Every DM knows one. Some know many. What am I talking about? Players who spend their lives working out the best options to make themselves the most powerful (or “optimised”) characters in the game. But is there anything wrong with … Continue reading Laidback DM: OP Characters and the Players Who Love Them
So, you’ve never played D&D or your preferred role playing game online before? Now’s the perfect time to do it. I was a virtual tabletop virgin. All my games were face-to-face (FTF) and the idea of playing a game specifically … Continue reading Laidback DM: Virtual Tabletops and The FTF gamer.
I know you’ve been there, no doubt many times: a planned encounter, meticulously balanced to allow the party a measure of challenge, but one that you know they should get through reasonably well. And then: amazingly bad dice rolls; the … Continue reading Laidback DM: Raw Dice and Partying on the Edge
I’ve always played tabletop role playing games (TTRPGs) face-to-face, ever since I was knee-high to a tadpole, a loooooooooong time ago. Yes, I have a background in information technology; yes, at one point I could program…stuff; yes, everyone always came … Continue reading Laidback DM: Taking the Roll20 Plunge…
Hi all, Here’s a free copy of one of my adventures from Shotglass Adventures volume 1. It was a winner in the 2019 One-Page Dungeon Contest. This image is 1200 dpi so you can view it easily on tablets and … Continue reading Laidback DM – Free D&D 5e Adventure
Nope – this isn’t a post about hosting huge drunkfests the whole street will remember. But nerdfests? Bring it on… There’s a reason most modules are written for four players. Over time this was considered the average number of players … Continue reading Laidback DM – Running Big Parties
I’m willing to bet money you have a group that has at least one quiet, introspective player, who tends to not speak up much (I’ll refrain from calling them an introvert as sometimes introverts can be outgoing, too). I’m also … Continue reading Laidback DM – The Quiet Player
So, you have a map of a dungeon / building / ruin / chasm / extra-planar setting / landscape, etc. Now, you just have to stock it with some monsters and traps. Here’s some hints for designing cool dungeons: Who’s … Continue reading Laidback DM: Designing Dungeons
So, I’m taking a break from DMing to hone my ‘player’ chops. Part of the reason was my increasing work and study loads and part of it was burn out. I just needed a break from all the work involved … Continue reading Laidback DM: Anatomy of a (not quite) break up
Have you ever spent far too much time drawing a map of your world, developing and designing societies, cultures and religions to fill it, creating reasons for its existence, only to find you didn’t need all that for your campaign … Continue reading Laidback DM: World Building
I know what you’re going to say—in D&D it’s so much easier not to have to worry about weapons getting damaged. But what happens when they do? And how do you have a simple (or laidback, as I prefer to … Continue reading Laidback DM: Weapon and Armor Durability
Hi all I was one of the winners of the 2019 One Page Dungeon competition at https://www.dungeoncontest.com. I used one of my old adventures from Shotglass Adventures volume 1, which is available in print and PDF from DrivethruRPG (see the … Continue reading Laidback DM – One-Page Dungeon Competition 2019 Winner
All too often, treasure seems to be the major incentive for PCs to complete missions and quests in fantasy role playing games. So what about something else just as beneficial? Here’s some ideas for things that are just as useful … Continue reading Laidback DM: Treasure Alternatives
Are you one of those DMs who finds it hard keeping secrets from your players? This may be the case if you see your players regularly, through work, school or at the pub, and enjoy talking about your game. You … Continue reading Laidback DM: Keeping Secrets
Do you use the encumbrance rules as written in 5e? I don’t. I find them…cumbersome, if you’ll excuse the pun. Of all the rules brought across from the various old editions, counting weight in pounds and applying it to a … Continue reading Laidback DM: Easier Encumbrance
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