The Heart, Head, and X Factor
If you are running your first game, chances are you are stressed out. If you have just run your fist session and nothing went right you are probably completely overwhelmed. The first step to running a...
View ArticleRules Lawyers and How to Deal With Them
This week James tackles the subject of rules lawyers and how to talk them out of slowing down your game. Players can be difficult but sometimes all you need to do is choose your words carefully to...
View ArticlePutting Together Your First Game Part 1
This is a big one folks. This is the first installment of a series where James walks you through the steps to setting up your very first game. In this part he breaks down a game into three essential...
View ArticlePutting Together Your First Game Part 2
James continues his walk-through for making your first game. In this episode you’ll learn about accounting for player strengths, using differences in scale and differences in kind, and the ever...
View ArticleKickstarting Your Party Dynamic
In this episode James gives us some techniques to build strong party dynamics starting with the first session. He also shows us how to make it easier for players to live out their original character...
View ArticlePicking the Right System
This week, James discusses how one should go about picking a roleplaying system that works best for your story, players, and schedule. James’ articles on RPGs and Mood and RPGs in General...
View ArticleRules Heavy vs Rules light
This week James continues his thoughts on how to approach picking a system to run your game. Lots of players have preferences for rules heavy systems or abstract rules light systems. What sort of...
View Article8. Giving Players the Right Amount of Information
QUESTION: Over the past year I have gotten back into DMing for a group of players, after an almost 10 year hiatus from tabletop rpgs I have come to realize that I am not as skilled as I once thought....
View Article9. Getting players to Participate
QUESTIONS A couple years ago I DM’d for the first time for a game with my girlfriend (now wife) my friend Matt and his wife and a couple of our female friends. Other than myself and Matt, no one...
View Article10. Interview With David Ewalt
Parting with the usual format, James sits down with Senior Editor of Forbes Magazine and author of “Of Dice and Men” David M. Ewalt to discuss David experience running his very first campaign. Their...
View Article11. Cultivating Atmosphere
What separates basic play from role-playing art? For game masters it is almost always a question of atmosphere. In this episode James teaches aspiring DMs how to create and maintain atmosphere. He...
View Article12. Designing Monsters
This week live from CODcon James invites Kat Murphy and Jim Hepplewhite on the show to discuss customizing monsters thanks to a question from Jeff Chaffe @infocorn on twitter. The post 12. Designing...
View Article13. Voicing Characters
One of the things about your GM’ing style that I love the most was your presentation of NPCs. Specifically their voices. Your assortment of voices you draw from sound so natural. And they give NPCs...
View Article14. When Things Go Wrong
What do you do when your party doesn’t follow your plot? The post 14. When Things Go Wrong appeared first on Peaches and Hot Sauce.
View Article15. John Harper
John Harper is responsible for some of the most fun and influential micro systems on the internet. With games like Lasers and Feelings, Lady Blackbird, and Ghost Echo in his portfolio Harper is the...
View ArticleRapid Fire 1
James answers three listener questions in one episode! Gain insights on stronger performance and portraying ambivalence, co-GMing, and intrigue based role play systems. The post Rapid Fire 1 appeared...
View Article17. Alignment Part 1 with Ben Dutter
Plenty of OD&D concepts have fallen out of favor. Most of them died out because they put limitations on play. These days swords and sorcery systems are way less restrictive and f20 games are...
View Article18. Metatopia 2014
James discusses the outstanding Metatopia and talks game design with fellow rookie designers Jason Pitre and Mark Richardson. JASON PTIRE http://www.genesisoflegend.com MARK RICHARDSON...
View ArticleStrong, Unreasonable Villains
This week James takes on a new listener question: When my players come up with what seems like a reasonable bargain or deal, my antagonists accept, as long as they’re not giving up more than they...
View ArticleMaps and Minis
This week James McGhie asked the simple question: “Tiles and minis, yay or nay?” The post Maps and Minis appeared first on Peaches and Hot Sauce.
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