The problem with letting your fans pick the topic is that they don’t have to actually worry about whether the topic they pick actually has a useful article in it. What do they care? They don’t have to write this crap. So here’s a post about mimics or whatever.

In this month’s Fanservice BS, I look at how to make race and culture actually matter. Whatever the hell that means.

It’s time for my first ever Fanservice BS, wherein I post the rant my Patreon supporters wanted to hear. Today’s topic: why I hate ability scores in D&D 5E.

After four years of missing it, I decided to participate in David Chapman’s #RPGaDay blog carnival discussion thing. And, because I’m me, I decided to do the entire thing in one day at the last minute. Enjoy.

Is there any value to hidden content in D&D? Not just optional content, but actual, concealed, hard to find, totally missable content? Of course there is.

Conflict lies at the heart of every story. And when we think of conflict, we think of the struggle between good and evil. Especially in D&D. But what if I told you that good and evil aren’t in conflict at all? And that D&D alignment is complete and utter gibberish that never made any sense?

It’s time for a random pile of bulls$&% from the brain of the Angry GM. Today’s steamer is about clock speeds, decision points, why D&D runs at two different speeds, and how the designers of RPGs really need to figure that s$&% out better. Don’t worry, this has nothing to do with Time Pools.

Here it is: the awaited solution to the Infamous Angry Riddle Solution. Enjoy. Hahaha. Just kidding. You’re going to hate it. And I’m not sorry.

Once upon a time, six years ago, I ran a contest on my website. And people were furious. As a fun bit of bonus content, here’s the story and the logic puzzle that infuriated my budding fanbase.

I wanted to write about NPCs, but so many people argued about whether RPGs were winnable and whether they needed goals that I had to explain to everyone why they are and they do. And then I had to explain why Fiasco isn’t an RPG.

Just because someone wrote something, that doesn’t mean they know anything about it. Gygax is no more trustworthy about RPGs than anyone else. Especially when it comes to the importance of rules.

Should a GM get paid to run games? That’s the latest ridiculous internet argument I got to witness. But, believe it or not, it’s actually worth weighing in on. At least, I think it is. So here I go.

I’m feeling reflective. Let’s reflect on some design elements from D&D 4E that definitely shouldn’t have been left out of 5E that can definitely make you a better monster builder.

Like Quark closely examining Morn’s hidden stash in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode Who Mourns for Morn, if you look too closely at the treasure system in D&D, you’ll find someone has extracted all of the value and there’s nothing left but worthless gold.

This article is about basic probability, dice, and statistics in D&D and other RPGs. I love this s$&% and I think it’s important and useful to understand. So, let’s use math to answer some questions about dice rolling in RPGs. Or not. Next week, I’m back to talking about NPCs, so you can skip this one if you want.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

“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!

Alignment doesn’t exist in 5E. It’s vestigial. Practically non-existent. And yet, it’s still there. Why? Because the designers couldn’t take a firm stand on anything. But YOU can. If you hate alignment, get rid of it. It’s easy. But if you LOVE alignment, you can actually make it useful.

Can we abbreviate a D&D 5E Stat Block enough to include monster stats inline with the adventure? Without creating a layout nightmare or wasting huge amounts of page space? The answer is yes. Can we abbreviate the discussion about user interface design and how it relates to RPGs and why it’s important? Hell no!

Are you going to GenCon for the first time? Great! Are you a super-popular blogger or podcaster or game writer? No? Let me tell you how to do it under 7,500 words.

I throw down with NPC Aaron of the NPC Cast about selfish players and the true meaning of the word “metagame.”

So, there are eight kinds of fun, right? RIGHT?! How do you bring the right ones to your table and keep everyone happy? You read this f$&%ing article and do what it says.

Every player and game master sits down to the table for a different reason. Or a different combination of reasons. And understanding the reason why people play is the key to get them to keep coming back. If you want people coming back (for some sick reason), you need this article.

Happy motherf$&%ing new year. Read this article and write your own GMing credo. Get a grip on why you run games, what you want out of them, and write down all of the unwritten rules you follow so you can go ahead and just start calling them ‘rules.’

What does the phrase role-playing actually mean? What is the difference between ‘good’ role-playing and ‘bad’ role-playing? Does rolling dice really spell an end to role-playing? I’ll tell you.