Comments for Gnome Stew

Comment on An Unpleasant Truth: Your Players Have Stopped Enjoying Your Game by Jamiejohn

Jamiejohn — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 19:38:19 +0000

One of the hardest parts of being a GM is recognizing when players are losing interest, but an honest conversation can often get the campaign back on track.

Comment on An Unexpectedly Awesome Tool for Running (Online) Games – Google Slides by Presentations

Presentations — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 20:40:32 +0000

I love practical ideas like this. Using Google Slides instead of learning a complex platform is a smart approach for casual game nights.

Comment on Stop Self-Limiting Your Ideas by Blackjack

Blackjack — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 17:46:11 +0000

I GMed a long term campaign where my players were prone to “Sit ‘n Spin”, aka analysis paralysis. It was good that they took encounters seriously and tried to go into them with a solid plan. The bad part was that they’d often fall into a spiral of defeatist reasoning, assuming their opponent had a plan for every possible angle. “Attack from the front? No we can’t do that, the opponent will see us coming a mile away and buff up for the fight.” “Attack from the rear? No we can’t do that, the opponent is expecting that and will have guards and traps to protect the rear.”

A challenge I often posed to break the cycle of runaway assumptions was, “Is there an action you can take to gain more information?”

It was a loaded question because the answer was not just “Yes” but usually “Yes, and there are, like, FIVE things we can do.” They could reconnoiter, they could observe, they could ask around, they could sneak closer to check for traps, they could use detect spells, they could scry, they could try a spoiling raid, etc.

Comment on Your Mileage May Vary by Gnomecast #239 – Perfecting Genre Details – Polygamerous Podcast Network

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 14:00:06 +0000

[…] Your Mileage May Vary […]

Comment on Post Game Debrief by miichart

miichart — Mon, 18 May 2026 11:08:51 +0000

I’ve been using a similar approach to the Post-Session Debrief, or PSD, to update my campaign notes and engage with inter-session mechanics. By doing so, I’ve found that it reduces my prep time for the next session and helps me keep track of notable events, such as NPC interactions and location developments. I’ve also started using a campaign management tool to help me organize my notes and reminders, which has been a huge help in streamlining my PSD process.

Comment on GM/Player Interactions, Part 1 by J.T. Evans

J.T. Evans — Wed, 13 May 2026 22:59:44 +0000

In reply to Dan Drummond. Thanks for the comment and complement!

Comment on GM/Player Interactions, Part 1 by Dan Drummond

Dan Drummond — Wed, 13 May 2026 22:16:14 +0000

Great article, especially about GM’s letting the characters succeed without malice and for players to ‘be curious, not judgemental’ about the hooks and storylines. F around and find out — it will only make the roleplaying more fun as you discover your character. Huzzah!

Comment on 10 Year Retrospective by J.T. Evans

J.T. Evans — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:23:14 +0000

In reply to Tim Brannan. Thank you so much!

Comment on 10 Year Retrospective by Tim Brannan

Tim Brannan — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:06:01 +0000

Congrats on 10 years. Quite the accomplishment!

Comment on Prep is Aspirational by Phil Vecchione

Phil Vecchione — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 16:25:21 +0000

In reply to Jake. I think that you are well on your way to making your games less rigid and able to adapt to the play at the table. Keep up the good work!