1. Mike Bourke @gamewriterMike(Me) Campaign Mastery’s Owner/Operator

Don’t live or die by anyone’s advice (not even mine). Listen to the core and find your own way of incorporating it into your game. You can always get more specific later, but you need to make your own mistakes to evolve your own ‘voice’.

2. Ian Mackinder – a long-time friend, we’ve been playing in each other’s campaigns for about 34 years. Ian’s last major contribution to Campaign Mastery was the two-part article on Vehicles in RPGs (Part 1,

Part 2).

No plan, no matter how brilliant, will survive contact with the player-characters.

3. Ian Gray – another Ian. This one’s been a major part of my games over the last 15 years or so. A frequent contributor to Ask-The-GMs, Ian has also provided a couple of articles to Campaign Mastery. most notably (in tandem with the first Ian) When Good Dice Turn Bad. He’s been GMing on-and-off since 1994.

Flexibility and Pacing are Key.

4. Saxon Brenton is a regular and incisive contributor to Ask-The-GMs in recent years and currently collaborating with Mike and Blair Ramage on something big. One of these days I’ll get an article out of him in his own right! Saxon has GM’d sporadically since 1993. Still, he’s the only one of my players to be mentioned by name on Wikipedia…

Present a story that is interesting and fun for the players to participate in.

5. Nick Deane is a relatively new returnee to GMing after a bad experience the first time out. He’d probably prefer me not to count that attempt, so he’s been a GM for about a year. Nick often contributes to Ask-The-GMs, and he and Ian Grey were instrumental in formulating the concepts at the heart of the mega-answer on Spell Components (Some Arcane Assembly Required).

Don’t try to force your players to stick to the planned story. Know the basics of the topics involved in your planned adventure – if it centers around a court case, know the basics of the court system in your game – and just let events unfold.

6. Blair Ramage is, in some ways, the very definition of old-school, having started playing before original D&D was even released in Australia using a copy a friend brought back with him from a US holiday. He and I co-GM The Adventurer’s Club and are collaborating on a mega-article with Saxon at the moment. He is also a frequent contributor to Ask-The-GMs.

Try not to fall too much in love with your NPCs, try to let the players carry the story. (Yeah, I know that sounds funny coming from me!)

[Explanation: this was one of the perceived mistakes that Blair was making in the Adventurer’s Club campaign before I came on board – the combination of NPCs with more experience than the PCs who were also homages to Blair’s favorite genre characters. His notion was that they would be around to provide a helping hand in whatever field the PCs needed or to bail them out of an especially tight spot if necessary – reasonable, in the context of a game world with an ongoing history, but not good for the health of the campaign. Our biggest step forward was finding a way in which the PCs were going to be superior to these more-experienced characters that let us relocate them farther into the background. Which just goes to show the gulfs that can arise between what is reasonable for a game World and what is reasonable for a Game.].

7. Mike Wells was the first player to sign up to my first campaign. We’ve butted heads across the game table on many occasions through the intervening years; he has been a formative influence on my GMing style that persists to this day, for better or worse.

Work with the environment. You have no idea how many times that’s gotten me out of trouble as both a player and a GM.

8/9/10. Admiral Rob (twitter: @evilkipper, website: www.evilkipper.com is a proud Dad into D&D – “Collects like a butterfly, Paints like a snail!” And a very nice guy. We’ve known each other through twitter for a couple of years now, and he’s always been supportive.

Pick a system and world you love, and your enthusiasm will drive everything else.

Andvarr A (@AndvarrA), “Man of Beard” and Gamer from Scotland, added,

“….and your insanity”.

Admiral Rob replied,

“Insanity comes naturally the first time you hear the phrase ‘let’s split the party’.”

11/12/13. Adam of RPG Kitchen (@RPGKitchen): “Our mission is to help people create, share and play RPGs and use the proceeds to help feed the hungry.” What more can I say?

Above all else make sure people are having fun. Unless you’re playing Cthulhu, in which case they should be scared.

Symatt (see below) added,

“Players deserve everything they get … [when] playing Cthulhu.”

Phil (twitter: @thedicemechanic, website: The Dice Mechanic), from the “Southern Middle. Ish.” of the UK, (describes himself as a “Geek, gamer and argumentative non-specific critic.”) commented

“But if I’m genuinely scared, I won’t stick around.”

14. Danny Rupp of @criticalhits, who provide a Tabletop gaming news feed and more from Critical-Hits.com:

Prioritize your RPG planning based on the likelihood content will be encountered/engaged by the players.

15. Home Brewed Games (@Sandboxbrewed) is an RPG game designer whose goal is to help further the hobby I love, by showing the next gen of gamers the power of their imagination.

Stay loose, let the adventure unfold naturally, and have fun.

16. David Andrieux (@DanAndrieux) describes himself as a Physicist, business strategist, and Sci-Fi lover. Technology, storytelling and game design enthusiast. He writes for

Tales of Extraordinary Physics.

Never say ‘no’. Let your players try (for better or worse) and build on their ideas.

17-29. Symatt (@symatt) is a Story Teller and “Role Playing Player” from Ipswich, Suffolk, England and an early friend through twitter.

As a GM for the last 20+ years: System is not as important as some place upon it.

As long as you (GM) have a passion for what you want to run, [and] that will show in your games.

Rules can come to you as a group. Learn together.

Have fun, let your players have fun.

Things will come to you as you play or run more.

Listen to people around you.

If you like what you see keep doing it if not drop it and move on.

It’s your game as much as your players.

Something on twitter now is about “fun”. How do you make sure to have “Fun”. I guess it’s like when people tell you to smile. I sit at a table with the hope that my players enjoy that session. That is a GMs fun I guess. Players on the other hand need a guiding voice . Some know how to play and get what they enjoy from a game. For others it can be a harder experience and so a GM can have a harder time.

Learn how the dice work. How combat works in your chosen game and go from there.

Be open and creative.

Tell a story. Engagement with the players is the key. If you find that part easy then GMing will come easy.

Don’t expect to be the best thing since sliced bread straight away. I am still learning and I take pleasure in that.

30. BattleBards (@BattleBards) offer a premier tabletop RPG Audio Library & Tools for RPG Campaigns from Los Angeles. Community-driven and Kickstarter-funded. Their website is Battlebards.com.

Being a GM is about building a story alongside your players, not in spite of them.

31. 6d6 RPG (twitter: @6d6Fireball, website: www.6d6rpg.com) is a publisher of roleplaying games, adventures and settings based in Nottingham, UK, (in particular the eponymous game system) with writers and artists from all over the world.

The job of a GM is to keep the game moving forward. Never let the players get stuck in a rut.

32. Elric of Melniboné (@Elric_VIII) writes about Imrryr, the Dreaming City, in both English and Italian.

Let your players be themselves! Rules apply only so long as they don’t get in the way of self-expression and fun.

33. Nvenom8 Designs (@Nvenom8_Designs) is a 3D Designer, Digital Artist, Tabletop Gamer, and “Huge Nerd” in New York, USA. His web store is at Nvenom8_Designs.

The old improv rule of ‘Yes and…’ holds true: whenever possible, don’t say no. Saying yes and adding keeps things moving.

He then added,

Actually, that advice applies equally to players who are roleplaying with one another or with a GM – give the others material [to work with or play off].

34. Dan at RootHome (@RootHomeSetting) is American, the creator of the RootHome Setting “a world of primal myths and legends”, and a player of #pathfinder and #DnD. He’s a reasonably new but good friend on Twitter.

Let the game system serve the story you are telling. Don’t be afraid to play off PCs emotions.

35. Liz Theis (@liztheis) does business development & marketing for Lone Wold Development (twitter: @lonewolfdevel, website: www.wolflair.com). She is also a reader, gamer, history nerd, & MBA student in the “Bay Area” (presumably, of San Francisco, California).

I love this 750 message idea. My piece of advice is quite simple. Don’t forget that playing a roleplaying game is a lot like collaborative story-telling. Find ways to connect your players to the story. Perhaps that’s asking your players for secrets that come out during the campaign, or asking them to come up with backstories that influence the adventures down the line. By tying the players to the world, they’ll feel like it’s *their* story too.

36. Sven Lotz (@sven_lotz) is a Gamer, TRPG Veteran, and Rail Traffic Controller (amongst other things) from Olten, Switzerland, and a new acquaintance through twitter.

Play with the players, not against them.

37. Brendan Davis is from Bedrock Games (twitter: @Bedrockgames, website: www.bedrockgames.net), makers of the table-top RPGs Sertorius, Crime Network, Servants of Gaius, Arrows of Indra, Horror Show and Terror Network, from Lynn, Massachusetts.

Relax and don’t force the adventure. The more relaxed you are, the easier it is to be creative on the fly.

38. The Hydra DM (@TheHydraDM) tweets about games of all stripes – with a focus on tabletop RPGs. He blogs at The Hydra DM to “give back to the community that helped him along his way ever since 2010, when he first realized there was an amazing half of gaming (tabletop ones!) that he barely noticed before.”

Know what the characters want & why it’s so hard to get. Former is a plot hook, latter is gameplay. Ask players if in doubt.

39. Brent Phillips (@allgamer1) is “a gamer of all forms, cards, pen and paper and PC from Texas, USA” and another new acquaintance as a result of this celebration party!

Don’t let the written rules keep the players from having ridiculous fun.

40. Skirmisher Publishing LLC (@SkirmisherGames) is a creator of earnest and useful role-playing games, supplements, rules, sourcebooks, miniatures, and wargames based in Canyon Lake, Texas. Their website is at www.skirmisher.com.

The rules are a guideline and shouldn’t be allowed to get in the way of a good story being told, modify them as necessary.

41. Mattias Johnsson, on behalf of Team Järnringen (twitter: @Team_Jarnringen), makers of the Symbaroum RPG (a successful Swedish RPG):

Identify what makes each of your players happy when playing RPGs (exploration, XP, moral dilemmas, action, whatever) then give them that, in a dosage that keeps them satisfied but longing for more.

42. Feral Games Inc (website, twitter @FeralGamesinc) are an independent games company in the UK making tabletop RPGs #ChroniclesofAerthe with an international team of writers and artists.

Always remember the rules are their to be broken, the players are there to have a good time and anything is possible.

43. Andrew Y (@thatonegm) is operator of a game blog at Gather ‘Round the Table and Editor, GM, game designer, writer, & Associate Professor with @TheRPGAcademy. He’s also American.

Find the goal of each session and make sure everything you do reflects that goal. A goal should be a simple phrase like “Make my players sweat,” “Surprise my players,” “Make my players care,” or even “Make my player laugh” You’ll see that those examples are player-oriented, and I think they should be. No matter what kind of game you’re playing or what kind of story you’re telling, your players are the primary audience. (Even if others are observing or the game is being recorded, your players are still the lens of emotion through which any other audience will view the session.) And if you can’t think of a specific goal for a session, here’s one that should be your default: “Help my players have fun.

44. Grand DM (@grand_dm) is a DM of three decades, tabletop game enthusiast, creativity aficionado, writer, and proprietor of the Gametavern. He blogs at www.ultanya.com.

Listen to the players as the game unfolds. Often they will devise all sorts of wonderful ideas that you should not be afraid to embrace. The ability to shoot from the hip during a game session is the hallmark of a great gamemaster.

45. Frank Winters (@rpgunion15) is a “roleplayer, storyteller, & gamer” from Smithtown, NY, who is currently writing his own rpg and blogs at The Roleplayers Union.

Being a storyteller for over 20 years my one piece of advise for a fellow GM is to make the players the stars of the game. The players write the story, you tell it. Keep rules to a minimum and just remember to have fun.

46. Hungry is a long-time supporter of Campaign Mastery through his website, Ravenous Roleplaying.

My #1 piece of advice to any GM is to have fun. Take the phrase “Role Playing Game” and mix it up a bit to form the sentence “You are playing a role in a game.” While the last word of that sentence is “game” it is arguably the most important. Games are intended to be fun. Therefore: have fun!

47. Jon of Run A Game (twitter: @RunAGame, website: www.runagame.net) is an RPG blogger, nerd, nonprofit fundraiser, & dad from Maryland who mostly uses twitter to talk about running tabletop RPGs.

Hook every single antagonist, goal, and conflict in your game to your players’ characters’ bonds, relationships, ambitions, and histories.

48. Party Roll Mark (@Elmoogle) of the Party Roll Podcast is the resident Party GM of a group in Texas, Michigan.

Remember that you are an arbiter of rules, but also entitled to have fun.

49. Tom Stephens (@dagorym) is a Librarian, Astronomer, Programmer, Husband, Father, and Gamer, “not necessarily in that order”, from Spanish Fork in Utah. He also runs a blog, Arcane Game Lore.

Know the rules for the system. Or maybe better: You are the rules expert. It shouldn’t be on the players to look up rules. Their role is to decide what their character does and says. They should only be there for the story, you worry about the mechanics. This is especially true for new players, whether to the group or to gaming in general. It’s on the the GM to either know the rule, know where (and be able) to quickly look it up, or adjudicate and look it up later. Nothing grinds a game to a halt faster than constant rule checking. If they want to do something that you know would be very unlikely and their character would know that as well, tell them that it most likely won’t work but they don’t need to be the rules experts. If the player wants to learn the mechanics later, that’s great but if all they ever want is to be there for the story aspect and leave the mechanics to you, that’s fine too.

50. Amelia Serif (@maarlzipan) is a freelance writer from Melbourne, Australia, currently with Another Dungeon (twitter: @AnotherDungeon, website: www.anotherdungeon.com), with a deep interest in Japanese language, culture and a passion for games.

Always strive to develop strong motivations for your NPCs. The believability of any RPG world lives and dies at the hands of your NPCs, so make sure you know why each one of them gets up in the morning.

51. raark (@raark) is a “public Servant, Gamer, nerd, & occasional motorcyclist”, currently residing in Queensland, Australia, but originally from New Zealand.

Know your world. Nothing breaks immersion faster than a DM who doesn’t know they lay of the land of his campaign. Something I’m guilty of all too often. I also like to record my games, playing them back I can review my performance and spot areas where improvement is required.

52. RPGCache (@RPGCache) is a tabletop RPG Gamer into “D&D, AD&D, and OSR” from Portland, Oregon.

Keep things moving. One place that had gotten bogged down in my games was arguing over rules. We all agreed to let me the GM make a quick decision and have that stand to keep the game moving and designated one player to be the rules master to review the rule. That person would the inform the group of the interpretation and the next convenient break in action. Any disagreements and arguments over the rules are to be done at end of game or over email before the next session.

53. Dusque (@Rolecasters) is a Dungeon Master, illustrator, writing squire, & “geek underwear model”.

Tie character backgrounds into your campaign. Also pose ethical choices to the players, it will help their characters grow.

54. Flippy is @FlippydaMan on twitter, and tinyhorsies is his game, a pick and play RPG for adults and children. His avatar never fails to lift my mood.

Always remember that it’s a game and the objective is for everyone to have fun. So, do anything you think you need to to make sure that this is accomplished. This might mean changing, modifying, or ignoring the rules. Or it might mean adapting the game to the style of the players. Some players will want to use the session to express their inner beings while others might want to play it as if it were Dynasty Warriors (going around killing stuff). This may also include talks with players off-games, asking what they liked, etc, which in turn will allow you to know how much to prepare so you don’t feel like you spent too much time in something they are going to ignore. You may also have to talk with the one player that is spoiling the experience for everyone else and maybe kick him out. Of course, there are many more things you can do, from having always Hawaiian pizza to dressing up to playing with candles. Just think [to yourself], ‘how can I make this more fun?’ and opportunities will arise.

55. Helms Wake (@one2ebay) is a new D&D YouTube show starting to grow, and a new twitter contact.

The way I DM (I have been told my games move like reading a book) is a complete story were the NPCs strongly bond with player characters, through hate, love interests, friendship. I feel that a game with NPCs that the players care about strongly adds to game play. The game is completely boring and dry without this, I feel. The way I come up with my stories is strange but works for me: I listen to all kinds of music and picture events and create my story line through the feelings a song gives me. Strange but works well for me :) Me and my buddy are just starting out making videos. We have played d&d along time.”

56. The Worst DM (@TheWorstDM) is a “Purveyor of artisinal tabletop gaming sessions” from the city of California in Maryland, USA. His website is located at theworstdm.com.

The most detailed and elaborate games you create often won’t survive past the first encounter if the players aren’t on board with it. Games have to be enjoyable and engaging for the entire group, not just you. Be flexible as a GM and everyone will have fun.

57. DMpathy(@DMpathy on twitter) is a blog offering tabletop advice from a game master who cares.

Listen to your players! Find out what they want out of the game and how you can provide that experience for them. You can have the most fun running a game by making it fun for your players. So keep checking in and communicating with them to make sure they’re having a good experience, and respond accordingly.

58. James Introcaso (@JamesIntrocaso) runs the World Builder Blog, the host of the December round of the RPG Blog Carnival, and hails from Arlington, Virginia. (His tip has been edited for a G-rating – so you can probably guess what he actually wrote).

Playing an RPG is a lot like [any other game]. As long as everyone is comfortable, having fun, and being safe then you’re doing it right.

59. RPGentlemen (@RPGentlemen) is a 5e DnD Live Play Podcast by improv comedians, featuring “a trust-fund barbarian, a living trash pile named Window, and poor decision making.”

Regardless of the system, my advice for new GMs: Embrace the madness.

60. Foster Leathercraft (@fosterleather) on twitter, website ) are from New Westminster, British Columbia, and became enthusiastic supporters of this project and great to chat to in the course of it. New friends!

Have fun. If the DM isn’t having a good time, odds are the players aren’t either.

61. miggybaz (@miggybaz) is a lover of tech and gadgets, a follower of the BTCC, and Amiga lover and a Retro gamer whose favorite game is the Warhammer Fantasy RPG. He hopes that makes him a geek!

It’s your job to make sure the players have fun so act the parts, give good descriptions, and let them flesh out their PCs :) It takes a while to be a good GM. I let my players do practically what they want. They eventually follow the plot!

62. David Caffee, aka @Chaos Trip Studio, produces “innovative game designs for Pathfinder and D&D 4th Edition”. He is based in Ohio.

Advice I’d give any GM for any game: know what your players are excited about and where they want to take the game.

63. Chris Constantin (@drevrpg) locates himself in Edmonton, Alberta, and his blog is Dark Revelations – The Role Playing Game. His twitter bio states that “The Hodgepocalypse takes North America and the d20 system and makes it a diverse world filed with magical rites, modern technology and bizarre cultures.”

Give them what they want, but in a way they don’t expect.

64. Daniel K (@Daniel_G_K) is from New Holland in the Antipodes – which to those in the know translates to the Western side of Australia. A lot of his tweets are game-related and is another who was very enthusiastic about this project, becoming a friend in the process.

I guess this doesn’t apply to every DM [but it’s] genuine advice: try to stay more sober than the players.

65. Richard A. Hunt (@AWizardInDallas) is a gamer, writer, artist, father, and programmer, from Plano, Texas.

The rules are a guide, not a straight jacket. Never acquiesce to player demands for a rules as written game. Such a strategy will be your undoing as a GM.

66. Campaign Coins (@CampaignCoins produce beautiful coins and pendants for RPGs from Melbourne Australia. Their website is campaigncoins.com.

(slightly paraphrased) “Games are powered by goals, obstacles, and rewards. We always remember the obstacles but don’t give the others the attention they deserve.”

67. Rhidian from Apprentice Games (twitter: @AppGamesNotts, website: apprenticegames.co.uk), an online article site based around the hobbies they love so much with a particular focus on Live Action Roleplay, or LARPs, suggests,

If everyone if enjoying themselves you are already doing it right. Your game doesn’t have to be held to an arbitrary ideal of a ‘good game’ nor does every campaign have to be your magnum opus. So relax and have fun with it.

68. Red Eye Ragnarok (@RedEyeRagnarok) is a Programmer, Video Gamer and a Roleplay Gamer from Bavaria in Germany.

If you’re not completely new to running games, I would recommend to focus on player engagement. But how do you achieve this? One simple method: Ask questions. If something isn’t important for an overarching experience, ask a player about it. You don’t have to come up with everything yourself as a GM, since you are playing with other people too and they might have good ideas themselves. Say ‘yes, and’ or ‘yes, but’. Build on the ideas your players give you.

69. Brandon Radke is “Nerd-In-Chief” from Lettuce Inn Games (@lettuceinngames on twitter, website lettuceinngames.wix.com, makers of BLOOD: Path of the Shinobi); describes himself as A well rounded geek for a lop-sided world; and can be found in River Falls, Wisconsin.

The best advice I could give to any GM is to not shackle yourself to the rules. Whatever game you’re playing, this is a game. With your friends. You’re supposed to be having fun, and the fun lives in the moments you have with your friends, no matter what you’re doing. The rules are there just to keep things fair and balanced, but when they become the centerpiece, you’ve lost the thread of why you’re gaming in the first place.

70. Pieter-Jan Maesen (@PieterJanMaesen) is from Antwerp, Belgium, and describes himself as a boyscout, Father, Economist, Informatician, Scout and DM Interested as in politics, art, history, Pen & Paper RPGs, and new media.

Learn to say yes to your players and work with everything they bring to the table.

71. Ubiquitous Rat (@ubiquitousrat) is a longtime associate of Mike’s on Twitter, and describes himself as a slightly overweight, bearded blogger who rather likes lasagna. He’s also a teacher who’s into roleplaying, religious spirituality, UK politics, and rat-keeping. Given the second-last of those, it’s no surprise that he is a UK resident. His blog is UbiquitousRat.net.

Obstacles, not plot – oppose their goals with obstacles (info gather, resolution, celebration).

72. D’n’DUI (@DnDUI) is a podcast and webcomic where the participants drink themselves “under the tabletop”. Available on dndui.com, iTunes and Stitcher.

A character embodies a particular part of the player, help them explore that extension of their personality.

73. Berin Kinsman needs no introduction to anyone whose been into RPGs and blogging – he was one of the first, under the name “Uncle Bear”, and showed a lot of us (by example) how to do it. He is the publisher behind www.asparagusjumpsuit.com, and their twitter account @readwriteroll. NB: Asparagus Jumpsuit have almost finalized plans to switch to a new, more serious, business name. Follow now or the link may be dead when you do!

Read a lot of fiction in a lot of different genres, to better understand the fundamentals of storytelling.

74. David F Chapman (@autocratik of www.autocratik.com) is a “Writer, Ennie-winning TTRPG Designer, Creator of the Vortex System, Gamer, Editor, General Geek, RPG nerd and Autocrat” based in the UK. He is probably best known for his work as game designer on the award winning Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space roleplaying game for Cubicle 7 Entertainment.

Don’t be afraid to go off of the rails. Some of my best gaming experiences have come with just letting the players do the crazy, off-adventure, bizarre plans that had me thinking on my feet.

75. Burning Games (website, @burning_games on twitter), produce FAITH, a Sci-Fi pen & paper RPG that uses cards instead of dice, and are based in London, England, and the Spanish communities of Santander and Bilbao. You can buy their products with their Pledge Manager. Calos GQ from Burning Games offers:

Prepare yourself to be unprepared. You should create a story that leaves room for things you were not expecting – listen to the players’ ideas and expectations and work with them.

76-78. Todd Secord (@ToddSecord) is an Illustrator, Game Designer, Blogger, and more, and a member of the Nerd Tangent podcast (@NerdTangent). His website is United Nerdery.

I let the players dictate the course of play as much as possible no matter what the game. So my advice whenever starting any new rpg is to keep the first scenario nice and simple. If you’re running a pulp genre – start a jungle quest for a lost artifact. DnD related? A basic dungeon crawl. Super Hero? A head to head against a rival villain in the city streets.

With beginners, slow and steady wins the race. With experienced players the game system itself and how it plays will likely be the biggest attraction. In this case, allowing for a simple test drive generally gives way to more intricate possibilities. If we’re talking hardcore veteran players, they’ll likely push the possibilities right away if given an easy starting line. [Adjust your campaign planning accordingly.]

Keeping those first few sessions to genre tropes makes it easier on players and GMs alike in learning a new game while still keeping it fun.

79. RPG Stream (@RPG Stream) started with HeroQuest, then and followed that with RPGs: RuneQuest, then D&D. He is a self-described fanatic collector of fantasy miniatures.

Study your module. Believe in your adventure. Improvisation comes later.

80. & 81. Ken The DM(website, @Ken_The_DM on twitter) doesn’t give away too much about himself, but he writes a blog about gaming and is clearly passionate about the hobby and looking to make the jump into the industry as a professional (you can download his first attempt at a commercial module from his website). He offers two separate pieces of advice:

Experiment. Play every RPG you can. I love D&D; it’s my jam. But experimenting with other systems made me a better dungeon master. Here are some examples: I stole the interlude system from “Savage Worlds”. Pure gold.

Running “Everyone is John” taught me I could improvise a session cold.

“Beyond the Wall” taught me how to run a shared sandbox. Running these games made my D&D game stronger. Regardless of what you love, play everything.

and,

Let go. Let your players participate in the world’s creation. Often (and I am guilty of this myself), we view ourselves as the sole sovereign of content, and players are mere toys for our amusement. Let it go. Let your players help build the world. I bribe my players to journal about their character’s experiences. This provides a steady supply of hooks, bonds, and content. Yes, you give up control and naming rights (the Dwarf, Drilly Drills, offered the innovative name of “Drills Hall” for her homestead), but you get a world that is ultimately richer, more vibrant and creative. Its not about the name, its about the lore you and your friends create.

82. Triple B Titles (@Triple_B_Titles) are a family-operated independent game studio, creators of Ring Runner and Dungeons and Deuces. They are currently working on Popup Dungeon, a roguelike papercraft tactical RPG that lets you create any weapon, ability, and hero! Their website is www.triplebtitles.com (hint: mouseover the squares, then scroll down). Theya re also amongst the long-term supporters of Campaign Mastery.

You’re only as valuable as what you bring to the system.

83. Brabblemark Press (@brabblemark) are publishers of the Corporia RPG, whose kickstarter campaign I reviewed in Taking Care Of Business. Brabblemark are based in Chicago, Illinois and have gone from strength to strength since they first offered Corporia to Kickstarter.

Be willing to abandon your scripted plots and story arcs; follow the players down their improvised paths.

84. Dirk the Dice (@theGROGNARDfile) is from the GROGNARD file. Dirk is the host of The GROGNARD RPG Files podcast, and Tweets about Runequest, Traveller, Call of Cthulhu, Stormbringer, T&T (and other games from ‘back in the day’). He’s from Bolton in the UK.

Always have an interesting encounter ready in your back pocket – just in case.

85. rpgames.be (@RPGamesbe) is an RPG blogger & collector from Belgium, and a Buccaneer Bass crew member. He also has an occasional blog which looks at the Belgian RPG scene (and contains content of interest to those outside that country) – you’ll find it at this link.

Don’t worry about the rules, focus on the story and have fun!

86. Norse Foundry (@norsefoundry) are makers of quality dice (especially metal ones), dwarven coins, and bit more (order from their site (norsefoundry.com). They love to play the games that can use their products, and have an irrepressible sense of tongue-in-cheek humor, as evidenced by their “about us” page and the advice they’ve offered:

Swing Hard and always carry a big metal D20!

87. John Bennett (@JohnRPGdesign) is a freelance writer for the Pathfinder RPG and is currently the Line Developer for Shadows over Vathak published by Fat Goblin Games, amongst other professional achievements.

To create the world and NPCs WITH your players. Fully involve them in the storytelling process.

88. Sarah Wolf (@sarwolf0) has GM’d exactly once, and was initially worried that with that level of experience she would have nothing worth contributing! She is also a novelist and a CPA from Raleigh, North Carolina. She’s passing on some advice that her more experienced players gave her that she says really helped when she got started:

Two [of my] players know the game rules well, so they told me to focus on story, not mechanics. That helped me prepare.

89. Jeux et Féerie (@EtherneOfZula) is an RPG community/group from Monaco, and some of the tweets are in French (the name “Jeux et Féerie” translates as “Games Extravaganza” according to Google). There are some nice items available at the Jeux et Féerie website, new additions are announced via the twitterfeed. They have supported Campaign Mastery for years.

Get the game and players before [you get] the rules.

90. True Mask Games (@TrueMaskGames) is a “tiny indie game and RPG design studio from Austria” (Graz, to be more precise). “Gamers of the world unite!” They are currently working on a Celtic Mythology RPG (I know at least one person who will be interested in that, if it’s in English – and there is a very good chance that it will be, their tweets are!)

Know your players and put a decent amount of work and passion into the game! Fun for everyone is the most important thing!

91. Geek In The Closet (@GeekNTheCloset) is an aspiring roleplaying game designer, artist, cartographer, writer, heavy metal guitarist, and owner of the geekinthecloset.com Pathfinder RPG fan site, which was still in development when I checked (but looks extremely pretty and will be a quality presence on the web when complete!)

Unlike board games which are typically enjoyable by strategically manipulating other players using a strictly enforced set of rules and predefined playing field, roleplaying games are unbounded by such conventions, and the rules serve only as a framework for setting the stage for fantastic scenarios that are limited only by the groups collective imagination and interests. As a GM, your role is to call upon them to create challenge, discard them when inconvenient, or even covertly bend them in the interest of entertaining your audience.

92. Lucas (@EmbersDS) of Embers Design Studios, home of the City Of Brass, needs no real introduction here because I’ve gushed about his products twice now: The Book of Terniel, in Things That Are Easy, Things That Are Hard, and (more recently), Yrisa’s Nightmare in Yrisa’s Nightmare and other goodies. He’s been a friend and supporter ever since we first connected over the Terniel fundraising campaign.

Remember it’s just a game. Have fun, don’t let the rules get in the way.

93. & 94. The Carpe GM (@TheCarpeDM) is another Chicago resident, and felt that he couldn’t do better than to quote @TheAngryGM:

“The point of your first game is to get the most basic skills down: Narrate and Adjudicate.”

He added,

“…and know who to steal from”.

95. Erik Luken (@icehawke) owns Arkayn Game Designs, calls Elgin, Illinois home, and describes himself as a gamer, game author, geek, online DJ, and programmer. he also has an occasional blog about programming, gaming, and writing called pentarch.org under the name Shadow Network.

Listen to your players and let their paranoid conjectures write the story.

96. Basement Heroes (@BasementHeroes) is a #DungeonsandDragons adventure podcast. “Follow our misadventures as we bungle our way through #DnD 5th edition” under DM @hansenjames. You can subscribe to the Podcast through iTunes at podcast/basement-heroes. They haven’t said where they are actually located, but the GM is in South Salt Lake, Utah, so it’s a good bet that the other participants are also Salt Lake City residents.

Do what you do and enjoy best, and your players will feel that passion and enjoy it too.

97. Randall Newnham (@coffeeswiller) is a “geek, gamer, father, [and] game blogger”. he is also Playtest Director for Escapade Games and hails from Eugene, Oregon. He is currently working on the playtesting for a new game, Storm Hollow, which seems to combine elements of an RPG with a boardgame, and is described by Escapade Games as “an upcoming storytelling adventure game for 2-7 players where players can go on fantastic adventures in about an hour”. There’s an interview with one of the designers at this podcast site and you can pre-order copies here – not cheap, but high-quality boardgames these days never are. You can also drool over some visual spoilers released about 5 months ago at this link if you’re interested.

Say “yes!” as often as possible. This gives the players agency in their story.

98. R. A. Whipple (@RA_Whipple) is a retired PR counselor turned aspiring author who enjoys smooth jazz; classic films; and old school, evocative, social, tabletop Role-Playing in Warsaw, Poland, and another long-time friend through Twitter.

Know and incorporate the player (not just his/her character) into the system/game. Engage & engross the player. That’s what I call ‘GM = System’.

99. Rich Green (Twitter: @richgreen01, website: parsantium) is an D&D gamer & game designer and a bookseller who has the happy fortune to barrack for Palace (presumably Crystal Palace FC, since Rich is a Londoner). Author of the “Parsantium: City at the Crossroads” city sourcebook and the brand-new “Icons of Parsantium” – see Rich’s website for more information.

I recommend reading widely – adventures, games supplements, novels, history & other non-fiction, comics, magazines, whatever – and always have a notebook (or phone/tablet note-taking app) handy so you can jot down cool ideas for your game that come to you when you’re reading.

100. Peter Samet (@petersamet) is a “full-time film editor, part-time science fiction writer, [and] occasional existential crisis sufferer [who] spends way too much time trying to answer impossible questions”. I wanted to run a quote from Peter as a contribution to this post but he’s not on Twitter very much these days (by his own admission) and permission didn’t reach me in time. So I’ll have to settle for linking to his original tweet, instead.

101. Mik Calow (@Vobeskhan) has been a Gamer for 30+ years, is a D&D player & DM, and a fan of sci-fi and fantasy. He also blogs and writes in between being a parent and grandparent in Leicester, England. He’s been a buddy of Mike’s on Twitter for a year or two.

Don’t be afraid to say No to your players, if it doesn’t fit your campaign don’t allow it.

Oh no, more thoughts. What is meant by a “new GM?” A GM that has never played a game before and so doesn’t actually have a clue at all, or A GM that has been playing for years and so has witnessed many GMs good and bad? If you have decided to step into the role of GM through want or need (i.e. no-one else wants to do it) you will have a basic understanding of what you are going to do. A GM reads most of the book. Well, at least the “how to run a game” and the “dice rolling” parts. Saying NO and YES to players is part of the gig, it’s like saying ‘don’t be afraid to say “Role for Initiative”‘, it’s part and parcel [of what you do]. As a GM, you have got the game you want to run. You are excited by the game you want to run. That’s enough to start anyone on the path to “GM Enlightenment”. So I guess what I am saying is: No One is right. Just do it your way. Learn as you go. You will know what feels right for you and so what is right for your players and the Game.

and, (Paraphrased and edited, any mistakes mine):

Personal experience has shown that a player who becomes a [reluctant] GM lacks the motivation to learn how to do it well and so is terrible at it. It’s just not what they want to be, and it affects how they GM.

and also, (Paraphrased and edited from a couple of conversations, any mistakes or misinterpretations mine):

Trying to give advice to anyone is generally a difficult task. GMs should learn from playing and observing others play, but I have found that some players who become GMs can’t see past what they wanted when they were a player to the bigger picture. Different people want something different from every game, and its the GM’s job to satisfy all of them. If a GM does say no to something, or make it difficult-to-impossible, they generally have a very good reason – try to work out what that is before assuming it’s directed at you personally, and definitely before blindly saying ‘yes’ to the same question when you’re a GM.

105. Paul (@spookshow71) is a lover of books, comics, movies and geeky stuff; a tabletop Gamer; an Engraver, Ex-Goth, and “Level 4 Dad” from the East Midlands, England.

Watching, listening, and reacting to your players during the game is as equally important as how much preparation you do. Their engagement – their enjoyment – is the best gauge of your game’s success. Work with that, and you won’t go far wrong.

106. Oz Garcia (@gash26) is “an ill fitting mansuit with spiffy magic fingers” into coffee, d&d, and dccrpg [Dungeon Crawl Classics] who channels Teddy Roosevelt from Austin, Texas (see his profile pic!).

Put all the extra books, supplements, and splat books, aside and play the bare bones game once in a while. In the end all those books are are marketing ploy and the real purpose of the hobby is to HAVE FUN!

107. Total Party Thrill Podcastis a podcast for GMs and players where the hosts discuss their campaigns, and more, in order to inspire yours. You can subscribe via iTunes. They also have a twitter account, @TPTCast.

Prepare the least amount you need to run a session. Trust in your ability to improv.

108. @Mundangerous from Mundangerous.com is one of the hosts of the Total Party Thrill podcast and an occasional RPG blogger in his own right.

There are hundreds of RPGs out there, so play the ones that facilitate the stories you tell. Don’t feel like you need to fit a square peg into a round hole.

109. Emily Rochelle (@TheCraftyDM) is part of the ‘She’s a Super Geek’ live-play RPG Podcast, in which (in most episodes) the contributors play a different RPG live “on the air” and record what happens – sort of a virtual playtest for the rest of us. Her credentials don’t stop there, check out her twitter account for more.

Remember that everything is made up and the points don’t matter as long as everyone’s having fun.

110. Chris Jensen Romer (@CRJ23) is into History, Science, Games, and Ghosts. He also has a blog about RPGs at “And sometimes he’s so nameless” but that hasn’t been updated in a while, perhaps because CJ has been overseas.

Always give the players what they want – but not what they were expecting.

111. Dreaming Glo (@Scarletrogue12) is a relatively new friend on twitter (about 6 months, now, I think) who describes herself as a “Wife, Mom, RPG Player, Gamer, Browncoat, Whovian, Poet, Witch, Dreamer.” Her Twitter avatar is a pair of ruby slippers (I couldn’t tell at twitter’s icon size, it looked like a cork being released from a bottle to me!).

Know your NPCs inside and out. They can make or break your game; they matter, and are a great tool. Good NPCs make the game great – Too many DMs focus so heavily on the rules they forget how important the NPCs are.

112. Chief Shark Boner – a.k.a. Devon J Kelley (@Shark_Bone of the Shark Bone Podcast) – is a new acquaintance (the shark bone podcast Sandbox #21 is the one in which Lucas [tip 92] remembered my article [see my “interview” with Tracey Snow, above] and was kind enough to link to my article – which is how I became aware of the story). Devon is located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Know your story. It’s easier to improvise when you know where you’re going.

113. Adventurer’s Quarter (twitter: @AdventQuarter, facebook page / website: denvergamestore) is a game store promoting RPGs in the Denver area – specifically, in historic Olde Town Arvada, Colorado.

You author the book that is your setting and style, but your players tell the story and get to fill the pages.

114. Diana Stein (naiadstudios.com) is a very gifted artist and a fantasy DM from “outside Detroit”. She tweets as @d_h_stein.

To new GMs: running a game is like riding a roller coaster with multiple end points you can’t see. At the end, it’ll be ‘let’s go again!’ To old GMs: listen to your players again. They want to bring fun to the table too!

115. Sarah Otto (@ruminateyou) is a Secondary Art Pre-Teacher, Game Master, Minecraft Lover, CMU Student, and Anime Club member. She doesn’t tweet often, and I was pleasantly surprised when she responded to my invitation.

Stop planning and start playing. GMs go above and beyond to plan a spectacular game when, usually, the players won’t tell the difference. Some of the best stories happen when you reach the end of your plans and improvise. Imagination is best left to is own devices. Now, I’m not saying to ignore the usefulness of prebuilt tools. But before you make new monsters, learn to use the ones in the books creatively. Give them different names and different features on the fly – just use their stats (this is known as “re-skinning” – Mike). When you learn to let loose and shape the world at will, the players will too.

116. Chaserone (@wardostarks) is a self-confessed nerd who works in IT and occasionally writes. Based in Montana, he and I go back to shortly after I joined Twitter. Strangely enough, I think we’ve talked more about general stuff than gaming over the years.

Rules can be guidelines.

117. Nercore T-Vegas (@NerdcoreTVegas) is a “Writer and event organizer active in the building of literary and gaming communities in NW Pennsylvania”. He has a blog at Nerdcore T-Vegas but hasn’t posted to it for getting toward a couple of years – but he tweets more regularly.

Rules are meant to enable the story, not disable it. There is leeway for actions that enhance the gaming experience.

118. James Arthur Eck (@JamesArthurEck) is an electrical engineer, fantasy novelist, and online game designer. Author of “A Different Reign on the Horizon” and maker of the Mind Weave RPG.

Take player ideas seriously and let them work or have a chance of working if at all plausible.

119. Johnn Four of Roleplaying Tips needs no introduction to long-time readers of Campaign Mastery, but for anyone who doesn’t know, he co-founded Campaign Mastery and was a weekly contributor for the first three-and-a-half years here – so at least 1/4 of this history belongs to him – but it should be more than that because without him (amongst others), there would have been no Campaign Mastery. The Roleplaying Tips newsletter (aside from a couple of individual articles here and there) was the first place that my gaming content was published regularly, and continues to offer tips every week (with the occasional break). Subscribe via the link to have the newsletter delivered to your inbox. Johnn lives in Beaumont, Alberta, and also has a twitter account @roleplaying tips through which he regularly tweets gaming goodness (including links to my articles, Thanks Johnn!).

Have more fun at every game. Do this by improving your game master skills so you gain confidence. Shore up your weaknesses, but do not focus too much on those as that’s not where you derive your fun from. Instead, figure out what you like most about GMing and focus on taking those skills to 11.

120. Matt from dicegeeks.com runs an epic site with updates around-the-clock and a monthly newsletter amongst a whole heap more content. He’s also on Twitter at @dicegeeks where he’s just about as active.

Allow your players to tell the story with you. Some GM’s, when they start out (me included), have grand stories with plot points down to the smallest detail. If you have a story like that, write a novel or a screenplay. Do not try to GM an RPG campaign around it. Give the players some direction, but always let their choices take the story to places you never dreamed of. You won’t regret it, and your players will love you for it.

121. Christian Lindke (@ChristianLindke) is an MBA, SF and Fantasy Fan, Film lover, Pen’n’Paper RPG Gamer, PhD Student, and Non-Profit Program Director in Los Angeles. He also finds time to Tweet, occasionally blog to “Advanced Dungeons And Parenting“, and post to facebook. Sleep must be an optional extra.

on’t be afraid to say yes to your players’ “crazy” ideas. The best game-related stories come from collaboration.

122. D. Hunter Phillips (@Digitalculture0) is a Sci-fi & Fantasy Author, roleplayer, gamer, and board game reviewer from Washington DC.

Incorporate backstory elements from the players’ characters.

123. MITC Productions are “the producers of the Monkey in the Cage and Useless Drivel Podcasts and purveyors of gaming, geek culture, and everything in between.” Hailing from Southern California (which is a very big place, I’ve been there), their twitterfeed @MonkeyInTheCage is mostly used to announce new podcasts and otherwise keep people up to date with what’s happening.

Take it one step at a time and definitely don’t over-think it!

124-130. Rory Klein (@RoryGKlein) is a “Husband, Father, IT Solution Provider, D&D Veteran, Old School RPG Gamer, Board Gamer, PC Gamer, Blogger and lover of Coffee”. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa and doesn’t tweet very often – but replies a lot. He was very helpful and encouraging when I was diagnosed with Diabetes earlier this year and is easy to “talk” to via twitter. He also has lots of good advice:

You need to sell the campaign to your players. If you not excited about the adventure you going to be running, your players certainly won’t be.

You need to engage with your players; find out what they like, what they want to achieve and find a way to incorporate it into your campaign. An excited DM and invested players will make for a great campaign.

Don’t worry about the rules, don’t worry about the “bling” these are all secondary – get your players as EXCITED as you are about the adventure you going to be running.

Once the campaign is running it is a group effort to maintain the story, help it grow – don’t let that responsibility fall onto just one player and or the DM.

Listen to your players and likewise players need to help the DM achieve the goals of the campaign.

Between sessions use email to engage your players, encourage your players to message you with input. Ask how you can make things more fun, ask for feedback, never be afraid of criticism, how else will you be able to improve your skills as a game master.

Most importantly have fun don’t turn the campaign into a chore and remember it is a group effort and the campaign will only be as memorable as the people taking part in it. So put away those phones and electronic devices focus on the story at hand and let your imagination run free…

131. enduringsecond (@enduringsecond) is a new contact made through the process of organizing this party special. I can never look at his or her twitterfeed without finding something new of interest (most recently, “what it felt like to test the first Submarine nuclear reactor”). Interested in RPGs, virtual worlds, serious games, space travel and science fiction. Lest that put you off, he/she also re-tweeted about Tunnels And Trolls not long ago!

Be fair and consistent, nothing worse for a player than a GM who seems arbitrary or unfair.

132. Asako Soh (@Asako_Soh) (aka Johann Gottlieb Fichte on Twitter) is another long-time twitter contact who has often been supportive. He describes himself as a Roleplayer and academic interested in “philosophy, neuroscience, books, whisky, and comedy” – and an “Occasional pipe smoker”. He’s an Active twitter user. I remember him once telling me that both “Johann” and “Asako” are names of his characters – even the gender assignment in this introduction is speculation on my part: “Johann” is a male name, “Asako” is a female – so who knows? It doesn’t bother me, and neither should it bother anyone else – just enjoy the frequent interesting tweets and interact.

Ask the players what they would like to experience and provide it.

133. Robert Oglodzinski (@writinggames) – I could try to guess how to pronounce Robert’s surname but I’d probably get it wrong and wouldn’t want to insult him by trying. He is a game writer / designer from Warsaw, Poland who is currently working on “CD Projekt Red” for Cyberpunk 2077 and also curates links about retro video games through Paper.li/AncientScrollPL (I tried to get a link but could only link to a particular issue, so check his twitterfeed if interested and ignore any link your browser adds automatically to the last sentence). He also tweets a LOT about RPGs and is a new contact for me – but one that I expect to check regularly.

Fun & freedom of choice before rules.

134. Gamemaster Raphi (@GMRaphi) describes himself as a “Neutral Good role playing game geek, experienced Game Master, [and] part-time mmo addict” from Olten, Switzerland. Do yourself a favor and check out his Deviantart page if you like eye candy for your games/imagination. He tweets and re-tweets a lot when he gets excited about something – currently The Force Awakens.

Try to play RPGs with your friends. Usually that’s easier than making friends with people who happen to like the same games as you do.

135. David Jacobs (@il_beavo) is another new contact resulting from the organizing of this collection of advice, but he became an enthusiastic supporter right away. Located in the Blue Mountains, Australia, which is the mountain range west of Sydney. He describes himself as a “gamer, carer, and cat-parent; former political hack, and occasional short-form writer (but not actually a beaver. Sorry.)” – you probably need to know that his profile pic is of a Beaver in order to get the joke. David tweets & re-tweets on a variety of topics – everything from Australian politics to history to humor (of the very Aussie sort evidenced by his profile).

Keep the pace up! Boredom is death. Chandler’s Law: “When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand”.

136. Eric M. Paquette (@ericmpaq) is a long-standing twitter-friend. He’s from Ottawa, Ontario, a player (both PC and GM roles), and interested in all games. He also serves as CanGames’s Web Content Director, and as RPG & Children’s Games coordinator. A lot of his tweets are about Sci-Fi/Fantasy media, RPGs, and social issues/awareness subjects.

This is a cooperative game with the whole group. This game belongs to the whole group. Ask questions, listen, and be a fan of the protagonists. Remember, characters in great stories fall and then rise.

137. Tobias Wichtrey (@twoddr) of twoddr.net is a software developer, D&D dungeon master, mathematician, musician, and more, who tries to be a game designer. Tobias is from Augsburg, Germany. For various reasons, he rarely updates his blog any more and, in fact, has only recently returned to Twitter after a lapse of almost a year.

Learn to incorporate your player’s ideas into the game even if they contradict what you originally had planned.

138. ^(;;;)^ obskures.de (@obskures) tweets “geek stuff in Denglish (German-English)” about “Books, comics, games, movies, music & skeptical humanism”. He also warns, in his profile, that “Your mileage may vary!” – but I’ve never regretted following him a couple of years back. As you could guess from his language comments, his website is also in German, probably because that’s where he lives!

Be prepared for improvisation and don’t let the rules get in your way. A ruling is more fun than a 2h discussion. Your mileage may vary. If you enjoy the rules debate process, hold it separately after the game so that those who don’t can leave or watch TV.

139. Joe Kushner (@JoeGKushner) was last mentioned in these pages in describing the context and origins of the article Always Something There To Surprise You – Plots as Antagonists, but I’ve known him on Twitter for a lot longer than that. He’s a “long-time role playing gamer, miniature painter and currently supply chain analyst” in Chicago, Illinois. His website is Appendix N, “Inspired by the original Appendix N from the 1st edition Dungeon Master’s Guide. Musings on how to use things ranging from reading a variety of materials, games, movies, and miniatures for your role playing games.” But he hasn’t posted very much there lately, due to a combination of circumstances – ones that I doubt will last forever.

Never stop reading. Outside of standard inspiration from genre-appropriate material, everything can be filed for later.

140. Seasonal Feelings (@MattyD47) is another new acquaintance from something approaching my own neck of the woods – at least from an American point of view – since he calls Hobart, Tasmania (Australia) home. His twitter profile states that he is a “Player of guitar. Modifier of Nerf guns. Batman enthusiast. Quite tall. Comms for @procreateapp (an art-creation app), cast member of @TheGamesMaestro (a musical web series inspired by Dungeons and Dragons). Afraid of ceiling fans.” (There’s that dry Australian sense of humor again!)

Roll with it – whatever the players do, however the dice fall, go with it. Work it into your story. Flexibility and improvisation are invaluable.

141. TPK Games (@TPKGames) is a third-party publisher for the Pathfinder RPG based in Waterloo, Iowa. You can find out more about their products from their facebook page. They certainly have a number of them that interest me! Their advice is short and to-the-point:

Story > Rules.

142. Lindan (@Cthuloid) is a “Progressive technocrat” who “codes .NET for a living” when not “Despairing over world stupidity [or] wasting time with RPGs, Football, World of Tanks and League Of Legends.” From Wiesbaden, Germany, his tweets are a mixture of English and German and on a variety of subjects, including many on RPGs. Another new contact coming out of this party!

Make it clear from the start that making the game great is a SHARED responsibility between you AND your players.

143. Michael from (@TheRpgAcademy), on the other hand, is an old buddy on Twitter, from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was last mentioned here as the instigator of An AcadeCon For Your Consideration, where I described him as “a supporter of Campaign Mastery and an occasional conversationalist on the subject of gaming for several years”. He co-hosts the “Table Topics” podcast and is a DM and player on “The Campaigns Podcasts”, both on The Rpg Academy website.

Don’t talk so much. As a GM your job is to be the Ring Master at a circus. You show up to set the stage and then fade into the background until you need to change the scenery. Some of the best RP moments come in the silence that happens when the GM isn’t afraid to sit quietly for a bit.

144. Lena R. Punkt (@Catrinity) comes from Hamburg, Germany, and tweets in German (but occasional re-tweets are in English) – and, as you’ll see from her advice, her English is pretty good – better than Google’s German-English translations! :) Lena’s website, Xeledons Spiegel (translation: Xeledon’s Mirror) is also in German. Her currently preferred game is DSA (a German RPG, translation: The Dark Eye (refer this wikipedia page if, like me, you have never heard of it before. This article on RPG.net, which describes the basic rules, might also be of interest). Lena’s recent tweets have been about music. She has a boring office job during the week but gets to play RPGs with her friends every weekend.

Find out what things your players enjoy or don’t enjoy. The best adventure won’t be fun if your players don’t like the genre or setting or kind of gameplay.

145. Civilian Zero (@DownToDM) has just moved to Orlando, Florida, and has no group to DM any more. Nevertheless, RPGs are the subject of most of his tweets. He also has a website, Hastur Hates Us All, that’s worth visiting for blog posts and graphic resources (read: pretty pictures) suitable for Cyberpunk and Fantasy gaming (and readily adaptable for superheroes).

It’s just as important to learn to improvise as it is to learn to prepare well. No plan survives contact with the players.

146. Kennon Bauman (Twitter: @TheUniverseGM, website: www.theilluminerdy.com) is a professional analyst and lapsed historian, a father, a gamer, and your go-to guy for secret history, UFOs, and conspiracy theories, from Baltimore, Maryland.

Treat every session of a game like it’s the only session you will ever run. Make a clear beginning/middle/end, and pack all the fun you can into every moment.

147. Doc Wilson (@DocDraconis) is a “Singer, Gaming Humorist/Cartoonist, Gamer, Game Designer/Publisher, Writer, Movie Lover” from Canada and a new acquaintance. His blog/game company is Shared Weave Games.

While GMs are these in equal parts: Writer, Improv Actor, Lawyer, Mediator, Salesman, Referee, Mentor, Mad Scientist, and Ambassador, they must always remember that he or she is this one thing above all else: A friend.

148. Rob Bodine (@GSLLC) is from the Gamer’s Syndicate LLC (site can be slow to load) in Manassus, Virginia, who are the hosts of synDCon, the Washington DC metropolitan area’s newest table-top gaming convention. They also put out a paper.li, “#GSLLC’s #Gaming and #Geekery” – again, can only link to specific editions, check their twitterfeed – which has gaming links in the Headlines, Arts & Entertainment, Videos, and Sports sections, just for starters. Always worth checking out, the Gamer’s Syndicate is (are?) another long-time twitter acquaintance.

The most important advice to DMs (and players, for that matter) is to understand that different people play the game for different reasons, and not one of those reasons is objectively wrong. I wrote an article for Loremaster.org a while back that was lost when the site crashed, but it wasn’t anything ground-breaking. It talked about the various types of players, which others have discussed before. My list included, among others, storytellers, combat tacticians, actors, and gaming significant others (“GSOs”), who are non-gamers playing simply for the sake of their significant others. Every single one of those people has as much a right to the game as others, and it’s important that each one have fun. What’s difficult about DMing is making sure those players are happy around the table despite the presence of other player types. So, my advice to the DM is to start from the following perspective: Acknowledge the existence of all of these different player types, and do your best to accommodate all of them. Keep in mind that *most* players are willing to bend a little, and their usually forgiving, so as hard of a job as DMing is at times, everyone’s on your side and are there to help.

149. Billiam Babble (@billiambabble) offers hand-drawn modular dungeon sections and other such goodies through inkedadventures.com. He has a general gaming blog at Adventures and Shopping.

I think my advice would be (which stems from anxiety and regret of so many missed opportunities) is never be frightened to make both the rules and a scenario, the world, your own. Also if the players have gone too far off the main path, tell them, even if it is out-of-character.

150. Twice Jaked Potato (@Jakeplusplus) hasn’t done much tweeting for a while, but has done lots of replying. I first encountered Jake in #RPGChat (which I wrote about as part of my article on the GM’s Help Network. He re-blogs strange stuff at Crease++on tumblr, worth checking out.

Go with the flow. Guide your world, but don’t forget to let it guide you, too.

151. Randelf Snowwalker (@deadorcs): “Writer, gamer, blogger, thinker, husband, father”, from Topeka, Kansas. Lots of RPG-related tweets, which may slow down until January because he doesn’t think he’ll get to see The Force Awakens until then. He has a website that hasn’t been updated in a couple of years at The Dead Orcs Society but which has archives which may be worth your time.

No matter what RPG you’re playing, it’s about the PCs being characters in a story. Always hunt down the story to tell.

152. Brian Fitzpatrick (@gameknightrvws) – Fitz has been a long-time supporter and fan of Campaign Mastery from his home base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, through his old website, Game Knight Reviews (presently being archived through Gamerati) and his own game-product publishing company,Moebius Adventures, whose products I’ve reviewed a couple of times (Places to go and people to meet and A Serpentine Slithering To Adventure). Note that the links in those articles may have expired – check the new site at www.moebiusadventures.com if the links are dead, or you want to check out the more recent products that he has on offer.

Set things in motion and be willing to let your players lead the way to unexpected destinations.

153. Joshua (@einsteinsarcade) is another long-time supporter of Campaign Mastery (lots of my friends have shown up for this party)! He’s from Austin, Texas and “Enjoys Games (Analog & Digital), Horror/SciFi/Fantasy Media, Faires/Conventions/Festivals, and Things Occulted”.

Never forget, as a GM, you’re there to facilitate storytelling.

154 & 155. Lesser Gnome (@LesserGnome) is an Old-School Role-Playing Game Publisher offering Old-school sensibilities with modern presentation, from Arizona, USA. Past products include the Ennie-nominated “Whisper & Venom” and they have just released a limited Collector’s Box Set of their latest offering, “Death & Taxes” – go to their website lessergnome.com for more information.

Love your ideas but accept that some won’t work in-game.

and,

Difficult people cannot be fixed and ruin games.

156. A night on the game (twitter: @gamingtales) is described in their twitter profile as “a transcribed recording of the ups & downs of a group of players trying to roleplay over the internet, recast into literary style. And other RPG, TRPG & gaming-related bits”, but most of the tweets in recent times have been more general interest RPG and video-game material. There is also a gaming tales blog but it doesn’t seem to be updated very often.

Make sure the players are going to have fun. Obvious but crucial.

157. Bill Bodden (@BillBodden) is a “freelance writer, gamer, geek, and mostly nice guy. Mostly.” His occasional blog is at billbodden.com, and reveals his usual haunts as being the “upper Midwest” of the USA. His CV is impressive to say the least, having contributed articles to half-a-dozen magazines, had his fiction published in one gaming magazine and two anthologies, and written gaming-related material for Fantasy Flight Games, Black Library (a division of Games Workshop), Green Ronin Publishing, Margaret Weis Productions, and Modiphius Entertainment.

Be flexible; there’s only so much prep you can do. Sometimes you have to fly by the seat of your pants!

158. Ollie Gross (@derO23) is “married, father of twins, cat wrangler, gamer, TV junkie, movie buff, comic book nerd, metalhead, [and] indentured in the digital saltmines”. Games, TV, and movies are also the subjects that he mainly tweets about. His website is “Exquisite Waste Of Time” but it hasn’t been updated in a couple of months. Which doesn’t mean you won’t find anything of interest/value there!

Never work against your players. RPGs are always a collaborative effort & shared responsibility for everyone to have fun.

159. Sir Gareth the GM (@SGKeep) is primarily a tabletop gamer, but also “a dabbler in many things geeky” who loves to GM and who is working on a tabletop #rpg called Pythos in his free time. His website is Sir Gareth’s Keep and holds a couple of posts I’ve definitely bookmarked for eventual reading.

Be flexible. Like any work of art, tailor the game for your audience (your players). Don’t be afraid to tweak the script!”

160. Rob Wilkison (@Misfit_KotLD) is a “history and RPG geek, old and grumpy, [and a] Bastard GM”. He also admits to being a Metalhead and feminist. Tweets or Re-tweets something every couple of days on average from Jacksonville, Georgia, USA, and joins in other conversations with similar frequency. His blog is Random Thoughts – Musings of a lazy scholar and GM but hasn’t been updated in over 6 months. That said, there’s a 19-month gap between that item and the previous one, so Rob clearly only hits “publish” when he has something to say, and a quick glance was enough to tell me that I wanted to read it all from start to finish.

Fun comes first and foremost, even for the GM.

161. Steve Wollett (@SteveWollett) is a self-confessed Geek, Gamer, Writer, and Movie Buff from Nottingham, Maryland, whose interests include Cosplay, Comics, Collectibles, SciFi, and Horror. He tweets and re-tweets a lot, little of it RPG related, but most of it’s interesting to me anyway. Your mileage may vary.

Your job as a GM is to create the story, so long as you push the story forward and everyone enjoys it, you have done good.

162. The Vulture GM (@The_Vulture_GM) describes himself as a “Gamer & GM for DnD 5E and Pathfinder, DCC RPG fanboy, Thinker of things, Producer of minimal content, Half-lefty, [and] Mediocre min-maxer since ’83”. Lots of his tweets are game related, and he tweets good advice like this, and what he has offered the 750th Party:

Forever learn. Learn from others experiences, your own mistakes, other game systems, other genres.

163. G*M*S Magazine (@gmsmagazine) is a “website all about Boardgames, Role Playing Games, Card games and some things geeky” who are reaching out for Patreon support from their fans. Based in Brighton, (England presumably), their website (also known as G*M*S Magazine) has a wide variety of content – a few articles, a few podcasts, a few videos, and a lot of reviews of Books, RPG materials, board games, card games, and more.

Go with the flow of the players and have fun. Remember it’s not about you, it’s about the players and having fun, so let them do and play as they wish and reign in some common sense, but not your sense. Then come into the game and join the flow, but your players should come first.

164. Shane Hotakainen (@veganshane) is a vegan nerd into punk rock and gaming in various forms, from St Paul, Minneapolis (and I hope I spelt that right!). He’s also a “Star Wars dork” and “Whovian Browncoat”. Most of his tweets are not currently game-related.

Be flexible and don’t fall in love with your story, because it is not your story. It belongs to you the players. No plot survives first contact with the PC’s so enjoy where the game takes you.

165. Robert W. Thomson (@RobertWThomson) is a long-time friend of Campaign Mastery, and used to head Four Winds Fantasy Gaming. He was generous enough to write the forward to Assassin’s Amulet for Michael Tumey, Johnn Four, and Myself. Way back in April 2011, I reviewed “Players Options: Flaws” (On The Nature Of Flaws). Sadly, Four Winds closed its doors, and Robert took on a more everyday occupation doing other things that he loves. Currently located in Butte, Montana, he has only recently started using his twitter account again on a regular basis, but seems determined to make up for lost time! Not a lot of his tweets are gaming-related, but there’s the occasional gem, such as his “OH @ The Gaming Table” tweets, eg “I have as much gold as I have XP!” which often produce a belly-laugh. Hopefully he sticks around for a long time to come!

Let the players tell much of the story. Have an idea, but be willing to add or adjust based on player desires or actions. If the characters must be led in a specific direction, do your best to make it feel like it was their choice to do so.

166. Paul from Dingles Games was one of the first supporters of Campaign Mastery, asking us to review his online Monster Generator for 3.x, something that I did way back in March of 2009. What impressed me most was the way he responded to reports of flaws and shortcomings in his product, taking immediate remedial action. I am pleased to state that in the years since, that review has sent more than 3,500 potential users his way (I don’t know if we still are, but at one point we were his number one source of hits), and his generous acknowledgement of the review has sent traffic back Campaign Mastery’s way as well. The generators at Dingle’s Games have only diversified and improved over the subsequent years, as have the number of glowing reviews he has received. He had a twitter account, which is how he learned of the 750th party and made his contribution, but it appears to have closed since. UPDATE: It hasn’t closed, Paul has simply changed the account – it’s now @NPCaDay. Paul is located in Nottingham, England.

DMing is not you vs the party, but the party participating in, and helping write a story in which you have created the framework. Most important is everyone having fun. It’s better to let some things go rather than creating an argument.

167. Sean Holland from Sea Of Stars has been blogging for almost as long as Campaign Mastery has, and is even more prolific, posting daily or close to it. You could spend years working through the archives. There are currently 738 posts categorized as “World Building”, for example. I have huge respect for that; no-one who hasn’t tried doing anything like it can appreciate what it takes to post something every day for six-and-a-half years! So I was really chuffed when he offered a contribution to the party:

Talk to your players. Learn what they want from the game, what problems they are having and what excites them. Communication is the key to a successful game.

168. Matthew Bowers (@chaoticDM) is a “Level 27 solo Dungeon Master and microblogger” who has been “DMing by the seat of my pants since 2009”. He tweets regularly and converses readily. He has a blog at chaoticdm.wordpress.com but understandably hasn’t updated it since January 2013 – probably when twitter took over his life! Matthew is from Arlington, Texas. He and I have been bumping into each other on Twitter for years.

‘Yes, and…’ is the best way to make your players feel like they are directly contributing to the game narrative.

169. Grumbling Dwarf (@GrumblingDwarf) represents the Wisconsin Tabletop Gaming Community, based in Madison, Wisconsin – RPGs, Board Games & Miniatures Gaming. The account is managed by @SeanPKelley. The first non-RPG tweet I found in the timeline was a R.I.P. for Christopher Lee (can’t fault them for that, I posted one myself, but that was quite a while back). Often, there’s only one tweet a month for this account, so it’s not very active – but worth paying attention to when they do.

Embrace any feat and just put yourself out there and be open to feedback. It is not to criticize, but to make you better.

170. Sean Longinus (@CroweLonginus) is a contributing RPG writer, aspiring fiction & poetry author, and a HUGE NERD (his capitalization). Tweets are irregular and infrequent but worth attention, just like those of Grumbling Dwarf.

Trying to force your players along the path you want is like bathing a cat: no-one’s going to have any fun.

171. Scott Hardy (@Gamesdisk) joins many more conversations than he starts – a man of relatively few words. His advice follows the same pattern:

Have fun when you GM.

172. Katrina Ostrander (@lindevi) is a new acquaintance, like many of those who responded to my request for contributions. She is the Fiction editor at Fantasy Flight Games and former producer for #Star Wars: Edge of the Empire (playing that on Saturday!) & Age of Rebellion RPGs. A Blogger, gamer, GM, and writer from Roseville, Minnesota. Her blog is at triplecrit.com but hasn’t been updated in a while – as usual, though, the archives may yield treasures.

Get to know your players and discuss expectations beforehand, especially regarding tone, humor, and lethality.

173. Chris Kentlea of Ennead Games was kind enough to contribute to the party! Ennead Games’ site is chockablock full of content and it doesn’t look like thinning out any time soon. (I stopped scrolling down when I got to page 17…) They also have to have a several hundred products for sale through DriveThruRPG. (suspicion confirmed – the tally stands at 336 items!) That makes them a Big Name Publisher in my book, so I’m grateful to Chris for participating! Ennead Games also have a twitter account: @EnneadGames.

Don’t be afraid to say yes when a player asks ‘Can I do (x)? As long as it makes for a good story, then go with it. Conversely, don’t be afraid to say no if it makes the story or game worse.

174. Roberto Micheri (@Sunglar)… Roberto is a great guy, and one of the first RPG contacts I made on Twitter. He describes himself as an “educator, lover of life and literature. Big Babylon 5 fan! My favorite pastime is pen & paper role playing games.” He’s active in the Puerto Rico Role Players (which is where he lives) and frequently promotes Campaign Mastery to them through their facebook page (I gave them and him a shout-out in the “Facebook” section of The GM’s Help Network).

Be consistent and relax, it’s only a game. Consistency is key, more than being witty or creative every time, make sure you play every time. If you set a schedule, keep it. There will be great sessions, there will be less stellar ones. Don’t get discouraged, play on. Nothing kills a campaign like not playing! If you’re consistent you’ll get to practice all the tricks, try all the things you’ve always wanted to do. If the old advice is a writer writes, a Game Master runs games… But relax, it doesn’t need to be perfect, you’ll make mistakes, that’s OK. No one is perfect, your players will understand. Don’t beat yourself up if things didn’t go as planned – soldier on, game on, and have fun, always!

175. Eric Weberg (@eweberg) is a husband, father, tabletop gamer, developer, DBA, project manager, admin, and IT-jack-of-all-trades in Jackson, Wisconsin. Another of those “doesn’t tweet often but pay attention when he does” accounts.

Go fast and go big. People don’t play Tabletop RPGs to count coppers. Hit ’em hard with crazy stuff.

176. Rambling Roleplayer (@RPGRambler) writes of himself, “I play games and talk about them sometimes. I’m also a husband, dad, boardgamer, wargamer, amateur carpenter, and all around geek.” He generally blogs regularly, though he’s had time off recently – in fact, his blog (The Rambling Roleplayer) should have new content up by the time this is published. He offered a very thoughtful reply to my question:

Familiarize yourself with the system, but don’t feel like you have to commit all of the rules to memory. A general understanding of the broad concepts and an idea of where in the books to look for specific rules will serve you just fine. Also, start the game with all of the dials at their default setting. Sometimes the temptation is very strong to jump in to a complex story with high-powered characters right out of the gate, but this is probably a mistake. Instead, your first game should be played with first level or “beginning” characters, or perhaps even pre-generated characters. If there are lots of “optional” or “advanced” rules for your game system, consider implementing only a few or none of these rules for your first few games and then introducing such rules gradually. Also, run a published scenario rather than a homebrew adventure for your first game if possible, preferably one designed for new players and game masters. Trust me, focusing on building a good foundation at first and then adding complexity will pay dividends later, leading to a much richer and more enjoyable game experience for everyone.

177. Travis The RPG Guy (@therealrpgguy) runs a gaming YouTube channel, and is another new contact.

Do not “tell” your players what happen. Show your players through descriptive words – how things smell, taste, look, sound and feel.

178. Misadventuring 101 (@rpginitiative) broadcast their weekly Pathfinder game in Maryland as a podcast. Listen in at the initiative podcast.

Expect the unexpected and be willing to go (within reason) where your players want to take the story with their decisions.

179. Larry Hollis (@Xer0Rules) is another of those twitter users that I’ve “known” off-and-on for years. Yet another Maryland resident, a fair amount of his tweets are usually about RPGs or related material. He converses more often than he tweets. Larry’s also been known to have a strong opinion or two.

“Yes, and/but” is the best thing a GM can have in their toolbox. Using them with care will always add to your game.

180. Mark Caldwell (impworks.co.uk) is a web site developer by day and a Writer, RPG Gamer and CG Artist by night. Impworks is his website, and Liverpool, England, is where he usually hangs out.

It’s a good idea to vary the difficulty of encounters. If the difficulty of tasks constantly increases at the same rate as any improvement in PC abilities it’s hard for players to judge how much better they have become. So it’s a good idea to have PCs sometimes face a challenge [that] they [have] faced before to show them just how far they’ve improved. This might be having them fight opponents very similar to a memorable encounter from an early adventure, have a rogue pick a lock like the ones they faced in their first dungeon, or have them repeat a hack from early in their career. Recurring opponents can be particularly useful for this if they improve only a little between encounters.

181. Darred Surin (@verycuteGM) is “a young woman exploring gaming whether it be in the form of video, board, or role-playing. I am out on a mission to try it all plus with more cats.” She has a YouTube Tube channel and a website that at first glance is fading into disuse and mostly about her cats – dig deeper and you can find RPG stuff, often biographical in nature.

Try to limit your use of ‘no’ during gameplay. Let the player us their imagination, let them attempt crazy antics! It’s fun when they succeed or drastically fail. The worst thing you can do is stifle their imagination.

182. Leonardo Gedraite (@LeoGed) is from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Most of his tweets are in Portuguese, and so are many of his re-tweets, which seem to outnumber the former by a huge margin, as he himself admits in his profile. Translated, that reads: “A Herpetologist looking for Tadpoles, Good Books and Questions. Random tweets on: Science, Comics, RPG and Fantastic Literature (And many re-tweets)”. His twitter account is protected – you can ask to follow him but he gets to choose whether or not to let you do so. I translate his feed into English to read it; most of his tweets/re-tweets seem to be humor or about Brazilian issues, with the occasional nugget of gaming gold. His advice is simple but profound:

Have Fun!

183. The Gamefather Moe T (@WindsorGaming) is the/a “Gaming ambassador for the Windsor [Ontario, Canada] area. Event organizer, reviewer and player.” He has a website, the Windsor Gaming Resource that probably isn’t all that relevant unless you are likely to be in the area, though some of the reviews might be of interest. A new acquaintance through this project, I liked his answer so much that I have deliberately made it the last word.