We are unbelievably excited for the launch of the second book in the Game Master's Handbook series, and follow-up to the Proactive Roleplaying book: The Game Master's Handbook of Collaborative Campaign Design! This book walks GMs through planning and executing full campaigns, from a full Session -1 system to kick things off to finishing every arc in a satisfying conclusion. We are so, so, so proud and grateful to share this with you, and we can't wait to hear what folks think! You can find it on Amazon (link below) or with all major book retailers, so check what's available near you! We can't wait for you to read it! We'll have more news for you soon, so keep an eye out! Thank you all again for being a part of the journey, and we'll be chatting with you a ton in the coming days. There's an invitation to this lab in the book this time, so we're expecting a few new friends in the coming weeks. We can't possibly convey to you all how grateful we are for the welcoming, helpful, and kindhearted people here, and we trust that vibe will continue as we meet new folks. Talk to you soon! Tristan https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Handbook-Collaborative-Campaign-Design/dp/1964487048

I have recognized myself doing something recently I will tentatively call Social Engagement Puzzles. I am sure someone must have written or vloged about this, but for the life of me I cant find it. I feel like I have a lot to learn or figure out, but am sharing in hopes someone can give me or direct me to a different perspective... Basic Process ... I send each player a private note/DM in discord with a bit of information about an investigation, possible next steps, or observations in a social encounter. None of these clues solves the current issue, but contained in them are pieces that fit together to reveal the solution. The characters then reveal the pieces through the prompted roleplay and discover the information they need together. Observations so far ... - It is much more interesting to discover the answer to lore checks this way than having one player roll and get a lore dump. - Giving the pieces to each player out loud skips the discovery step and feels like the GM gave them the answer rather than they found it. - The players have to buy into the concept of the roleplaying game instead of stepping above table to read their clues. - It can be effective in brining normally quiet players into the roleplay as they have soemthing needed in the conversation. - Shaping clues to backstories makes those choices feel impactful - Don't make them tricky puzzles, avoid important word choice, the telephone game effect is real be ok with the solution not being what you expected It seems to work in a variety of settings ... - Presenting choices with pros and cons that can be discussed - To present the hidden lore that is common in published adventuerers - To unstick the party when they get stuck - To slow things down when they are pushing along a straight line - To nudge or add to RP between players without disrupting it by speaking as GM Hopefully that gets you imagination going without a even more lengthy example. Surely someone has written on this already and I just cant find it...

Hello everyone! Im super excited to be apart of this community! My experience is a majority of DnD 3.5, and 5e. I have also played Pathfinder 1st edition and Vampire the Masquerade! I joined because I love DMing and any kind of advice or help is always appreciated!!!!

my players have been asking if we can move to an online platform for a while, since right now our setup is just a paper map, wooden tokens, and an overhead camera because they're all hundreds of miles away. And honestly, I could use less to do during our sessions; it would be nice to let them move their own pieces and just focus on roll checks, npcs, and lore. The problem is, I've tried to learn to use the online GM tools, and I must have the learning potential of spongebob at boating school, because none of the tutorial videos for roll20 or OwlbearRodeo have been helpful. they're all just a glorified ad video that teaches you nothing about the controls. I need a human. one who knows what they're doing, and can walk me through the process of building and running at least one mock session, if not a short mock campaign. Is there anyone here who can help me? or can you connect me to someone who can?

Hi everyone! I might have missed the announcement but what happened with the Q&A sessions?! Are they coming back? TIA!