Game Master's Journey

If your homebrew D&D world is anything like my world, Primordia, then it was a very different place at different points in its history. Exploring these other time periods can yield the perfect campaign setting for a different kind of adventure you want to run. Whatsmore, using the same locale in different time periods allows you to easily make previous campaigns more relevant.

I bring in listener feedback to further discuss The Honorable Guild of Adventurers, Explorers & Scholars. I also talk about how Primordia will have a great diversity in beliefs and religions even though there are ultimately only nine deities.

This week I discuss the benefits and responsibilities of being a member of the Guild of Adventurers. I also talk about GMs who make bard players perform at the table and how discussing your world with your players can bring a fresh perspective to your worldbuilding.

This week I’m doing another worldbuilding feedback episode—unplugged, unrehearsed and unedited! I talk more about the different branches of government and the balances of power in the city of Elandria.

In this unplugged feedback episode I discuss a variety of worldbuilding topics guided by your feedback. The topics include the delicate balance of power among the merchants, nobles and Queen of Elandria, the religious and cultural diversity of Primordia, and much more.

Today I’m reviewing the Curse of Strahd published campaign for D&D. I also go over listener feedback on the benefits of having a starting city with a diversity of people, and I give some encouragement and ideas for those taking the worldbuilding plunge. Don’t be afraid to steal ideas. All creators steal ideas. What’s important and interesting is how you fit the ideas together. I also talk briefly...

This week I discuss listener feedback on a variety of RPG-related topics, including RPG product reviews, types of fantasy, worldbuilding, using real-world cultures as inspiration for your world and running D&D in a world without gods.

Today I return to my discussion of the cleric in D&D. We spent the previous two episodes outlining the problem and posing possible solutions. Today I’ll go into what I think is the best solution we have—using your setting to make the cleric awesome. I’ll discuss some of the ways I’m trying to do this with my own homebrew world of Primordia.

I use listener feedback and questions to direct a discussion of the Portals of Primordia.

I take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to discuss the announcement of the new storyline for D&D, Storm King's Thunder. 

I explore the consequences of decisions I've made about Primordia and Elandria. This leads to ideas about the history of the region and the politics of the merchants and nobles of the city of Elandria.

In this worldbuilding episodes I discuss Primordia's god of death--Hades, He Who Laughs Last.

The cleric is one of the original classes of D&D, yet throughout the editions I've seen relatively few players play them. This week I continue my series in which I examine the cleric and see what I can do to make it a more attractive option for players. This week I share your feedback, and I look at a few different ways that we could approach making the cleric a more attractive option to play.

The cleric is one of the original classes of D&D, yet throughout the editions I've seen relatively few players play them. I myself am often loathe to play a cleric. This week I begin a multi-episode series in which I will examine the cleric and see what I can do to make it a more attractive option for players. This week I look at possible reasons players don't choose clerics. In the Worldbuild...

This week I've got advice and encouragement for new GMs, and I also discuss running a game session for players brand new to the hobby.

GMJ 101: You Can Be a Game Master with Matthew Colville

Welcome to season 6 and the 100th episode of Game Master's Journey! Pour yourself a drink and strap in for this mega-episode! I discuss the past, present and future of the show, and this episode is jam-packed with your feedback.

John Marvin of Dread Unicorn Games joins me again on the show to discuss ideas, techniques and mechanics you can steal from 13th Age to use in your RPG game of choice. Not only does he give great guidance on using these aspects in your game, this is also an excellent proof of concept for how you can use aspects of any RPG in the game you're currently playing.

What is a balanced encounter in an RPG? What does "balanced" even mean? Are balanced encounters a desirable goal? If so, is it achievable? If so, how do we do it? How do we increase our chances of finishing a published campaign? What are some effects of the xp-per-encounter method of PC advancement in D&D when it comes to designing adventures or campaigns? What are the traps we will encounter,...

Today I discuss my return to a beloved campaign setting--Ravenloft. I wax nostalgic about my memories of Ravenloft, and I talk about my plans for my own Curse of Strahd campaign.

One of the great things about having so many RPGs to choose from these days is that you can take things you like from one game and apply them to another. My Plot Twist mechanic is inspired by Numenera’s GM Intrusion. You can easily do a similar mechanic for any game you’re running. Even if you don’t play D&D, I hope that this show how you can implement a beloved mechanic or idea from one game...

Christopher from Shark Bone Podcast joins me on the show to discuss the social contract for your tabletop RPG. We explain what a social contract is, and how you can use it to avoid problems before they start. We share a host of ideas and thoughts to help you nail down the social contract that will work for you and your own group. One of the jobs of a GM is to manage the table and the players and c...

This week I discuss my philosophy when it comes to alignment in D&D. This philosophy has some mechanical effects on the game which result in consequences for my world of Primordia. Removing any mechanical effects of alignment from the game  influences certain magic items as well as the deities and the outer planes. I explain how my exploration of alignment in fifth edition really helped m...

Although I’m a fan of how Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition uses xp budgets to build encounters, the system for handing out experience for character advancement is unfortunately broken. I describe the problem and offer a solution. I also discuss handing out xp for roleplaying and traps.

I've had many listeners ask my to do a review of the Star Wars RPGs by Fantasy Flight Games. Specifically, listeners want to know why I'm not running this game anymore. This week I discuss my opinions of the games and give as balanced a review of them as I can manage.