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All Roads Lead to Rome: Guiding the Sandbox World
How can we keep them in our story without putting them on rails?
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‘Round the Table – How much control should your DM Have?
In this first installment of our new segment, “Round the Table,” I’m joined by Static Cling to tackle one of the oldest debates in the hobby: How much authority should a DM actually have over character choices?
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Behind the Screen – Tearing Up the Script
It’s a universal truth: no plan is comprehensive. When the adventure goes pear-shaped, how do you handle it without stalling the game? In this post, we’re breaking down four ways to roll with the chaos, preserve the narrative, and keep the fun alive—even when your players tear up the script.
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Beyond the Binary: Variable Skill Checks
We’ve all felt that heartbreak: a player rolls one point under the DC, and a vital plot point vanishes into the ether. But by using Variable Skill Checks you don’t have to “fudge” the numbers to keep the story moving.
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Pull disengaged players back in.
Phones down, dice up. We’ve all dealt with disengaged players, but before you take it personally, let’s look at the foundation and make some small changes to draw them back to the table.
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Breaking the Mold – More Tips on making a better backstory.
We’ve all built characters with a tragic backstory, or terrible tropes. From the Brooding Lone Wolf to the Tragic Orphan, some tropes are just heavy baggage. Let’s look at how we’ve learned to flip the script, embrace “Healthy Home” heroes, and build characters that actually give our GMs room to…
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Build a cohesive party – How “career development” training can help at the table.
I used to think table conflict was a sign of a failing game, until a boring work seminar introduced me to Bruce Tuckman. It turns out that every legendary adventuring party has to ‘Storm’ before they can ‘Perform.’ Here’s how I learned to navigate the four stages of party chemistry…
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Backstory or Baggage? Make your character history work.
A good backstory is a balancing act. It should explain why you’re joining the adventure, not why the adventure should be about you. From the ‘Amnesia Blank Check’ to why your history isn’t a receipt for cool gear, I’m sharing the checklist I use to make sure my characters support…
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Changing Systems – When changing it up can make it fun again.
I’ve spent thirty years mastering one system, but I realized my ‘groove’ had become a rut that was holding my creativity hostage. Sometimes you have to stop clinging to the ‘old reliable’ tools and ask yourself: is the math supporting the story, or is it just a speed bump? Here…
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On the Grid – The Everrun Legacy
Beneath Oakenvale, a Soul Siphon has leaked for 50 years. When the Asmin Lighthouse shattered on Faire Day, thousands of displaced spirits flooded the streets. They possessed Simon Darle’s “distractions”—bags of bones—turning a petty heist into a tide of restless dead. The boundary has broken.
