Category Archives: DMing

Law #5

Posted on 19 March, 2014 by Law

It turns out that this is post #100. I didn’t realize this until I committed post #98, so I had to scramble a bit to not only come up with a topic worthy of a new significant digit but also … Continue reading →

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Running What You Know (or, All That Data Entry Finally Pays off)

Posted on 5 March, 2014 by Law

I’ve never been sailing. I’ve only been on a boat once, twice if you count those two-person ducky boats you can paddle around the harbor. I don’t know port from starboard, preferring to use the directions “that way” and “no, … Continue reading →

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Multi-Round Actions (Part 4, Tactical Feats)

Posted on 12 February, 2014 by Law

I never felt like tactical feats really got the respect they deserve. I think the designers wanted to give characters neat tricks that meshed with their combat style while keeping them accessible enough that any character who wanted them could … Continue reading →

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Multi-Round Actions (Part 3, 4th Edition)

Posted on 5 February, 2014 by Law

Channeled spells are great and all, but they don’t exist in 4th Edition. This entire endeavor started because I was tired of the “if you don’t make an attack, you’ve wasted your turn” design philosophy and play methodology of 4E, … Continue reading →

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Multi-Round Actions (Part 2, Channeled Spells)

Posted on 29 January, 2014 by Law

When I thought of “things in D&D that can take more than one round”, the first place I went was “spells”. However, that space in D&D is largely filled with “spells not designed for combat” and “sorcerers trying to use … Continue reading →

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Non-Binary DCs (or, Why Players Can’t Have Nice Things, Part One of Infinity)

Posted on 22 January, 2014 by Law

D&D is largely a binary system: you either succeed at something or you don’t. There are no partial successes or glancing blows, and aside from critical hits and natural ones on Reflex saves there’s nothing in the system that rewards … Continue reading →

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Confessions of a DM

Posted on 17 December, 2013 by Law

I usually have something to say about the articles I mention here, but as soon as I saw “Confessions of a DM” on Table Titans I knew I had to just link to it and throw up my hands. I … Continue reading →

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60-Minute Session Design

Posted on 13 December, 2013 by Law

I think a person can judge their proficiency in some area by determining the relative complication of the things in that area that frustrate them. For example, I cook fairly frequently. I’m no executive chef, but I can turn ingredients … Continue reading →

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Cooperative Session Design (or, Everybody Has a Plan Until Players Show up)

Posted on 1 November, 2013 by Law

Preparing for a session is hard, not least because it’s rarely clear what a DM needs to prepare. If you spend hours mapping out the sewers where bandits are hiding, you can be sure that the players will instead look … Continue reading →

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“Rules as Written” (or, Hate the Playa, not the Game)

Posted on 13 September, 2013 by Law

I was loitering at my friendly local gaming store (patronize it with money!) lately, and a conversation sprouted about play styles. Specifically, we discussed a particular style of play formed around building powerful characters and having them do powerful things. … Continue reading →

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