The True Game Mastery Series
Any idiot can run a game. Trust me, I’ve played lots of games run by lots of idiots. But True Game Masters build their players’ Investment and take full Ownership of the game. And this year-long course will tell you exactly how to do that.
Part I: True Game Mastery
What It Means to Master a Game
January 17, 2023
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.
Game Mastering Makes No Sense
January 24, 2023
True Game Masters take Ownership and Build investment. And those concepts are so vital to Game Mastering that I’m never going to mention them again. And what I do mention won’t make sense. Because GMing is nonsense.
Running Games
Better Narration Through Visualization: A Lifestyle Guide
January 31, 2023
Narration: the art of telling your players what’s what and who’s where. If you find yourself muddling to provide good Scene-Setting Narration, maybe it’s not your skills that are the problem, maybe it’s your lifestyle. Seriously.
Inviting the Principle Character to Act
February 7, 2023
A True Game Master paces the game with smooth narration, flowing seamlessly from scene to scene and moment to moment. Unfortunately, a TTRPG is a dialogue, not a monologue, and eventually the players get to kill the pace by talking.
The Declare-Determine-Describe Cycle
February 27, 2023
True Game Masters know that nothing breaks a roleplaying game’s flow quite as much as the game’s rules do. So they take a methodical approach to keeping the rules in their place.
The Tao Of Dice
March 7, 2023
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.
Dealing with Problematic Actions
March 21, 2023
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.
Professor Angry’s Office Hours: Dealing with Problematic Actions
March 28, 2023
As I made a mess of that last True Game Mastery lesson on Problematic Actions — given the feedback anyway — I’m holding a special study session to answer your questions and clarify my points.
All About Encounters
How to Run Encounters… NOT!
April 14, 2023
This is the start of a series of True Game Mastery lessons about running different kinds of Encounters. Except it’s not. Because Encounters aren’t what you think they are.
Everyone Doing Everything All At Once
April 28, 2023
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.
Mastering the Thousand Cuts
September 30, 2023
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.
It’s a Trap!
June 19, 2023
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.
Tactical Infiltration Action
December 18, 2023
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.
Resolving Combat Encounters
Roll Initiative!
May 12, 2023
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.
How to Manage Combat Like a True Game Master
May 31, 2023
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.
Angry Story Time: The Big Battle Example
July 10, 2023
I promised you a long-ass, comprehensive example of a fully narrated battle. So here it is. Enjoy.
Resolving Social Encounters
Professor Angry’s Office Hours: How Players Play
July 24, 2023
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.
Professor Angry’s Office Hours: How Game Masters Don’t Play
July 31, 2023
Let’s continue the discussion from last week and explore how Game Masters don’t roleplay. Ever.
Resolving Social Interactions: Social Conflict Not Really Defined
August 31, 2023
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.
Declaring Your Players’ Social Actions
September 27, 2023
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.
Resolving Social Actions
October 27, 2023
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.