Miniatures Battle Mats/Grids for Roleplaying Games

If you’re going to use miniatures in your roleplaying games (and I think you should), you’ll need a good battle mat.  They make it easy to see where player characters and monsters are located and the size and shape of the combat encounter.  Personally, I...

How Many Players is Too Much of a Good Thing?

Maybe you’ve been there.  You plan your adventure for a certain number of players, but twice that many show up.  So what then?  Do you turn some away or just try to roll with it? Don’t Panic! This past weekend, I planned for 6, but 10 players showed up.  I...

Encounter Elements: Degrees of Movement

You don’t fight the same.  If you’re fighting in the Hall of the Mountain King, you have to protect your flanks.  If you’re just in a hallway, not so much. The shape and size of the room in which your players fight makes all the difference in how...

Encounter Elements: Timing

What’s the difference between chess and checkers?  Lots of things, but one of the big ones is timing. Do you want your combat encounters to include scratching of chins and deep thought?  Or do you want combat to feel like combat? If you want fast-paced  action,...