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Episode 2596: Twigging Out

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2596.html

Published: March 16, 2025 09:11

Frustration can be an interesting thing to show in a movie, but engendering frustration in a game can be... frustrating for the players. Roleplaying frustration in a character is one thing, and can be fine. But a good GM should always be on the lookout…

Episode 2595: Girl, Interrupted

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2595.html

Published: March 13, 2025 09:11

Mysterious influences can be pretty cool, but one issue with them in a game is that some players may feel that it's robbing them of agency. Rather than have a malign influence simply control a PC's actions, it can feel better for players if instead it just…

Episode 2594: The Funky Ribbon

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2594.html

Published: March 11, 2025 09:11

Yeah... games don't usually include training scenes like this. Even movies often condense them into the training montage. If you do decide to play out a training scene though, make sure you have the appropriate soundtrack. aurilee writes: Commentary by…

Episode 2593: Active Resistance Training

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2593.html

Published: March 9, 2025 10:00

In some games you only gain experience while actively adventuring, whereas some games have rules for training and improving during down time as well. Which type of improvement you prefer depends on, well, your preference. Down time training is an easy…

Episode 2592: I Think it’s Time to Torch This Place; Now the Girl’s in Overdrive

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2592.html

Published: March 6, 2025 09:11

One interesting type of trick you can have in an adventure is the thing that seems to do nothing, but actually does something the players just don't realise yet. Consider a dungeon room with a lever in it. Being as curious as cats with a deathwish, most…

Episode 2591: The Mirror Track’d From Site to Site

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2591.html

Published: March 4, 2025 09:11

Giant creatures are great. Especially giant version of things that are normally pretty tiny. Most people have no real idea what insects or the multitudinous types of worms or other tiny critters actually look like if they were magnified. So blowing them up…

Episode 2590: The Enemy With Finn

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2590.html

Published: March 2, 2025 09:11

Didn't we just say to throw weird stuff at your players? Do not hold back. aurilee writes: Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie) Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh............... Ehehhehheh. Wow, okay! A trip to the Mirror Dimension was nowhere…

Episode 2589: Let’s Just Say We’d Like to Avoid Any Imperilling Entanglements

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2589.html

Published: February 27, 2025 09:11

Throw weird stuff with no explanation at your players sometimes. The last thing you want your game to be is predictable, and twisting the entire thing at right angles and introducing bizarre stuff that seemingly makes no sense is a good way to keep things…

Episode 2588: I’m Right on Target, My Aim is Straight

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2588.html

Published: February 25, 2025 09:11

Some scenes in a game a more exciting than others. This is fine. You don't need to make everything exciting, or you run the risk of it all seeming samey and bland after a while. You need beats and pauses of quiet time to punctuate the exciting parts and…

Episode 2587: Jumping in the Face of Danger

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2587.html

Published: February 23, 2025 09:11

The converse of time pressure is that the heroes need to wait a certain amount of time for something good to happen: the cavalry arrives, the curse is broken, the sun rises and turns the trolls to stone. The countdown is on, and they just need to hold out…

Episode 2586: Under the Pump

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2586.html

Published: February 20, 2025 09:11

Time pressure. Your games should usually include some form of time pressure. Exploring can be a leisurely affair if you have all the resources you need and can rest in between every encounter, and there's nothing you particularly need to get done other…