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No matter how many bonuses a character possesses, the dice will eventually turn against them. They will fail an important roll at a critical moment. This can be a good thing, because success means nothing without the possibility of failure. Unfortunately, it can also be … read more »
In film, it’s easy startle your audience. Giving an audience the creeps…well, that takes a little more work. What if, as a storyteller, you want to create an atmosphere that will creep out your audience- how do you make it happen without sights and sounds in your toolbox? Read more »
Many storytellers enjoy looking through the lens of more than one character. In speculative fiction, multiple viewpoint characters are often used to show different places in the world, or illustrate a conflict that is epic in scale. Unless the story involves a device that is … read more »
It’s the chicken and the egg question of spec fic: should you make a world and then plot your story in it, or should you create the story and then build the world it’s in? Most storytellers answer this question by beginning with the part … read more »
Stereotypes are deeply embedded in our culture. They permeate every aspect of our communication with one another: journalism, lyrics, movies, casual conversation… you name it. It doesn’t take long before they wiggle their way into our minds, and from there they sneak into our stories. Read more »
Inserting extra fluff scenes is a very common mistake for new writers. Useless scenes destroy a story’s pacing, turning a page-turner into a plodding pony. Luckily, they’re also easy to recognize; you just have to know what to look for. Read more »
One of the more frustrating habits a roleplayer can have is metagaming too much. The frequent metagamer can alienate the game master and other players if they start to feel that the metagamer is so concerned with winning that they are no longer playing in … read more »
Spinach and Candy have waged a war over every character you’ve ever loved. Candy has been loudly launching grenades at spinach, while spinach tries to infiltrate the candy base and steal their flag. Not only is the fate of the character at stake in these … read more »
When an uninitiated friend or relative asks what I do on Saturday nights, I will sometimes tell them that I play Dungeons & Dragons to save time and explanations, even if the actual game in question is Vampire: The Sparkling. Read more »