Making Crime Pay in Modern RPGs

This article on the recent Tonbridge heist (a bank robbery worth millions of pounds) offers a fascinating look at what smart criminals do with stolen money — and in the process provides you with loads of tips for handling heists in a modern RPG. “It’s not the robbery that separates the amateur from the professional. It’s the way you deal with the money afterwards.”

Update: The site linked above has now made the article pay-only. Sorry about that — I won’t link to them again.

Game Master, Referee, Storyteller: What’s in a Name?

Here on TT, I use “Game Master” (or more often, GM) to apply to everyone who runs RPGs, even if I’m talking about a specific game that uses a different term (like Referee or Storyteller). It’s the most common, most widely understood term, which makes it a good fit for this site.

But many RPGs change that up, and call their GMs something else entirely — is there any significance to what the GM is called in different RPGs?

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GMing and Your Gaming History

Mark Causey has started something interesting by posting his gaming history (which also has a part two); Joshua BishopRoby has followed up with his much longer post.

This seems like a useful learning tool — what’s your gaming history, specifically as it relates to GMing?

Tips for Writing and Running LARPs

The Cuckoo’s Nest Wiki offers a bevy of tips for LARP GMs, including an introductory PDF and advice for both linear and freeform LARPs.

(The LARP management thread on TT’s GMing Q&A Forum also has some good advice.)

What to Do After GMing a Lousy Gaming Session

Lousy sessions — if you’re just starting out as a GM, you’ve probably got some of these to look forward to; if you’re a veteran GM, chances are you’ve run your share of them over the years (and you may do so again!).

So what do you do when your players have left (possibly reassuring you that it wasn’t that bad), and you’re sitting at your gaming table feeling like crap?

Here are 6 steps you can take to turn a lousy session into a GMing tool.

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Worldbuilding Ideas from Principia Infecta

Principia Infecta is full of worldbuilding ideas, all presented in a rather unusual way.

When he emailed me the link, Reason (the author) described it as “an idea well for GMs and other folks,” while the blog’s tagline is “A slow river of world-building by glimpse and omission.” The bottom line? It’s tough to pin down, and you should go see for yourself.

GMing Motivations, the Glow and Wowing Your Players

There have been some excellent threads this week in the GMing Q&A Forum — here are three that jumped out at me:

• StillFoxx asks what drives you as a GM? (and gets some great answers).

• gospog started a discussion about the glow, that warm and fuzzy feeling you get from running an awesome gaming session.

• Javaboy has kicked off a thread entitled How do you wow your players? It’s just getting started, but I’m looking forward to seeing your responses.

…and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the Treasure Tables GMing Tools Contest ends this Friday — if you’ve been waiting to enter, don’t wait too much longer.

3-D Dungeon Props from Inspired Device

Inspired Device has kicked off their Dungeon Props line with Karamas’ Deathtrap.

After printing it out, you cut up this PDF to build a full-color, 3-D rotating dungeon maze, which looks like a great prop to freshen up your game — and there’s a free demo (PDF), too!

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