Systematic InterACTION!

A long, long time ago, I promised to teach you a cool, simple system for designing and running social interaction encounters. Well, today’s the day. And it’s only a few years late!

The Shape of Adventure

Did you know adventures come in different shapes? It’s true! And, if you’re going to make your own adventures, you’ve got to get them in shape!

The Third Lesson: Costly Opportunities and Harsh Realities

There are three vital lessons that every GM has to figure out. And figure out sooner rather than later. How to adjudicate actions. How to narrate the game. And the harsh reality that there’s no such thing as making the best decision “for the game.” And also the harsh reality that being a GM pretty much sucks.

Son of the D&D Boss Fight Part 2: Elemental Boogaloo

You want more Paragon Creatures? You got it! How about animated armor that changes weapons and tactics when you beat it up? How about elementals crammed into animated armor that explode forth and wreck your s$&% if you hit them too much. OH YEAH!!! F&$% you, Erwin Schrödinger

A Campaign Manager’s Guide to Selfishness

You can’t manage a social gaming club that provides your friends with hours of fun unless you’re willing to be a selfish prick. Trust me; if there’s one thing I know, it’s being a selfish prick.

Why Am I Here? And Why Are You?

Thanks to a courageous remark by a Frienemy in my Discord server, I finally have my New Year’s Post. And to show my respect and gratitude, I shall now proceed to piss all over that remark.

Ask Angry January 2024 Mailbag

I warned you that I’d be putting this column on hold, but you all didn’t listen. You kept e-mailing me. Fortunately, I lied. So it’s Mailbag time.

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.

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?

Stop Hacking… Mic Drop

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

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.

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.

Definitely Not the Last Word on Dice Swing

Ever since I dropped a side remark about how the swinginess of the d20 was a bullshit nonissue, I’ve heard from literally severals of people asking me to expand. So I expanded. Holy crap did I ever expand.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

The Dancing Halfling Dungeon

Story time… Once upon a time, a bunch of heroes stumbled into a randomly generated dungeon because some halflings were being too loud.