign, it’s time for a new masterclass. This one about building, running, and playing in town. Or rather Town.
Why Are There So Many People in the Angryverse?
After posting several Angry Table Tales — well, two — I’ve been asked by numerous people — well, two — why there are so many NPCs in the Angryverse. Here’s my answer.
The Lumberjack Social Boss Fight
It’s time for another tale of grand, epic adventure from the Angryverse. But first… If I’m going to keep sharing these Angry Table Tales, there’s something we’ve got to iron out. Especially if you’re one of my players. Current or former. Thing is, I reuse a lot of s$&%. I mean, obviously, I reuse the…
Ask Angry: Random Documents and Audio Logs
In this week’s Ask Angry, Angry tackles a question about doling out random documents and audio logs.
S$&% I Don’t Hate: Arora: Age of Desolation and Carrion
I’ve discovered two things I don’t hate this week. One’s a D&D 5E Kickstarter project with intriguing exploration mechanics — or so it claims — and the second’s an exploration-based platformer where you’re the xenomorph and not the hapless space marine.
Tarot for Adventure Building Dummies
Once upon a time, I promised I’d show you a cool way to build an adventure by casting a Tarot Spread. And here I am to do just that.
Tarot for GMing Dummies
Once upon a time, I said that not only did I once learn to read the Tarot as a hobby, but that it made me a better GM. And for that reason, I said you should learn to read the Tarot. Well, you demanded I explain myself. So here I am.