bryanhowie

Science: The Inverted Expectation of Fantasy “A novelist can do anything he wants so long as he makes people believe in it.”- Gabriel Garcia Marquez Gabriel Garcia Marquez's particular form of magical realism was once described to me as such: Ma...

Final article is up - an essay exploring science in a fantasy setting.
#ttrpg #DnD
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/05/12/s...

What Is My Style? A simple way to think about your RPG-style is what you find the most interesting. The small details you focus on vs. those things you skip over define your style. The Things You LikeAre you gifted at ...

Your style of running and playing ttrpgs can often just be the things you have the most fun doing.
#dnd #ttrpgs
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/05/05/w...

Size Matters While the most common ‘ideal’ group is 4 players and 1 GM, give or take a player, there is no one-size-fits-all option for GMing. It is difficult to find the right number of players for the types of a...

What are the benefits of smaller or larger groups in your game? Does size matter?
#dnd #TTRPGs
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/04/28/s...

GM Burnout There is a brick wall that all creative people hit while being creative. It often comes out of nowhere, because we’re too busy making stuff to notice what’s directly in front of our faces. Other times...

GM Burnout
Setting artificial deadlines can work for creative efforts, but it rarely works in recovery from injury. Be kind to yourself.
#dnd #ttrpg
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/04/21/g...

Adaptable Storytelling “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it.”- Bruce Lee Whether you are crafting the plot yourself or ru...

Be Like Water...
#dnd #ttrpg
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/04/14/a...

Tell The Players What’s Going On “There is a distinct difference between

Tell the Player's What's Going On
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/03/31/t...
Roleplaying the Game Master
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/04/07/r...

Empty Threats “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”-Kimberly

It’s important that you don’t waste your players’ time with empty threats. These are situations or scenes where there is no chance for an interesting result.
#dnd #ttrpgs
Art by @alicen-wonderland.bsky.social
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/03/24/e...

Setting the Mood with Introductions When we sit down at the table to play, often the GM begins with the iconic, “When we last left our heroes” or a comedic, “Previously on…” nod to serialized radio and television programs. Some GMs ask ...

Introductory summaries and scenes not only tell what has happened, they also set the mood for what comes next.
#dnd #ttrpg
with art by @alicen-wonderland.bsky.social
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/03/10/s...

Level Up Check-In Session Zero is a great opportunity to set expectations, establish responsibilities, and determine group dynamics, but all of that goes out the window after a few sessions. Plans change as the group s...

Staying at the table during the leveling up process, instead of doing it solo or just with the GM, creates a sense of group cohesion.
#dnd #ttrpgs
Art by @alicen-wonderland.bsky.social
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/03/03/l...

Show and Tell “Repetition works, David. Repetition works, David.”- Natural Born Killers, Oliver Stone et al. With every scene, a Game Master is an artist creating a world for the characters to become immersed in, t...

Don't just show or tell, Show and Tell in #ttrpgs and #dnd.

characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/02/25/s...
Art by @alicen-wonderland.bsky.social

Why isn’t AI doing the tedious shit for creative people instead of doing the creative shit for tedious people

Reward Enthusiasm (The Silver Rule) “Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day.” -Sun Tzu, The Art of War Enthusiastic PlayersThe most important skill any player can bring to the table is enthusiasm. A joyful attitude...

The silver rule of TTRPGs (imo) is Reward Enthusiasm.
Art by @alicen-wonderland.bsky.social
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/02/18/r...

Sly Flourish YouTube video:

Crown and Skull Spotlight – Lazy RPG Talk Show

Do Cool Shit (The Golden Rule) “You need a little bit of insanity to do great things.”- Henry Rollins The golden rule of role playing games is not ‘treat others as you wish to be treated’ though it does have that same feel. It is ‘...

The Golden Rule of TTRPGs is Let the Players Do Cool Shit.
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/02/11/d...

With wolfy wizard art by @alicen-wonderland.bsky.social

Crafting Complex NPCs Most GMs need very little help when crafting important NPCs that are tied to the setting or story, but a couple of the character options presented on this website can be used to create NPCs with the i...

Crafting Complex NPCs
#DnD #ttrpgs
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/02/04/c...

Earned Rewards It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a player rewarded with items or kindness they do not feel they earned, will be paranoid of that reward. To put it simply, players always look a gift horse ...

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a player rewarded with items or kindness they do not feel they earned, will be paranoid of that reward.

Let's talk about making sure the players feel like they earned their rewards
#dnd #ttrpg
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/01/28/e...

Starting with a Group Identity Your gaming group is probably together because they like playing games with each other. Likewise, in your campaign prep handout or during the session zero, encourage the group to create characters tha...

Your gaming group is probably together because they like playing games with each other. Likewise, encourage the group to create characters that have some bonds with each other.

#dnd #ttrpg
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/01/21/s...

Session Zero Present the ScenarioWhen you present the players with the game you’d like to run, be as explicit about the adventure as possible. Let them know what to expect and what is expected of them. Establish...

New Year, new topic. Moving into GM/DM advice for a bit, here's an essay on session zero with bonus tips on saying no and evil characters.
#dnd #rpg #ttrpg
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/01/14/s...

Creative Schedule This was written for an artist friend when she asked about my creative schedule. It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s my basic creative style. None of these things are rules, but they do keep me grou...

My thoughts on creating and maintaining a creative schedule, with a bit of advice I wrote for @alicen-wonderland.bsky.social (with a sidebar and art from her!)

characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2024/01/07/c...

A three panel cartoon by Tina Mendel of a cat standing next to a 2023 and the final panel is the cat pushing the 2023 off a table.

Sly Flourish YouTube video:

Shadowdark RPG Unboxing

TTRPG tip: When in doubt, lean towards revealing too much.

Character Checklist Name Origin Class Primary Ability Score Problem Solving Solutions/Approach Background Before I was an adventurer Why I became an adventurer Group Dynamic ( Primary Role) Secondary Role Why I am in thi...

Last post of the year, it's an appendix checklist of the year's tips for creating characters, with 2 examples.
#dnd #rpg #TTRPGs
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2023/12/31/c...

Christmas movies/shows are just very long Twilight Zone episodes. It's a Wonderful Life, Scrooged, Miracle on 34th Street would all fit perfectly on the Twilight Zone.

That's why there's a Twilight Zone marathon on Xmas eve.

It's a Wonderful Life is just a long episode of the Twilight Zone.

Playing Dollies 30 years ago, first contact was made when the Autobots and Decepticons landed in the deserts of New Mexico and of Saudi Arabia, respectively. Their arrival was met with aggression in the Middle East, ...

Xmas Eve essay about toys, D&D, and storytelling, with the cutest Optimus Prime art by @alicen-wonderland.bsky.social

#dnd #TTRPG #RPGs
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2023/12/24/p...

TTRPG tip: Smile. Laugh.

Help The GM Create The Right CharacterThe first thing a player can do to help the GM is to read all the outline and campaign sheet information given by the GM. You don’t have to memorize it, but read it critica...

A few things we can do as players to help the GM tell their best stories.
characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2023/12/17/h...

Companies that fire people right before Christmas, have you never seen A Christmas Carol (or Scrooged)?

You're really out here like, "Ebenezer, I got this. Hold my beer."

Enthusiasm There is no skill or tool you can bring to the table that is more important than enthusiasm. Having a passion for the game, the mechanics, and the group has only positive effects on the health of the ...

The most important skill you can have as a ttrpg player is enthusiasm.
#dnd #ttrpg #rpg

characteralchemyrpg.wordpress.com/2023/12/10/e...