Roleplayers' Resources
Everyone wants something different out of their tabletop (pen-and-paper) roleplaying experience. Because of this, you won't find all of our articles helpful. We wouldn't be able to write much if we stuck to universal articles, and we have our own preferences too. So pick and choose the suggestions that suit your style!
Characters
- 10 Places to Look for Quick NPCs
- Bright Spots of Detail and NPC-Building Questions
- Character Generation in Roleplaying Games
- Character Growth
- Character Self-Motivation in RPGs
- Create a Coherent Party
- Creating a Skeletal Character
- Creating Useful Player Characters
- The Death of a Player Character
- Defeating Villains
- Details of Three-Dimensional Character Creation
- How to Get Under Your Character's Skin
- An Introductory Survey of Character Creation Methods
- Making Use of Player Characters
- Non-Combat Antagonists
- Non-Player Character Group Dynamics
- NPCs Every GM Should Have
- The Player Character Questionnaire
- The Problem with Loners
- Providing Ammunition for Your Game Master
- Research for Character Ideas: the Swara
- Using Tarot Spreads to Create Characters
- Writing Up Your NPCs
365 Character Questions for Writers and Roleplayers -- pdf format, 5.5 M. This is a free download available for your use. You may freely distribute this document for non-commercial purposes as long as you do not change it in any way.
Unconventional Player Characters
- Playing the Unusual and the Unexpected
- It's Okay for PCs to be Special
- Unique Character Choices
- Playing Beyond Ability
Genre
- Creepy Plot Hooks
- How to Integrate Elements from Different Roleplaying Systems
- Levels of Fear
- Mixing Fantasy and Horror
- A Primer on Fear
- What is Horror?
Inspiration, Perspiration, and Preparation
- Copyright and Your Favorite Roleplaying Books
- Inspiration Cards
- Roleplaying Burnout
- A Survey of Tarot Decks for Roleplaying Purposes
- "Where do you get all those article ideas?"
- Writers' Books for Game Masters
The Color of Adventure
This series was originally written for the online zine, RPG Times.
- I. So You Want to Run an Adventure
- II. Commercial Campaigns
- III. Preparation of Material for a Roleplaying Adventure
- IV. Integrating the PCs into Your Game
- V. Person and Plot Creation
- VI. Sharing Your Adventures with Other GMs
- VII. Game Length
- VIII. Setting and Its Effect on Adventure Preparation
- IX. Number of Players
- X. Keeping the PCs in Mind
- XI. Issues of Game-Play, Before the Game Starts
- XII. Planning the First Night of Your Game
Mental Illness in Roleplaying
- Mental Illness in Roleplaying
- Roleplaying Mental Illness
- Mucking with Reality
- Admission and Understanding
- Treatment and Stress
- Resources
- Player Character Disorders
- Personal Plot Seeds
Plot
- 10 Instant Holiday Plot Hooks
- Big Secrets and Big Plots
- Bride of Instant Plot Hook: Items I
- Bride of Instant Plot Hook: Items II
- Challenging Your Players
- Create Your Own Instant Plot Hooks
- Creepy Plot Hooks
- Giving Depth and Dimension to Overused Plots
- Instant Plot Hooks
- Mission-Based Adventure Planning
- Parties in Roleplaying Games
- Plot Twists for Game Masters
- Plots from Relationships
- Prophecies Amuck!
- Prophecy Confusion
- Revenge!
- Seven Sins of Character Motivation
- Spiritual Journeys
- Tension Without Character Death
- Three Paths to Antagonism
- Using Real Life Material as the Basis for Roleplaying Plots
Sitting At the Table -- Running and Playing the Game
We have plenty of articles on specific techniques or areas of roleplaying, but we've also written things that apply to gamemastering (GMing) in a more general sense. We'll start with A Few Quick, Fluffy Guidelines of Gamemastering which summarizes some of our major points that we make in more detail in other articles.
- 5 Firewalling Tips for Game Masters
- Cliffhangers--Good, Bad, or Indifferent?
- Communication and Roleplaying
- "Don't Split the Party!"?
- Examples of Expectations and Conditioning
- Expectation and Conditioning Rules of Thumb
- Fate of a Game
- Firewalling 101
- How to Get Along with Your Gaming Group
- How to Get Along with Your Players
- Make the New Guy Welcome
- Making Use of Detail
- Out-of-Character Information
- One-On-One Roleplaying: Pros and Cons
- Physical Techniques to Promote Atmosphere
- The Right Player
- Slanting Actions
- Slave to Chance or Being Fair?
- Tabletop RPGs vs. Computer RPGs
- Using Fortune: Random Chance in Roleplaying Games
- When You Don't Know What to Do, Go for a Walk
- You Don't Have to Go There
Free Will and Improvisation
The State of Free Will in Roleplaying: Since we believe that many of the arguments about free will stem from misconceptions and confusions, you should read this article first. Once you understand exactly how we're using our terminology, as well as why we feel so strongly about these issues, the rest of this will make a lot more sense.
- Accounting for Free Will in RPG Adventures
- Control and the Fuzzy Gray Areas of Free Will
- Influence vs. Scripting: the Fine Line of Free Will
- More Ways to Support Free Will
- Plotting and Free Will
- Shameless Manipulation
- Unusual and Unexpected Decisions
- Value Judgments and Free Will
- Why Game Masters Script
Working in the RPG Industry
- Alternative Markets
- Asking Questions and Getting Started as a Writer
- Career-Limiting Moves to Avoid
- Contracts
- Copyright Issues and Protecting Yourself in the World of RPG Freelancing
- A Cry for Organization
- Editing & Developing Manuscripts: Redlines That Get Better Rewrites
- Eight Lessons RPG Writers Don't Want to Learn
- Fortune and Fame
- Getting Your Game Published
- How to Write Reviews of Roleplaying Products
- How to Write Useful Outlines for Writers
- On Being Reviewed
- The Pre-Review Concept
- The Process
- The Promotion of Roleplaying as a Hobby
- Providing Adventures in RPG Rulebooks
- The Psychology of Freelancing in the Roleplaying Industry
- Rude Responses to Your Queries
- So You Want to Write for Your Favorite Game
- Surviving the Industry
- Surviving the Rewrite Process
- Who is your audience?
- Why you should research the field before publishing your RPG or game world
- Working with Co-Authors
- Working with Developers and Line Editors
Style Guide
- General Rules
- Adventure-Writing
- Rules and Mechanics
- Gaming Fiction
- Plagiarism
- Adventure Scene Outline
World and Setting
- Additional Collections for HackMaster
- The Ashes of Stygia
- Bulletins for Players
- Creating Items that Won't Unbalance Your Game
- Creating Useful Game Abilities
- Creating Useful Game Abilities II: Variation
- Designing Game Worlds for PC Involvement
- From Party Play to Law and Leeway
- Game Material Will Be Used
- Gingersnap Magic for HackMaster
- Mysteries and Secrets
- A Passion for Passions (for "Wraith")
- Plot Density
- Plot Hooks
- Scope, Scale, and Epic Level
- Trials and Tribulations of Arc-Plot
- World Creation
- A World in Motion
AD&D and D20
- A crit table for D20 meant to go with the Twilight Time article, "To crit or not to crit?."
Alderac Entertainment's "Stargate SG-1 Roleplaying Game"
- House Rule Tables for the Stargate SG-1 RPG
- Mission Template
- Plot Twists for Stargate SG-1 Adventures
- Useful Chart List
The Barakah
- The Barakah
- Barakah Mechanics and Rules
- Barakah Powers: Fire, Sand, Heat, Wind
- Barakah Powers: Resistance, Information, Prophecy, and Awareness
- Barakah Powers: Deception, Beguilement, Shapeshifting, and Movement
- Barakah Strengths and Weaknesses
- Barakah Vestiges
The Masks of Lady Eva
- Masks of Magic
- The Story of the Masks
- A Perfect Trio
- Flawed and Dangerous
- Flawed and Dangerous (Part Two)
- Adapting the Masks to Your Campaign
- Plots and Plot Hooks
Sand and Dreams
The World of Thraveon
World of Warcraft and Other MMORPGs
- Newbie Player Tips for World of Warcraft
- Character Naming
- World of Warcraft Pet Peeve List
- Solo Play in World of Warcraft
- Which Class is Best?
- A listing and analysis of some handy Warcraft mods
- Warcraft Fashion Rules--a bit of humor to liven up your day!
- Healing in Battlegrounds
- Casual Guild Play vs. Raiding Guild Play in WoW
- My Guide to Low-Level Enchanting Without Going Broke
- An MMORPG Economy
- My Rules for MMORPG Pick-Up Groups
- Player Attitude
- My World of Warcraft Wish List
- Misdemeanor Grouping with Fools
- ADD and MMORPGs
- My Favorite Warcraft Details
- Why I'm Addicted to World of Warcraft
