The following might not be useful for all GMs, because it relies pretty heavily on a gaming style I’ve come to call “Cinematic Chic.” Cinematic Chic is a gaming style that apes the hyperkinetic drama of action movies, fast-paced TV shows, and so on. The game play is fast, and the drama is high. I’ve […]
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Boil and Bubble: Diablorising Ritual Path Magic – The Necromancer – Part II
I’m continuing my “conversion” of the Diablo II Necromancer’s skills. Next up: Curses! Curses Most of the spells and abilities listed here involve weakening your target’s body and mind. Amplify Damage and is not here because my version of that actually made it into GURPS Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic (p. 35). Dim Vision Spell Effects: […]
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Boil and Bubble: Diablorising Ritual Path Magic – The Necromancer – Part I
Before I write anything else, let me first say that recreating spellcasting classes from the Diablo series is probably best down as powers (in fact, I’d probably use PK’s Sorcerous Empowerment article). That said, ritual path magic can work quite well too! A few quick notes. First, in the Diabloverse, it’s probably wise to put […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Pacing Your Game Sessions
Pacing game sessions is hard. It’s not something a GM can (usually) do without learning from experience. You need to have ran multiple game sessions before you get in the RPGroove. Some lucky GMs pick it up easily, but let’s face it, for most of us, it’s something we learned. But fear not ye newb […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: Remedial Ritual Path Magic
Since its release, Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic has proven to be the hot-ticket (446 copies since October 3rd, 2013, with a rating of 4.6/5) of 2013. That’s a lot for GURPS. Which, since you are reading my blog about that game system, I assume you know that. I’m no PK, but I do arguably know […]
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Boil and Bubble: Practical (Ritual Path) Magic
The new Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic has been out for a bit. Since its release there has been a flurry of activity on the Steve Jackson Games Forums regarding it. As PK’s officially unofficial deputy on ritual path magic, I’ve made it my job to answer as many of these questions as fast as I […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Frakking Unusual Backgrounds, how do they work?!
No. Seriously. How do they work? There have been numerous threads about the subject, and it came up again recently. So I’m going to give my take on it. Unusual Background is a highly customizable, variable trait. It’s highly customizable because it’s not meant for players, it’s meant for GMs. When a GM designs his […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: My Character Creation Process, Part I
I’d like to talk a bit about my process for character creation in my games. Since I only really run GURPS, this is more or less specific to that game system. When I begin the process of helping one of my players create their character it almost always starts off with the same question: What […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Fun, World-Building, and Sandtrap Players
The other night, my best friend, C.G. and I were discussing how using the new Ritual Path Magic system in my Otherworld setting would impact it (check this post out to see what I eventually came up with).This particular campaign has been around for almost six years now and I’ve put a lot of thought and […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: On Rule-Breaking, Magic Systems, and Consistency
Last night and early into this morning I tackled a gaming issue than can make Gamemaster’s go mad: How magic fits in his or her game world. Sometimes the easiest thing to say is “THERE IS NO MAGIC!” but that means less design options for your players and overall…well it’s just not as much fun. […]
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