Game Master's Journey

There are very few official published adventures for Daggerheart, and those are either one-shots or very short. The third party options are also limited. So what is a GM wanting a published adventure to do? In this episode I share how I’m taking adventures from other games and adapting them to Daggerheart. Because Daggerheart’s system is relatively simple, it’s actually pretty easy to do. Play Dag...

A lot of times as a GM, we can be tempted to say no to a player. Why not say yes instead? Not only is this embracing the “yes, and” philosophy of improvisation, but it will lead to more fun for the players and for us too. I also discuss leveling in Daggerheart compared with other games I’ve played. There is no such thing as xp in Daggerheart. How does this impact leveling? I compare 1st level Dagg...

Today I discuss GM pitfalls to avoid in Daggerheart and other RPGs. We also play a little game of finding a way to use any attribute for a task. Even with something obvious, like crossing an icy bridge—that would obviously use agility, you can make a good argument for using any of the six attributes. I give some tips on how to prepare for more improvisational gaming sessions, and how to plan story...

Today I discuss Daggerheart’s GM Best Practices. These will help you be a better GM, no matter what game you’re playing or which system you’re using. Play Daggerheart with Me on Start Playing Games. Sign up for my newsletter . Subscribe via RSS, Appl e Podcasts , or Spotify . Check out my sci-fi novel, Critical Balance . Have you read Critical Balance ? Please leave a review on Amazon . Follow me...

Today I discuss Daggerheart’s GM Principles, which are begin and end with the fiction (story); collaborate at all times, especially during conflict; fill the world with life, wonder, and danger; ask questions and incorporate the answers; make every roll important; play to find out what happens; and hold on gently. I talk quite a bit about why you don’t want to call for too many rolls, and how to k...

This week I discuss player best practices presented in the Daggerheart core book. Keeping these in mind will enhance any tabletop RPG you play, not just Daggerheart. The first, and I’d say fundamental, best practice is to embrace danger. At the heart of this and the other best practices is to choose the interesting choice, the choice that makes a better story, not necessarily the optimal or most t...

Today I talk about Fear in Daggerheart, a metacurrency used by the GM. Some GMs consider metacurrency to be a bad word. So how do the metacurrencies of Hope and Fear work in DH? Are they boons or flaws? Pros or cons? Buffs or debuffs? I’ll unpack it in this episode. I show how in my experience Fear hasn’t limited my creativity or prevented me from doing things I want to do. I discuss how fear is a...

Today continue my series on Daggerheart with an in-depth explanation and exploration of its initiative system. I was very excited to try Daggerheart’s “lack of initiative initiative,” which is a bit of a misnomer. Daggerheart does have an initiative system, it’s just not like the ones you’re probably used to. I’m here to report that it works very well, and I really like it. I also talk a bit about...

Today I’ll share the top 10 most-played tabletop RPGs right now. There are some surprises in this list, at least to me. I’ll also begin my series of episodes exploring the new RPG, Daggerheart, by talking a bit about what I like about it and why I’m excited to run it. I’ll compare and contrast DH with D&D, Pathfinder, and Numenera. Some of the aspects of Daggerheart I’ll touch on in this episo...

In this episode I discuss running D&D and other RPGs at high level. It’s often not as fun as we think it’ll be, especially for the GM. A lot of the issues with high level play and advancement are baked into the games, but sometimes we as GMs make the situation even worse through our approach. I talk about some ways to handle powerful PCs as a GM—what to do and what not to do. I also share thin...

This week I have a roundtable discussion with players from my D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars, that recently ended. Brett, Craig, and Sam join me to discuss our experiences with the end of the campaign, both as players and GM. We talk about our experience with having a character who goes evil within a good aligned party. There’s a lot that can go wrong there, but Manny played Lerissa’s desc...

This week I have a roundtable discussion with players from my D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars, that recently ended. Brett, Craig, and Sam join me to discuss our experiences with D&D at high level, both as players and GM. If there’s a sweet spot for D&D level-wise, what is it? We also talk a bit about what we’d really like to see from game companies INSTEAD of big hardback adventures...

This week I have a roundtable discussion with players from my D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars, that recently ended. Brett, Craig, and Sam join me to discuss our experiences with D&D at high level, both as players and GM. We also talk about what it was like to bring a new player into a campaign toward the end, when the PCs are all high level. Finally, I talk a bit about my thoughts and s...

The final session of our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars . The final battle at the World Axis continues. Aided by the many allies they’ve made throughout their adventures, the PCs fight for the survival of Primordia itself. Together they will make a decision that changes Primordia forever. This is part 2 of the session. Check out my sci-fi novel, Critical Balance . Have you read Critical Ba...

The final session of our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars . The final battle at the World Axis continues. Aided by the many allies they’ve made throughout their adventures, the PCs fight for the survival of Primordia itself. Together they will make a decision that changes Primordia forever. Check out my sci-fi novel, Critical Balance . Have you read Critical Balance ? Please leave a review o...

Our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars , continues. This week the final battle at the World Axis continues. Aided by the many allies they’ve made throughout their adventures, the PCs fight for the survival of Primordia itself. They are now level 17. This is part 2 of the session. Check out my sci-fi novel, Critical Balance . Have you read Critical Balance ? Please leave a review on Amazon . Ch...

Our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars , continues. This week the final battle at the World Axis continues. Aided by the many allies they’ve made throughout their adventures, the PCs fight for the survival of Primordia itself. They are now level 17. Check out my sci-fi novel, Critical Balance . Have you read Critical Balance ? Please leave a review on Amazon . Check Out my NEW PODCAST - Lex Ou...

Our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars , continues. This week the final battle at the World Axis begins. The PCs fight for the survival of Primordia itself. They are now level 17. This is part 2 of the session. Check Out my NEW PODCAST - Lex Out Loud Call the Game Master's Journey voice mail: 951-GMJ-LEX1 (951-465-5391). If you’re a new listener, and you’d like to go back to the beginning...

Our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars , continues. This week the final battle at the World Axis begins. The PCs fight for the survival of Primordia itself. They are now level 17. Check Out my NEW PODCAST - Lex Out Loud Call the Game Master's Journey voice mail: 951-GMJ-LEX1 (951-465-5391). If you’re a new listener, and you’d like to go back to the beginning, here’s a link to Episode 1 ....

Our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars , continues. This week the PCs return to the World Axis for the final battle. They do some final planning and prepare for a siege. This is part 2 of the session. Check Out my NEW PODCAST - Lex Out Loud Call the Game Master's Journey voice mail: 951-GMJ-LEX1 (951-465-5391). If you’re a new listener, and you’d like to go back to the beginning, here’s a...

Our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars , continues. This week the PCs return to the World Axis for the final battle. They do some final planning and prepare for a siege. This is part 1 of the session. Check Out my NEW PODCAST - Lex Out Loud Call the Game Master's Journey voice mail: 951-GMJ-LEX1 (951-465-5391). If you’re a new listener, and you’d like to go back to the beginning, here’s a...

Our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars , continues. This week the PCs return to the city of Elandria to buy some magic items and gather their allies for the final battle. This is part 2 of the session. Check Out my NEW PODCAST - Lex Out Loud Call the Game Master's Journey voice mail: 951-GMJ-LEX1 (951-465-5391). If you’re a new listener, and you’d like to go back to the beginning, here’s...

Our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars , continues. This week the PCs return to the city of Elandria to buy some magic items and gather their allies for the final battle. Check Out my NEW PODCAST - Lex Out Loud Call the Game Master's Journey voice mail: 951-GMJ-LEX1 (951-465-5391). If you’re a new listener, and you’d like to go back to the beginning, here’s a link to Episode 1 . If you’re...

Our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars , continues. This week the PCs begin by divvying up treasure from the tarrasque. This is part 2 of the session. Check Out my NEW PODCAST - Lex Out Loud Call the Game Master's Journey voice mail: 951-GMJ-LEX1 (951-465-5391). If you’re a new listener, and you’d like to go back to the beginning, here’s a link to Episode 1 . If you’re interested in world...

Our D&D campaign, Blood of the Avatars , continues. This week the PCs begin by divvying up treasure from the tarrasque. Check Out my NEW PODCAST - Lex Out Loud Call the Game Master's Journey voice mail: 951-GMJ-LEX1 (951-465-5391). If you’re a new listener, and you’d like to go back to the beginning, here’s a link to Episode 1 . If you’re interested in worldbuilding and/or my D&D camp...