Category: GM Advice

How to Create Party Cohesion and Group Immersion

Or... Investing in Your Players So That They Invest in the Story One of the biggest keys to understand playing a tabletop roleplaying game and specifically, the Cypher System, is the fact that it’s a collaboration between players and GM. In a previous post we discussed Character Arcs and how to use them to increase … Continue reading How to Create Party Cohesion and Group Immersion →

Co-GMing the Cypher System: Our Experience

Partners in crime... er... games. Yeah, games... Joann and I have been GMing roleplaying games now for something like a combined 45 or 50 years.  Both of us in home games, and I’ve run conventions (both individual game sessions and helping to run whole conventions).  We have dealt with a myriad of player types, a … Continue reading Co-GMing the Cypher System: Our Experience →

How to Avoid Being a “Defensive” GM

"Did you... just... one-shot my BBEG?!?!" Artwork by Aaron Lee They say inspiration can come from anywhere.  Today’s inspiration came from THIS post over on the Cypher Unlimited Discord server.  Angel’s Citadel friend Koan Mandala talked about how one of the things he had to learn in the course of what he calls his “GM … Continue reading How to Avoid Being a “Defensive” GM →

GM Intrusions: What They Are and How to Use Them

So there we were, taking an evening walk after the opera when suddenly... SQUID! One of the biggest differences between the Cypher System and its associated games (Numenera, the Strange, etc…) is the mechanic of GM Intrusions.  When I first read the idea in Numenera, I struggled with it quite a bit.  Coming from Dungeons … Continue reading GM Intrusions: What They Are and How to Use Them →

Learning to Love Lists and Embrace Spontaneity

The best laid plans of mice and GM's... In a number of posts, Josh and I have discussed our love of decks. Now, I’m going to take you back into the past, to the time before the decks. It was a sad time, a dark time, every plan was torn asunder. The military truism of … Continue reading Learning to Love Lists and Embrace Spontaneity →