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.

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?

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.

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.

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 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.

A published module seems like it should take no prep at all, right? Well, if you’ve ever run one, you know that’s a lie. Published modules can take a LOT of prep work. Even worse, it’s not always clear HOW to prepare. Unless you’re a genius like me. Or you read this article.

How do you build atmosphere at the table? I’ll tell you how you don’t. You don’t use a motherf$&%ing soundtrack. Sorry Battlebards. Seriously. Building a consistent, engrossing ambiance is not as hard as it seems. It’s just another one of those things no one ever thinks about.

It may shock you to learn that I don’t hate 13th Age. And that’ve I’ve played and run 13th Age. And that I can give you good advice about, hypothetically, how to use Icon Relationship Rolls in your game better. Because, as I’ve previously mentioned, I’m awesome.

I don’t HATE sandboxes. It’s just that people suck at doing sandboxes. And people don’t even know what sandboxes are. And sandbox is a stupid word. ARGH!

There’s this complex, math-laden analysis out there ‘proving’ resting in 5E forces a particular adventure structure. And it doesn’t matter a bit. The Angry GM explains.

How do you run a good mystery game rather than a good game about a mystery? And what’s the difference? Read to find out and then post your s$%&y, wrong, alternate advice in the comments.

Why are thieves so antisocial? And what do you do when they steal from the party?

Psionics sucks. Let me explain.

Never point your GMing gun at something if you’re not willing to pull the trigger. In this edition of Ask Angry, I help a desperate GM plan for failure.

Charisma sucks! Intelligence sucks! What to do about it? NOTHING! … Unless you’re willing to write your own RPG from the ground up.

How do you make the wilderness actually matter? You have to f$&%ing work at it. Just like everything in RPGs. Shocking, I know.

In this installment of Ask Angry, I field questions about how alignment works in the Angryverse (when I’m not too lazy to give a f$&%) and how to figure out how to use my Paragon Monster rules with the ludicrously over complicated encounter balancing system in D&D 5E.

Traps suck, but you have to do them. So, here’s some ideas about the least worst ways to deal with traps.

On paragon dragons, PC-on-PC interaction, and starting RPGs with solid premises.

The Angry GM answers questions about pushing players out of their comfort zone and how to fix your GMing mistakes.

Should GMs let players play evil PCs? Do GMs have any say in what the players play at all? The Angry GM answers. Spoiler alert: there’s a no and a yes.

Kevin M. asks hypothetical questions about a hypothetical RPG. And asks, hypothetically, how that hypothetical RPG might answer the hypothetical question of classes. I’m NOT writing a game, people. When the f$&% would I have the time for that!?

Another installment of Ask Angry. This time, a kind of new GM asks about Perception, Insight, Passive Skills, and Knowledge.

How do you start a new campaign? Should you play the D&D Adventure System Games? Ask Angry and ye shall receive answers.

This week, in Ask Angry, I tell you how to deal with players that have broken your game with psychic super powers so they can never be lied to or betrayed.

Welcome to the first ever installment of my new weekly advice column: Ask Angry! That’s right. Every week I’ll take a question or two someone has sent me and I’ll answer it. With advice. Hence: advice column. Obviously. If you want to ask a question, e-mail me at TheAngryGameMaster@gmail.com and put Ask Angry in the subject line. If you don’t put Ask Angry in the subject like, I’ll punch you. And ignore your question. And punch you.