Critical reads

Don’t know where to begin? Can’t blame you, there are a lot of posts on The RPGuide — so here are the ones that you might want to start with.

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First, an introduction: What is a role-playing game?

Storytelling an RPG

• Costorytellers
• Table talks
• Front-load your story guidance
• Always give your players a goal
• Pacing dramatic arcs
• Don’t sweat the plot reveal
• Plotting a romantic arc
• Mystery plots & investigations in TTRPGs
• Map, Dragon, Treasure
• Fixed points in time: Avoiding immutable moments in your game
• Rewards
• When the game stops being fun
• Narrating your RPG
• Yes And
• Not But

Rules & Mechanics

• When the PCs fail a critical roll: Success at a cost
• Level-based vs. purchase-based RPGs
• How to build a house (rule)
• Group rolls

Non-Player Characters (NPCs)

• 7 things to think about when making NPCs
• NPCs in combat
• Let your players build your NPCs
• Anatomy of a guide NPC
• The best NPCs suck
• Last-minute NPC saves

Players & Player Characters

• 10 things for players to remember
• Character buy-in
• How to play with the party
• How to talk to your Storyteller
• When in doubt, play an investigator
• Tragic backstories

Combats & Crises

• When combat goes wrong (and how to fix it)
• Fight scene flow chart
• Crises as combat scenes
• Example Crisis Scene: Dealing with anxiety
• Combat: Maps vs. Theater of the Mind
• Should you give an NPC enemy a high defensive value or lots of hit points?
• The Crisis System