The Story of Starcraft Part 17: Zerg Brood War
Here ends Brood War - the expansion for the original Starcraft game. It tells one hell of a story, but how does that story sync with the gameplay?
QQ&A: AI
ChatGPT is impressive. It summarised psychoneuroimmunology for me, while also creating poems glorifying stoicism. But can it help with your campaign prepping?
The Story of Starcraft Part 16: Terran Brood War
The Terran campaign flips the balance of power on its head, introducing a massive fleet from the distant Earth. How well does it tell its story?
Rep System GMing 03: Tuning In to Sequences
If you struggle with some parts of the Game Master experience, then you’re probably not using your brain as you should. Here’s how to handle sequences, series and other events that happen in order.
QQ&A: Pitching puzzles
How do you design a puzzle that’s not too easy and not too hard, but just right? That’s far simpler than you might think.
The Story of Starcraft 15: Protoss Brood War
Brood War is what expansions/DLC should be, taking the gameplay and story in new, interesting directions. Here’s the Protoss campaign.
The Story of Starcraft Part 14: Economies and Abstractions
Economies. Arguably, every RTS has this mechanic. But what can we do with them? And how do they shape the story?
Rep System GMing 02: The Big Picture
Do you struggle to keep track of all the details of your encounters? Does GMing overwhelm you? Then I reckon I know what’s going on in your mind - and what to do about it.
QQ&A: Control freak GMing
Can you be a control freak and a great GM? The conventional wisdom is no. Here’s how that wisdom might be wrong.
The Story of Starcraft Part 13: The Protoss Campaign
Fenix deserves better. So does Tassadar. But, despite messing up two popular characters from this game, the Protoss campaign sticks the landing.
Rep System GMing 1: Overview
Are you great at thinking on your feet? Can you keep track of sequences and processes – everything from plot threads to combat initiative? Are the lore, rules and details of your world always on the tip of your mind? If not, here’s how.
QQ&A: Dwindling resources
Do you track ammo? Rather than counting the arrows in your quiver or having an infinite supply, there’s a richer way to track resources of any kind.
The Story of Starcraft 12: The Protoss Characters
Characters aren’t characters - they’re archetypes. For the protoss campaign, the cast reflect their whole empire.
Improv 8: The Full Improv Process
It’s been a fun journey. Here, I lay out everything we covered in less than 250 words. Thanks for reading.
QQ&A: Overwhelm
Game Masters have a lot to keep track of. That means it’s easy for the players to overwhelm them, deliberately or otherwise. Here’s the mature way to stop that.
The Story of Starcraft 11: The Protoss Units
Starcraft is science fiction. Or is it? Yes, yes it is. Or IS it? Yes. Stop asking. Except no, as the Protoss units show.
The better alternative to the poor alternative to reality
Video games. They’re a billion-dollar industry. Check the data and you’ll see a bunch of trends pointing upwards. People like them. But why?
The best stories tell themselves
Bold claim: the disasters of Game of Thrones’ last season were preventable, if only the writers had read this simple guide I wrote for Dungeon Masters.
QQ&A: Splitting the party
Hardcore players get “Never split the party” tattooed on their sleeves, and for good reason. Here’s how and why you might encourage them to do it anyway.
Improv 7: Alluding to the encounter
You’ve improvised an encounter, but the players don’t go for it. Is that the end of the story? It doesn’t have to be.