What exactly are low and high fantasy settings and how do you theme your campaign around which you choose? Starblade talks about what makes up each kind of setting and what you can do to immerse your players. We hope to inspire some good ideas from you!
Sitting around a table rolling dice should be fun, but many of our D&D combats are ground to a halt by players or game masters who don't know their rules or aren't paying attention. In this episode of Playing God, Starblade discusses numerous options that you can use to streamline your combats without taking away from the experience. Give it a listen and you'll have the tools you need to revitalize and speed up your slow combat session!
Every good story of heroes and monsters needs a great villain to motivate the players and keep their characters pushing forwards. In this episode, Starblade talks about how to make a villain for your campaigns, no matter how short or long they are. We cover the types of villains you can employ and how to meaningfully put them into your game!
Starblade blows hot air for a while about low-impact roleplaying scenes and how the Gamemaster and players can use these scenes to detail what your upcoming plans are, flesh out character bits, and more!
What do you do when the Game Master is showing favoritism or preferential treatment to certain players? How can you identify if you are doing this as the GM? Starblade talks through different scenarios and subtle tells to identify and address this problematic behavior at the gaming table!
Nick and Xander approach world building from a new direction, that of top-down development. We delve into how to think about key concepts drawn from nothing and what questions you should ask yourself when designing your own universes!
How do you make a character backstory? In this episode, Nick and Xander discuss what elements to include (or at least think about) when sitting down to create your character's history. We cover everything from related NPCs to major experiences and more!
In this episode, we finish up our campaign setting by asking the big questions, such as how the cosmos is arrayed, how the laws of physics work, and more!
In the dark twisting void of the internets, Starblade talks about running evil campaigns for your players. How much evil is too evil? What should be explicitly described vs what should be fade-to-black? We answer these questions and more on this episode of Playing God! Check out Playing God and more on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ0vCJ7T1XfpTxgVxW5NkBA
Returning to the world they've been building, Nick and Xander expand the continent and forge another country. In this episode, Starblade discusses how to add depth and interactions between the various factions within a fantasy setting.
We dedicate a lot of time talking about how to be a better game master. This time, Starblade wants to address the players directly and talk about common hangups and questions that all players, especially new ones, have. We discuss topics such as: how to find a gaming group, when to ask questions and take actions during a session, and more! Check out the Playing God Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ0vCJ7T1XfpTxgVxW5NkBA All that social stuff: https://twitter.com/starbladestudio https://www.facebook.com/StarbladeStudios/
Starblade discusses the different player types you can typically find at almost any game table. We talk about how each type of player can be both boon and detriment to various games, simultaneously. Do YOU have any tendencies similar to these player types?
Following up with the last episode, Nick and Xander expound upon the setting for which they developed the baseline. In this episode, Starblade focuses on the Dwarven City of the Iron Coast and what to put inside of it. From city culture to adventure hooks and more, continue the bottom-up journey as it unfolds in this episode of Playing God!
In this episode, Nick and Xander go over top-down vs bottom-up development and provide examples of how to go about developing from the bottom-up. This episode is the first part in our sub-series about world creation. Hope you enjoy!
No one is the perfect game master, and there are always ways to improve. Nick and Xander talk about some of the most common game master pitfalls and mistakes, especially for new dungeon masters. Have a listen, and maybe we can help you with a problem that has you stuck!
Starblade discusses giving character to the places the PCs frequently return to and how to give players a fun location that they get to build and customize.
Nick and Xander talk about how to conduct yourself as a game master and player at table. We also discuss setting expectation and layout some guidelines for when trouble arises. I was a bit sick when we recorded this episode, but I tried to edit out as much coughing as I could.
How do you do downtime actions in a tabletop game? Nick and Xander discuss when is a good time to do some downtimes along with what to consider when fast-forwarding time. We talk about how long downtimes should last, what actions can the players take, and more!
Starblade Studios discusses what makes for a good holiday game session, including when you should do one, how long should it last, and what elements make it a holiday game to begin with! We hope you get some amazing ideas for your next tabletop session! All that social stuff: https://twitter.com/starbladestudio https://www.facebook.com/StarbladeStudios/
Nick and Xander go into how to choose the right system for your next campaign. There are a lot of rulebooks, settings, and other factors involved in picking the system best for you to run, so we hope that we can help you sort out which works the best for you!