GMing with Pictures

This is a guest post by John Arcadian, of Silvervine Games. John wrote Wikis for GMs: Part 1 and Part 2 here on TT, and this post originally appeared on his blog, Slow boat to China. John was kind enough to let me cross-post it here (thanks, John!) — enjoy!
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So I’ve had this in my head for a while, and I wanted to let it spill forth. I was just on an image gathering spree for the latest pirate playtest. I was finding lots of pictures of pirates, ships, video game backgrounds, landscapes, etc.

It got me thinking about something that I’d taken for granted, but never really wondered if other people do or not. I use images in my games a lot, and I use them two ways.

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Guest Posts: Genre Advice for GMs

I’d like to put out a call for guest posts on how to run games in each of several iconic genres. Specifically:

Update: Man, I can’t believe I forgot pulp! Let’s add that to the list, too.

If you’re interesting in sharing your knowledge about running RPGs in any of these genres, I’d love to hear from you! Read on for the details.

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How to End a Campaign: On Indefinite Hold

This is the fourth post in our charmingly random How to End a Campaign series. Each post covers one approach to ending a long-running game, including pros and cons.

Ending a campaign is rarely going to be easy, and it’s something a lot of GMs struggle with. In fact, it was one of the two most common answers to the question “What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do as a GM?,” which was asked as part of our GMing profiles thread.

Cue the hold music, because that’s what today’s approach involves: Ending the game, but not permanently.

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Using the Stuff in Boardgames

Alysia and I have a huge shelf full of boardgames, and many of them are full of stuff. Miniatures, map tiles, funky dice, chips and countless other little widgets — many of which seem like they could be pretty useful at the gaming table. And yet, for some reason I’ve never thought to give this a try!

Have you cannibalized boardgames for RPG goodies before? If so, which ones? What are the most creative uses you’ve found for boardgame bits?

Evoking Emotions at the Gaming Table

Most good games evoke emotions, but some emotions are much easier to work with than others. When you try to get your players to feel a certain way, you run the risk of making someone upset — this can be very dicey!

There’s a line to walk when trying to trigger emotional responses from your players, and where exactly that line is depends on the emotion in question and the folks in your group. There are three categories: simple, challenging and nigh on impossible.

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Metal Miniatures: Still Used in RPGs?

Offhand, I can think of the following alternatives to metal miniatures: prepainted plastic D&D minis (plus Star Wars and Dreamblade figs), Fiery Dragon counters, Monster Tiles, wooden Dragonfire tiles and HeroClix (plus the older Mage Knight minis) — and I’m sure I’ve left some out.

Compare all of those ready-to-go, relatively inexpensive options to metal miniatures — which need to be prepped and painted (requiring time and a degree of skill), and generally aren’t cheap — and I have to wonder: How many gaming groups still use metal minis?

How to End a Campaign: A Sudden Stop

This is the third post in our sporadic How to End a Campaign series. Each post covers one approach to ending a long-running game, including pros and cons.

Ending a campaign is rarely going to be easy, and it’s something a lot of GMs struggle with. In fact, it was one of the two most common answers to the question “What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do as a GM?,” which was asked as part of our GMing profiles thread.

Today’s approach is like putting on the brakes and getting out of the car: The sudden stop.

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Gliffy: Exportable Maps for Modern Games

Gliffy is a free online service that allows you to create and share charts, diagrams, graphs and maps on the web. It’s that last one that’s interesting: Even with a very limited object set (chair, desk, bed, table, etc.), it’s fun to fiddle around with.

Here’s a sample image of a floorplan. You can also export your creations as images, which could be printed as handouts, or share them online (handy for a play-by-post game).

It’s currently in beta, with plans for a paid version and an ad-supported free version. You have to sign up, but there’s no confirmation process. (Via Vitaly Friedman’s Notebook.)

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