We'll send our best work every month.
We had so much to say about dice mechanics last week that we could have made it into two episodes. So, we did! Welcome to part two, where Chris describes a system so weird it sounds like an April Fools’ joke, Oren revels in rolling … read more »
A lot of GMing advice is applicable across all experience levels. It’s always a good idea to know the rules and eat a meal before you run a game. But some techniques are not meant for beginners because they can ruin your game if handled … read more »
Fiction is made of people doing things, and the standard “protagonist verb object” is a strong way to write that. But if you structure all your sentences that way, you’ll have a monotonous mess on your hands. When that happens, it can be a struggle to inject some life into stale phrasing. To keep your head from hitting the desk, I have some quick ideas you can use. Read more »
Roll to understand game mechanics, because today we’re talking about core dice mechanics. This aspect of a game’s rules can sometimes get overshadowed by flashier combat and spell mechanics, but the way a game rolls dice is essential. So essential that we had way too … read more »
Every story has a premise that shapes what will happen. Some premises are good, like “a neglected orphan goes to a secret school for wizards.” Some premises are bad, like “a teenager gets into an abusive relationship with a vampire.” But no matter if the … read more »
External conflicts are obvious to the audience and easy for storytellers to conceptualize. The hero either defeats the villain or they get beat; they either convince the jury or they are thrown in jail. But while these conflicts are usually the first thing that new storytellers reach … read more »
Which one of the hosts will turn out to be evil this week? Surprise, none of us are villains! Or perhaps we all are, since we threw in spoilers for Shield and Child of Light without any warning. How rude. This week, we talk about … read more »
Narrative perspective comes in many forms. In first-person limited, the narrator and the protagonist are one and the same, and the audience knows only what the character knows. In third-person omniscient, the narrator is free to rain down information from on high and use whatever voice … read more »
Every story revolves around some type of conflict, but speculative fiction usually prefers physical fights. Yes, the sword is the queen, and hand-to-hand is king, but why not be a little creative? Let’s dive into the process of choosing the best weapon for your protagonist. Read more »
This week we address a listener question: How do you depict post-scarcity societies? This is hard since there haven’t ever been any post-scarcity societies to use as examples, but we’ve never let that stop us. Chris raises deep questions about what government and private property would … read more »