Clerics bridge the gap between life and death for an adventuring party, yet finding people to play a cleric can be a monumental task. It has been my experience that most gamers shy away from playing a cleric. In many ways, clerics are seen as the servant to a party rather than a full member. Cries of "Band-Aid" and calls for healing can ruin the experience of playing a cleric. No one wants to play a character who can never shine.
Primarily, you get fun, and learning, and a chance to play across age groups. There's a new expansion for Harry Potter which looks like a good one; and a new expansion for Magic as well. But what other card games are out there? The list is almost endless. What can you play with your 5 to 8 year old that won't numb your mind and not leave them whining "but mo-o-o-o-ommie, I don't get it!!!"? Good question. Let's see if I can manage some good answers. . .
On this site and elsewhere, tens of thousands of words have been devoted to the art of being a good GM. Tips, tricks, ideas, and strategies for improving your game abound, some valid, some not. But I sometimes feel as though in all that talk about running a better game, an equally (if not more) important part of the gaming experience is neglected. It's true the way in which a GM runs a game contributes a lot to its success or failure, but in the end it's the behavior of the players that really makes or breaks a game.
There is little more confusing in the D&D universe than the concept of alignment. This said, I would also venture to surmise there are fewer articles written about alignment than any other subject in D&D.
After twelve intense sessions things have culminated and you finally manage to corner the elusive 'Master Villain'. Your party engages him in combat, and before long you are fighting for your lives. The Ranger lets loose with his powerful Bow of Death, and rolls a 1. Next the fighter attacks with his massive two-handed Sword of Decapitation, and rolls a 1. Yep, we have all been there at one time or another. Some people say that dice are fickle, but I know the truth. They just need to be trained.
It was during the empire of the First Reign, It covering the known world at the time. That the 23rd of Delanmer, the winter solstice of the Oldernel calendar was declared the official rebirth of the year and the day of Mortnel et Blancer, the Darkest Night.
With the release of GURPS WWII, more campaigns than ever are based around soldiers, and an increasing number of players are stepping into the combat boots of military characters. One of the hallmarks of army life is the chain of command: the strict hierarchy of rank that determines every soldier's place and fate in the world. By contrast, most gaming groups interact as democracies (if not anarchies) and placing one PC above the rest is an unusual dynamic.
GMs like to be in charge. We wouldn't go to the trouble of planning entire campaigns and running them for occasionally unappreciative players if we didn't. And there's nowhere our control-freak nature comes out more obviously than when we're planning the settings we use. In the previous article in this series, I talked about factors you might want to consider when choosing between fictional and established cities as settings for your game. Now, I pull the focus in a little tighter to discuss that second option, which I believe offers an excellent balance between the need for control and the equally pressing need to prepare for games in a limited amount of time.
Gaming etiquette could be the single most important aspect of running a campaign. I will not rehash old stereotypes such as bathing before a game or eating all of the host's food. Instead, I have a slightly different perspective on gaming etiquette. I have discovered a few simple rules which could seriously affect a campaign for ill or good. While some people may grumble about a few of them, a player will respect a firm GM over a weak one no matter how much grumbling happens in the background.
Ever since Magic: The Forest Killer! Came out, card-based games have received a bad rap. This however, doesn't stop me from checking out card games that aren't collectable. For me, there's just something really coolabout being able to pull a random deck out of your pocket and play a game with some friends. Mission I.S.S. has found a permanent spot in my magic book bag.
