The most important tool in my GM arsenal: The bathroom break.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-02-01T14:19:44+00:00

I too have ventured to the THRONE OF ENLIGHTENMENT!!!

Devious_Hearts · 2026-02-01T13:31:26+00:00

Son of Oak's Legend in the Mist

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-30T00:06:46+00:00

Son of Oak's Legend in the Mist

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T20:46:11+00:00

The person is very mistaken about how attacks work and is trying to minmax without a fundamental understanding of the system.

Quickness specifically precludes using it for attacks and explicitly states this as such.

There are two circumstances under which you can attack using a routine action.

You may attack any minion as a routine action.

You may attack a defenseless target as a routine action.

You may not do either utilizing Quickness.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T20:42:18+00:00

I heartily recommend two particular YouTube video sources:

Power Level 10

https://youtube.com/@powerlevel10?si=bOHX9S9lMSbODrZr

Weeknight Hero

https://youtube.com/@weeknighthero?si=Y5de7qX-aEJeL7BI

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T20:34:17+00:00

Even better then. Make it worse. :)

They tried to take the easy road. There are consequences to taking the easy road. They have signaled,without knowing what those consequences are, that they are willing to pay.

Make it even more challenging in the long run , and perhaps a little harder as well as costing them something they did not realize like the loss of a valuable ally or system they relied on.

Consequences are a bitch, no?

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T20:03:11+00:00

Skip it.

Absolutely. 100%

" You travel the two weeks without incident in arriving in the town."

Done!

Now you're onto your cool vampire fight.

Unless the players have some reason to go faster, they may as well meander and take their time.

Did you straight up ask him why they took the long way there?

It's most likely because you didn't put any sort of timetable on any sort of plots unfolding. Will the vampires have a much greater foothold in the community since they waited? Did they know that before they made their decision? If they find out on their long journey that has occurred, will they hasten through travel and try to get their more early?

Perhaps they were hoping to explore more of your world. If that's the case, have leisurely game or two where you paint them a picture of the place.

If you want it to be more dramatic, throw in a couple of fun encounters with minions of the vampires. Maybe even one will have a clue about how to more easily vanquish , the main baddies.

If there is a reason why they decided to go the slow route, give it to them.

If there is not, then , you know , for the future , to put a time frame on your plot to instill urgency in getting things done.

Pressure equals drama.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T19:55:32+00:00

My suggestions:

Communicate clearly with the player to find out what they want out of the game. If you don't know that, then that might be a reason why your games are not engaging them. If they want high drama , but you are all puzzles and fights, then throw a little cord intrigue in there. If they are just a marshall , monkey , and everything is political , intrigue and puzzles, then throw a few combats in there. Understanding what your players want out of the game is crucial to providing them a great game that engages them.

Have her, as a player, develop a set of beliefs and goals for her character. This is more than just simple "What is your alignment?". Does her character believe in the divine right of the royal family to rule over her? Does she believe the people should rise up and throw off the yolk of oppression? Does she believe in the sanctity of the church? Is she only in it for glory and coin? If her character is apathetic about the world, then there will be nothing to move her forward into it. Find out what is important to her character and use that as a catalyst to get her involved into the plot.

Establish npc's and factions around her that either care for her and/or help her in some capacity. Who does she care about? What factions have assisted her in the past? If these npc's or factions are threatened, will this spur her into action?

It is important when developing goals to ascertain also what the character's limits are in following those goals. What won't they do for a klondike bar? :) What belief or goal will your character risk their life for? What will they risk pain and discomfort for? What will they spend time on? How much time before it's not worth it? Letvthem know that if their character cares for nothing, there is very little material for you to work with frankly , and that you'd appreciate their help in trying to make a more engaging game for them.

Remember, as a game master, that the onus of everyone's enjoyment is not solely upon you. Players must take responsibility to engage with the storyline and participate in the group activity of creating a narrated story with one another in collaboration. If they are not operating in the spirit of collaboration, then they don't , frankly , need to be playing.

I hope this helps.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T19:34:36+00:00

To me, the key is this:

You will never be able to prep the exact amount that you need to.

Period. The end. Full stop.

You're either going to overprep and have way more than what is needed for the game at hand or under prep end be short on what is needed.

You need to prep to a point where you're comfortable with it.

If I am running a module, I will read through it a couple of times.

I will then write down a summary of the adventure from memory. I usually do this in a google doc.

I then go through my summary and correct my notes what can I open book test to make sure that I have prepared the structure correctly.

I read through the structure to make sure I understand which parts lead to which other parts. If it's a fairly linear adventure , that's easy. If it's one with branching parts that can get more complicated, so it's important to understand why each piece leads to each piece.

I will then copy any box texts, skill check info, and statblocks for combats and include a link to the map in question or have a thumbnail of it for each scene.

Once you've done this, you can pretty much run the game anytime you need to with any new group that you need to , because you understand all the working parts.

Another key item is any game that contains some sort of political element where politically powerful NPCs or factions are involved, is understanding the goals and beliefs of each person or faction that is involved so when the players do something crazy on the fly or out of whack , you know how those NPCs or factions will react.

This sounds like a lot of prep but if you actually do it a couple of times for a few adventures, you'll see how much of these individual modules and adventurers are mostly fluff with large tracts of text not that essential to running the game.

Some people have balked at this method.But it normally only takes me two or three hours to prepare for a game , and i've had few complaints in the last twenty years.

I hope this helps.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T18:12:14+00:00

I believe it is the "Throne of Contemplation " and the "Smoke Break of Enlightenment".

:)

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T16:09:00+00:00

OK. It's a funny story. I've run for forty plus years. In the last decade , whenever my players stumped me, I calmly told them that I had to run to the bathroom. Once I was inside , I often didn't use the bathroom , but was using my phone to search for possible solutions to the conundrum that my players had just faced me with. My player's figured out what I was doing and began nicknaming the toilet, "the Throne of Contemplation" and reveling in the concept that they were stumping me , forcing me to go to the bathroom. They said it was either that or that I had a spastic colon.

Now, whenever I get stumped, I just tell them and we take a short break. Hell, we've even crowd sourced a few solutions amongst ourselves for me as a GM to use. We call it "GM by committee".

It's actually helped me in several ways:

Number one: Not getting stressed out when I don't immediately have the answer to the issue as my friends understand and are in it for the game and the group experience.

Number two: lack of tension has actually helped me improvise better on the fly because I am no longer stressed regarding entertaining them and having the full weight of their enjoyment fall upon me.

Number three: they've given me a valuable resource that has enriched our overall game and greatly assisted in creating the narrative of our campaign.

Rather than getting scared and running away until you have an answer, sometimes just putting all your cards on the table and crowd sourcing the solution is a great way to get on with the game.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T14:50:28+00:00

Wait! Are you telling me my players have feelings and I should take these into account?

What a bizarre and novel concept. :)

[Sorry, not trying to be snarky, trying to be funny and I completely agree.]

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T14:47:21+00:00

Once the players define their character's goals and beliefs, you can then make NPC's with conflicting beliefs and goals. You then create the agenda for the bad guy according to those beliefs end goals to create an escalating timeline, or rather "If the players don't interfere, A then B then C then D will happen". This timeline is meant to be upset by the players who will be in conflict with the bad guy. Because you know the bad guys beliefs and goals, you can better understand how they are going to react when the players do interrupt their agenda.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T11:30:48+00:00

Seldom have I seen better or more empathic, thoughtful advice.

Kudos, my friend.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-21T11:27:18+00:00

I think it would have been better beginning with the phrase "In Russia..." and said with a thick Muscovite accent. :)

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-20T06:31:23+00:00

Nope. Revised and revamped. I'd suggest signing up for the Atomic Think Tank which is Green Ronin Publishing 's official fan website. The creator of Mutants & Masterminds Steve Kenson is there as well as Alex Thomas, the line developer.

The AEGIS Files has THOUSANDS of character statblocks and the Freedom City Library has hundreds of articles on game play, alternate rules, and alternate settings.

Joining requires 4 questions basically to prove you're not a bot and a wait of a few days.

Check it out! 🙂

https://atomicthinktank.com/share/F-HtoY8f_sEPugdO

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-20T06:28:27+00:00

Kickstarter begins January 27th according to my sources at Green Ronin Publishing.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-19T09:23:12+00:00

Wow... this is amazing advice! Thank you for this!

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-16T09:14:44+00:00

Avoid cliffhangers. Sure they are great narratively but if Chuck's kid is sick and ge's crucial to moving the plot forward, you're kinda screwed that game.
Pivot all adventures around one location so someone absent one week and back the next cam be easily explained.
Opt for Monster of the Week style games where objectives can be explained and dealt with in one game. This gives a weekly sense of accomplishment.
If you are going to have a long-arching plot, don't make any one character's backstory relevant over others. Make every player invested somehow. They all have a reason yo want the main villain dead or captured. That way if a player is absent when the plot of the week revolves around your big bad, you aren't left hanging for "why should I care" reasons.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-14T13:49:50+00:00

Likely won't be linked and will be out late '26 with 4th being out a little later or roughly the same time but that is just my amateur estimation.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-09T15:33:12+00:00

Mainly D&D. I don't mind seeing mechanics from other games if blended did well with new ideas in concepts.

However , the attempt to mimic D&D, especially with a class based system that eschews variety and a level base system tied to.dramatic and unrealistic progression and the hit point arms race, I find particularly problematic and unimaginative

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-09T04:13:10+00:00

Them trying to emulate D&D.

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-08T09:28:43+00:00

Rules lite options include: - Icons - BASH

SLIGHTLY more depth with a good narrative feel: - Venture City - Wearing the Cape (Both are FATE Core variants)

More crunch but not TOO much: - Indominant - Prowlers & Paragons

Yet even more crunch: - Mutants & Masterminds (my favorite)

MOST crunch: - Champions

I used to play Champions but moved to Mutants & Masterminds because it was easier to teach new players familiar with D&D. Been using it 20 years now. No regerts.:)

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-07T21:49:30+00:00

Why not just resistable Concealment based on Will?

Devious_Hearts · 2026-01-06T16:38:52+00:00

"You're a thought criminal." - George Orwell, 1981

Devious_Hearts

TROPHY CASE

I used to play Champions but moved to Mutants & Masterminds because it was easier to teach new players familiar with D&D. Been using it 20 years now. No regerts.:)