Category Archives: Good GMing

Your Team First, Your Ambitions Second

By Patrick Benson | Published: December 8, 2011

A recent conflict with a friend reminded me of a vital lesson that I think all gamemasters should keep in mind. I will not go into details, but I and a friend had a significant disagreement on how a project should proceed. We were not going to resolve our differences and I stepped down from [...]

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Potential Plot: Old Law vs. New Technology

By Patrick Benson | Published: November 30, 2011

I live in Illinois, which is known as a “two-party consent” state. This means that in order to legally record a private conversation the person doing the recording must have the consent of everyone who might be recorded, so it really should be called an “all-parties consent” state. Whatever. The point is that if I [...]

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Questions to Design a Scene With

By Patrick Benson | Published: November 29, 2011

Here are some questions from my current project which is a GM’s campaign planner workbook. I decided to share these with everyone after receiving some positive feedback from a friend who has been helping me design and complete this project. Please use them when designing the next scene for your game and let me know [...]

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Read “Do the Work” by Steven Pressfield

By Patrick Benson | Published: November 21, 2011

I recently finished reading Steven Pressfield’s Do the Work and it is a fantastic book. He addresses resistance, how we all have it, and how it is resistance that must be overcome in order to realize our hopes and dreams. Only he does not give you some feel good self-help bullshit advice. He gives you [...]

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Experience, Not the XP Kind…

By Patrick Benson | Published: November 17, 2011

What will a person experience if they play this game? I think that is a question that all GMs should ask themselves before planning a session, adventure, or campaign for an RPG. It helps a GM to focus on a desired effect for the game. Thinking about how you want the players to feel during [...]

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Lessons From Las Vegas: Keep Things Moving With a Smile Not a “No!”

By Patrick Benson | Published: September 1, 2011

This is my last night in Las Vegas for the VMworld 2011 conference. Tomorrow I fly back home to my wife and kids. I am so glad that this trip is over, not because Las Vegas is not a fun city but because I miss my family. Yet I am glad that I came out [...]

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At VMworld 2011 Drunk & Rocking to The Killers

By Patrick Benson | Published: August 31, 2011

Damn certainty MOTHERFUCKERS! The whole point of this post? Have fun with your games! Nothing more, and nothing less!

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Lessons From Las Vegas: Bait & Switch? Nah!

By Patrick Benson | Published: August 31, 2011

First things first – Hanging out with Lenny Balsera was a blast! Lenny is a smart, passionate, and outspoken individual. Exactly the kind of person I like to be around. By far the best part of my trip to Las Vegas has been hanging out with Lenny. Why? You will have to wait for my [...]

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Bored in Las Vegas/Bored at the Game Table

By Patrick Benson | Published: August 29, 2011

I am bored in Las Vegas. Don’t get me wrong. Las Vegas is not a boring city. I have visited the city before and have had a lot of fun. The difference this time is that I am here for a conference, my wife and kids are back home, and I am not hanging out [...]

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Read Hamlet’s Hit Points

By Patrick Benson | Published: August 23, 2011

Enough people have already praised this book that my reviewing it will not make a bit of difference to anyone. So I am just going to endorse it: Read Hamlet’s Hit Points by Robin D. Laws. His analysis of Hamlet, Casablanca, and Dr. No using the beats analysis method that he has designed are informative [...]

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