The Dragon's Toolbox

The Dragonspawn finally took some time to read thru a few emails he's received and had put aside to peruse later.  This little blog-post is about the email I received from  Skull Splitter Dice , who make some awesome dice by the way, and their website includes some interesting articles about all things role-playing and gaming. And one that got my attention was about Top-10 Dungeon Master Tips. So with no further ado, here are they are: 1- Create flawed characters: Flawed characters are easy to relate to because everyone knows that no one is perfect and they can begin to see themselves or someone they know personally in the characters. Over time, your players will become emotionally attached to the characters and care about their journey 2- Keep reminding Players of the Goal: This will make sure they stay interested in the game and motivate them towards the goal. Goal-reminding will make players emotionally invested in the game and the fate of the characters if t...

Hello again Nerds and Nerdettes. This time the Dragonspawn has read two books about writing for Role-Playing Games, and I will share some insight about both of them. Hopefully I will have taken away a little of their writing do's and don't for this review. * * * * * *  * * * * * *  * * * * * * The first book is written by someone who's work I've read before (and that I've commented on his work:  How to Game Master Like a Fucking Boss! ). This is a short, 14 page book about how to write adventure scenarios. Now this could be just for yourself or you may want to get published.  Venger's book is shorter than Ray's but covers the main elements of writing but does not go into that much depth. Two of the pages are just art and a few other pages have some illustration on a portion of the page. The author doesn't use big complicated terms and words, he is concise and direct. He also doesn't make as many comical comments as his previous books, which he...

Once again I was invited to the Wild Die for one of their ''Showdown'' episodes. This time it was a Science Fiction theme and I was talking about the Nemezis RPG setting, while another good friend and fellow Nerd, Matt Stark, chatted about High Space Before I forget, I want to give you the link to Matt Stark's blog:  Thoughts of a Barbarian . Matt offers us some of his views on RPGs as well as other insights. Check out Episode 30 of the Wild Die Podast: The Wild Die Podcast . And here are my notes that I compiled for the show, that will give you a general overview of what this setting is about. I hope this will help you decide whether or not to get this one or High Space. What kind of Sci-fi is it? Tone and additional genre? Hard, space opera, horror, transhumanism, post-apocalyptic? This is a Sci-Fi setting, set in the far future of humanity. 1000s of worlds have been colonized, science has made great advances, after a millenia of the first colony shi...

Here's a quick blog post about a new Kickstarter called '' Distant Frontiers Poster Map Set ''. 8 maps on Four double sided posters 22x34 inches each. They look really nice with plenty of details for your futuristic setting. Also, as of this writing, they less than 300$ from being funded, with 5 days left to their KS campaign. Some of the stretch goals look great too (arctic base camp, alien jungle, and maybe more? ). Go check them out: Distant Frontiers Poster Map Set * * * * * * * * *  You can always reach me for ideas, suggestions or comments at bignastydragon@gmail.com * * * * * * * * *  This blog is proud to be associated with the Nerds-International Gaming Network. Check them out on the Google+ community  ''Nerds-International'' Nerds-International * * * * * * * * *       -  The RPG Brewery , for interviews with guests, as well as product reviews, etc. * * * * * * * * *      ...