Sun Tzu: Desperate Ground
The Art of war is pretty useful for any war campaign. The anecdotes attached to the document give the GM many ideas of how to describe a situation. Sun Tzu’s…
Read more →Category: GMing
Voluntary Disadvantages: an Exercise in Game Theory
An system-neutral look at character disadvantages, their value and how they provide incentive for role-playing. Disadvantages have a measurable affect on the character/player’s decisions. They influence the complexity of their…
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2010-01-11
GMing
Sample Outline for Game Preparation and Organization
Here is a sample outline designed to help GMs describe their method and process of preparing a game. Sample Outline: What are your priorities? How effectively do you communicate with…
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2010-01-08
GMing
Numbers tell a Story
Having a better a appreciation with Demographics and Numbers have given much inspiration for drama and the human condition. I’ve been reading up Poverty playing with Gapminder. Numbers clarify so…
Read more →On Wealth and Horses
Medieval horse Types and Traits is an awesome contribution by Icelander. Especially since Horses would be more central realistic/gritty games. They are tools of combat, logistics and travel. Thus their…
Read more →Accounting Ratios and Characters.
In financial accounting I learned to use ratios to infer what happening in an accounting statement. Point based system characters are not that different from accounting statements, you can consider…
Read more →Accounting Ratios and Characters.
I learned this “trick” in accounting. Ratios are used to measure, abstractly, an entity’s performance. You can do the same in GURPS but it suffers the same limitations as the…
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2010-01-02
GMing
Mutated to a Meta-Gaming thread
The same thread I’m talking about now mutated into a Meta-Gaming thread. I didn’t see that coming. Wonder if I should have? What happened is, strong personal views about the…
Read more →What you need, what you want
gaming preferences. GURPS can have a TON of detail. Here is a thread that discusses the two opposing views: Detail or Bust. Looking closely at the discussion, I feel that…
Read more →Basic Set Soldiers, Logistics (adventuring’s less popular expression
Soldiers and Logistics, Translate to Adventurers and Adventures. Some GMing fundamentals I keep revisiting because I always find new ways of using and expressing them. The Roman Legionary 50cp The…
Read more →[Anygame system] Defining Character
My wife was asking me about challenging questions to answer for job interviews. She got kinda bored with the IQ tests and the deconstructive thinking questions, So I pitched her…
Read more →XP and Consequences
the GM’s opinion about XP is inclusive of how the GM feels about consequences. I’ve read a lot of younger GMs who want a system for doling out treasure and…
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2009-10-12
GMing
Juggling Work, Studies, Games and Family I.
Like any gamer, the notion of spending 12-24 hours in game was something quite natural. Of course, when work, family, and studies are among the many other responsibilities that cut…
Read more →GURPS, Accounting, and Traveller
I’m learning Financial Accounting right now, and I’ve come to learn interesting concepts. Particularly how to compromise the GURPS concepts of wealth, debt, liabilities and actual real world accounting. Lets…
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2009-09-30
GMing
RPGs and Business School
In reading articles regarding attention and productivity, Time becomes one of those finite resources that we have to “cheat” in order to lead a more productive and happy life. So…
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2009-09-21
GMing
Running A Game: Sept 12
This about how a game went last saturday and not the game itself (because that would take too much time to narrate).I ran a game on Sept 12 from 7pm…
Read more →Quick Concept Generation: Super Light System.
I’m running a Systems Light Game for a group of players unfamiliar to my gaming style. I don’t want to confuse them with a heavy system so I’ll elect for…
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2009-09-14
GMing
GMing Style learned with a bit of a Scientific Approach
My Simulationist Gaming Style The GM is the Manager and Leader. As the Game Master, I manage a number of things: the players and their resources, the scenarios, the supporting…
Read more →Role-Playing/Narrating a Hard Sci-fi’s Starship’s Bridge
Ever wondered how hard is the job of a Sensor Officer aboard a ship? Given the advances in computers at present day, there is that pitfall assumption that the sci-fi…
Read more →Traveller: Entrepreneurs
Mark Gellis, points out an interesting problem with Gurps Traveller: Interstellar Wars economic game system in this GURPS thread.what else is great about using this format is I get to…
Read more →GURPS Modern Combat part I: Common Ground
I want to go into how I run my Modern Combat games, but first lets start with some templates that can be useful in explaining my points. Here are some…
Read more →GM tools Ideas to write about
GURPS magic tools. How to introduce magic in your game with the most control and predictability with GURPS magic system. GURPS 6 second rounds. How to run 6 second player…
Read more →GURPS Skill Organization; Running a Game
If you have read Design, Repair, and Use B190 you’ll begin to notice one of the initial patterns to the skills. In Medicine The skills are broken up as:Diagnose (Doctors…
Read more →Game Organization: Checklist
When I think of all these homebrew rules I put in this blog, I better have a check list to make sure that in a given situation I can remember…
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2009-06-14
GMing
I realized I have a lot of GM notes!
Some Background. I ran a successful Post Apoc Game (to my players)- my personal name for the game is Situational Awareness and Response Exercise. My most recent notes and the…
Read more →A Merchant’s Vested Intrested
Credibility. In game theory and business, I learned that one should really have a stake in the transaction, in order to be credible. Looking at the GURPS Traveller I’ve noticed…
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2009-06-05
GMing
Sorry for the Late Update
I will be taking a bit of break cause I’m sick and Post an answer to this forum questions. Particulary a generic Medieval Setting. I’ve read a copy of harkwood…
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2009-04-19
GMing
Post Apocalypse Game: 1st Session Successful
Objectives Accomplished: Fun. Everyone unanimously had fun. Getting pats on the back, a follow up email, and even having my most staunches critic (other than myself) and hardest to manage…
Read more →The Courtier: The Power Brokers
What is a courtier? This is a character role that has been mostly ambiguous and confusing to many gamer, including myself at first. A courtier is essentially a power broker.…
Read more →GURPS 4e gunfights
Gun Fights. Here are some basic rules that can help in simulating Gun Fights only GURPS can deliver and no other system can hope to match. These points when followed…
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