Do you play D&D or Pathfinder? Tired of spending hours preparing for an RPG session? This book provides helpful tips, so you can become a no-prep gamemaster. It is organized into three sections: Arcana, Three Keys, and Arrows in the Quiver. The Arcana section deals with my history and struggles with learning how to gamemaster and why I decided to stop preparing for sessions. The Three Keys section is the heart of the No-Prep Gamemaster. These short chapters provide the framework on which anyone can begin to gamemaster without preparation. Arrows in the Quiver is a selection of tips and tricks that any GM can use to cut down preparation time.

For many tabletop RPG players, the joy of an in-depth game is that anything can happen. Typical adventure modules include a map of the adventure’s primary location, but every other location?whether it's a woodland clearing, a random apothecary or the depths of a temple players elect to explore?has to be improvised on the fly by the Game Master. As every GM knows, no matter how many story hooks, maps or NPCs you painstakingly create during session prep, your best-laid plans are often foiled by your players' whims, extreme skill check successes (or critical fails) or their playful refusal to stay on task. In a game packed with infinite possibilities, what are GMs supposed to do when their players choose those for which they're not prepared? The Game Master’s Book of Random Encounters provides an unbeatable solution. This massive tome is divided into location categories, each of which can stand alone as a small stop as part of a larger campaign. As an example, the “Taverns, Inns, Shops & Guild Halls” section includes maps for 19 unique spaces, as well as multiple encounter tables designed to help GMs fill in the sights, sounds, smells and proprietors of a given location, allowing for each location in the book to be augmented and populated on the fly while still ensuring memorable moments for all your players. Each map is presented at scale on grid, enabling GMs to determine exactly where all of the characters are in relation to one another and anyone (or anything) else in the space, critical information should any combat or other movement-based action occur. Perhaps more useful than its nearly 100 maps, the book's one-shot generator features all the story hooks necessary for GMs to use these maps as part of an interconnected and contained adventure. Featuring eight unique campaign drivers that lead players through several of the book's provided maps, the random tables associated with each stage in the adventure allow for nearly three million different outcomes, making The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters an incredible investment for any would-be GM. The book also includes a Random NPC Generator to help you create intriguing characters your players will love (or love to hate), as well as a Party Makeup Maker for establishing connections among your PCs so you can weave together a disparate group of adventurers with just a few dice rolls. Locations include taverns, temples, inns, animal/creature lairs, gatehouses, courts, ships, laboratories and more, with adventure hooks that run the gamut from frantic rooftop chases to deep cellar dungeon-crawls, with a total of 97 maps, more than 150 tables and millions of possible adventures. No matter where your players end up, they'll have someone or something to persuade or deceive, impress or destroy. As always, the choice is theirs. But no matter what they choose, with The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters, you'll be ready.

From the #1 Best-Selling author, Jeff Ashworth, comes the latest addition to The Game Master series, with more than 500 NPCs ready to populate your campaign whenever you need them! As is often the case in tabletop roleplaying games, players often venture into locales or look for answers in places and among people busy Game Masters simply didn’t anticipate. Or, just as often, an adventure won't have fully fleshed out characters in place for the locations and encounters outlined for gameplay. The Game Master's Book of Non-Player Characters solves these issues and more by providing Game Masters with the information they need to “fill in the holes” in their campaign play. It will enable GMs to instantly add depth, color, motivation and unique physical characteristics at a moment's notice to unexpected or underwritten characters as they pop up during gameplay, ensuring every session is a memorable one for players and GMs alike. This edition also includes more than 50 hand-drawn illustrations of select NPCs detailed in the book, 3 bonus one-shot adventures, and a foreword by online influencer Jasmine Bhullar.

You love Dungeons and Dragons. As an experienced dungeon master you've run dozens, if not hundreds of games. You put a lot of work into making your games great. What if there's another way to look at how you prepare your game? What if it turned out you could spend less time, less energy, and have a better game as a result?It's time to unleash the Lazy Dungeon Master.Written in the style of Sly Flourish's Dungeon Master Tips and Running Epic Tier D&D Games, The Lazy Dungeon Master shows a new approach to game preparation, one that takes less time and gives your game the freedom to grow at the table. This book will help dungeon master prepare awesome games for any version of D&D.Based on the real-world experiences of hundreds of dungeon masters and dozens of professional game designers, the Lazy Dungeon Master includes interviews with veteran D&D DMs and a complete toolkit to help you improvise an entire game.Whether you play 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, Pathfinder, or the D&D Next playtest; The Lazy Dungeon Master has tips, techniques, and advice to make preparation easier and help you run a flexible and entertaining game.

Become the Ultimate Game Master Thanks to tabletop roleplay, millions of fans are creating unforgettable collaborative stories. No matter what roleplaying game you want to play, this book is the key to unlocking endless adventure! Award-winning game designer Justin Alexander has created an incredible compendium of advice and maps, perfect for any aspiring Game Master. This book is packed with the strategies you need to create amazing dungeons, battles, roleplay encounters, and more. Full of practical, hands-on advice and sample maps, just reading the first chapter of this book will have you ready to run a game in less than an hour. From there, Justin teaches you all the skills and techniques you need to explore dungeons, solve mysteries, steal priceless artifacts, unravel strange conspiracies, and venture forth on epic journeys! No matter what game you’re playing, this book is the key to unlocking the limitless realms of your imagination.

This collected edition of Rolled & Told contains all the adventures, mini-adventures, comics, and articles from issues zero to six along with extra content you couldn't get in the single issues! It provides hours of pick-up-and-play campaigns designed both for players new to tabletop role playing and for those who have played for years. Every page is filled with beautiful illustrations, comics coinciding with adventures, and splash art from your favorite comic artists to inspire your players! Survive the dangers of "The Thunderlock Barcrawl", save goblins in "Hoist The Jolly Gobbler", and play the adventures "Mage School Beyond The Mirror", "The Case of the Brutal Brunch" and many more! ------------------------------------------------------ Each adventure is 5E compatible and ready-to-play.7 full adventures (5-6 hours on average)6 mini adventures (2-3 hours on average)4 pre-made and ready to use character sheets based on our iconic characters in each of your favorite classesOver 18 articles full of helpful tips and insight on how to enhance the game that’s perfect for game masters, aspiring and experienced alike.

Presents a review of topics in the Law School Admission Test, with effective test-taking strategies.