Sometimes the best games aren’t about success but values. When you know what makes your PCs tick, throw them a moral quandary. Do they take the easy path or stay true. Today we’re talking about making tough choices meaningful, memorable, and fun. #TTRPG #RPG #GMing polygamero.us/thac0-with-a...

Episode 92 of THAC0 with Advantage is up on polygamero.us! We’ve talked roleplaying and combat, and now we’re diving into exploration. What does exploration cover in D&D and fantasy RPGs, how do the rules support it, and how do we make it meaningful at the table? #DnD #TTRPG

Make failure tangible to your game. When the rolls go pear shaped add a twist, make the player make a hard choice, pull out the drama. Make sure things move forward to the next beat in play. Classic example. The crew comes upon a locked door. The thief goes to pick...#DnD #TTRPG 1/5

RPG Tip: Don’t plan plots. Prep situations. What do I mean? A plot is a series of events that the main storyline of a work of fiction often designed to show cause-and-effect relationships. We, as players of TTRPGs are improvising these "Plots" at... #DnD #TTRPG 1/4

Episode 91 of THAC0 with Advantage has been release on polygamero.us. Sometimes talking fails and the fight starts. This week, we’re looking at ways to make D&D and fantasy RPG combat more exciting, varied, and meaningful beyond just counting damage and hit points. polygamero.us/thac0-with-a...

Thac0 with Advantage 91. Beyond Roll to Hit – Polygamerous Podcast Network

Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D is readying its action to cast hold person on us if we try…

polygamero.us

RPG Adventure Design Tip. Keep notes on what worked. You write your scenarios. You play your scenarios. Take some time to reflect on your scenarios. Ask yourself questions. Did this do what I wanted it to do? Did my encounter feel like it was the right challenge...#DnD #TTRPG 1/3

Think about how things end. Climaxes land better when they resolve tension, honor choices, and/or open future doors. The bard finally ends the Necromancer but puts a wedge between them and the fighter who learned nothing about his brother. Now things are tense. Choice honored. #DnD #TTRPG

#TTRPG Adventure Design Tip. Make rewards thematic. A holy relic from a temple, a payment from a crime lord, or a dragon's scale from a dragons corpse reinforces the tone of your game. #DnD

#ttrpg adventure design tip. Layer multiple goals. Competing priorities force tough decisions and create dynamic play. Keep it to 2-3 goals at a time as to not overwhelm yourself or your players decision making. Your bards desire to end the Necromancer vs your fighters need to learn... 1/2 #dnd

#ttpg adventure design tip. Build escalations into your adventures. You don't need to dictate when things would get worse, more tense, ect, but you can plan what happens when you see the opportunity to do so. #DnD

RPG Adventure Design Tip. Bake Random encounters into your adventures. If you can make them connected to the situation, theme, or tone they'll feel like they belong. The worms you put as a clue at the scene of the crime are just inspiration for Kysuss zombies and purple worms to show up. #DnD #TTRPG

What do fantasy RPGs ask of social scenes when nobody draws steel? Today’s episode looks at the rules for persuasion, deception, negotiation, and roleplaying with soft skills. #dnd #ttrpg #podcast polygamero.us/thac0-with-a...

Thac0 with Advantage 90. Beyond Persuasion Checks – Polygamerous Podcast Network

Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D gives us permission to be social with people we don’t…

polygamero.us

GM Tip: Hook your PCs hard, then let them cook. Do something to hook your PCs hard and then let them engage with whatever scenario you’ve come up with. The hook should make one or more PCs care and give them one to three solid ways... 1/2 #DnD #TTRPG

RPG Adventure Design Tip. This is really a Mike Shae Lazy GM tip.vStart with a strong start and a strong opening image when possible. A burning village, a collapsing bridge, or a midnight scream hooks attention instantly and give the PCs something to interact with. #DnD #TTRPG

RPG Adventure Design Tip. Try and have your locations have something to discover within them. Even small finds. a random item, clue, information, or an NPC reward exploration and promote more of it. Look around and find stuff. Make random lists you can pull from to help with this. #DnD #TTRPG

RPG Adventure Design Tip. Make villains active. They should move, react, and advance goals even when the party is elsewhere. That means you should give your villians goals. Make them have feelings and emotions. Have them impact the setting as much as the PCs do... 1/6 #DnD #TTRPG

RPG Adventure Design Tip. Give yourself options in scenes. Provide yourself a variety of ways to resolve conflict in scenes so you can vary your pacing. If a conflict can be resolved by action, conversation, or discovering information, then you can usher in a rhythm that fits your group. #DnD #TTRPG

RPG Adventure Design Tip. Use the environment to prompt play. Clues in the scenery can promote action and do some explaining for you. A bit of white powder in the smashed pot by the broken window can prompt a lot of game. Especially once they figure out it's some kind of drug. #DnD #TTRPG

D&D and fantasy RPG campaigns all end eventually. So how do you make that ending matter? Let’s talk payoff, planning ahead, and handling it when the end comes sooner than expected. polygamero.us/thac0-with-a...

Thac0 with Advantage 89. It’s the End of the Campaign as We Know It – Polygamerous Podcast Network

Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D won’t let us ascend to become Immortals yet.

polygamero.us

Adventure Design Tip. I love Including moral complexity in games. When every side has reasons, choices become memorable. Villains don’t think they're the villain a lot of the time, and they like to justify their actions because of personal reasons. Often these are personal reasons... #DnD #TTRPG 1/2

RPG Adventure Design Tip. This is kind of an of course one but it’s important to think about regardless. Tie the scenario/adventure to one or more character backstories or things that have become important to them. Personal connections create investment. I know. Duh. #DnD #TTRPG

www.kickstarter.com/projects/gau... For something completely different from fantasy gaming. A little analog horror for ya.

Public Access Analog Horror Mystery TTRPG

From the creator of Brindlewood Bay and The Between, Public Access is a roleplaying game inspired by analog and found footage horror!

kickstarter.com

We were having a pretty fun conversation in our discord about Ewoks. Everyone was pitching short 1-3 sentence all Ewok adventurers. Do you have any pitches you’d like to share for all Eowk adventures for any Star Wars game?

RPG Adventure Design Tip. Keep the scenarios objectives clear. Players engage more when they understand the goal, even if they don’t know how to reach it. Make a quest board, have a document they can reference, just give them something to help keep the Players on track. #DnD #TTRPG

RPG Adventure Design Tip. Leave your encounters and scenarios open to various solutions. If you prefer to prep around some possibilities then combat, negotiation, exploration and investigation are some ways to let players have options. For combat... #DnD #TTRPG 1/5

RPG Adventure Design Tip. Build from stakes. Ask, “What happens if the PCs fail?” or "What happens if the Antagonist succeeds?" The answer defines tension and urgency. It also helps create your scenario which just makes prep easier. #DnD #TTRPG

RPG Adventure Design Tip: Start with a situation, not a story. A conflict, mystery, or problem gives players freedom to shape the outcome. It's worth knowing what the problem is, where it'll go if not dealt with, and ways to involve the PCs. Leave everything else you can to the PCs. #DnD #TTRPG

Thac0 with Advantage 88. It’s A Major Reward Not every great RPG reward is gold in a sack. This episode is about the rewards that live between treasure and story: titles, supernatural gifts, followers, new responsibilities, and yes, maybe even a brand new puppy. polygamero.us/thac0-with-a...

Thac0 with Advantage 88. It’s A Major Reward – Polygamerous Podcast Network

Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D told us we’re high enough level to build a podcast and…

polygamero.us

RPG Tip: GM Improvement Tip. Reflect on your tone management. A serious campaign can have humor, but too much can undercut tension. Going to dark when you were looking for something a little more whimsical. It happens. Find your balance or... #DnD #TTRPG ⅓

RPG Tip: GM Improvement Tip. Learn to read silence. This is a really good one that a lot of us miss. Pauses often mean players are thinking, don’t rush to fill them. That patience will help create drama. #DnD #TTRPG