This primer will teach you how to build living, breathing worlds for your players to explore; how to host game and manage game sessions; and how to create powerful experiences of adventure that your players will talk about for years to come. Learn the secret to becoming a judge, an adversary, a worldbuilder, and a storyteller and become an arbiter of worlds! “Every Macris campaign starts with a rich, open world; the edge of a massive map; and the ability to find adventure in any direction. After playing in a dozen of his campaigns, I can assure you that Macris is the best prepared, most thorough GM on the prime material plane. He balances “deadly adversary” and “the party’s greatest supporter” perfectly. I’ve been lucky to contribute to some renowned video game worlds, and to discus world design with some of the most accomplished writers alive. And I’m honestly not sure there’s been someone more thorough at and passionate for world building than Macris since ... maybe Tolkien? (Okay, maybe G.R.R. Martin, but he’s not as organized or efficient.) It takes organization, creativity, and careful technique to build a massive world efficiently and deliver it effectively, and Macris can show you how he does it.” - Dr. Michael Capps, award-winning videogame executive, writer, designer (*Gears of War*, *Fortnite*, *Unreal Tournament, Unreal Championship*) “Armed with decades of experience as both a player and a designer, Macris cuts to the marrow with razor sharp insights in an unapologetic and often painfully insightful analysis of every imaginable facet of being a Game Master. From implication of play inherent in a game’s design, to world building, to the often delicate nature of unspoken social contracts inherent in the hobby, the guidance found in Arbiter of Worlds is a much-needed breath of fresh air to veterans of the hobby and a forged-in-the-fire bootcamp for those taking their first steps behind the screen.” - James M. Spahn, Ennie and Origins Award Winning RPG designer “A superb read. He makes his points the way you would expect a Harvard-trained lawyer to do. If you read this book, you are going to come out knowing real things you did not know before that will help you run games at the table…” - Courtney Campbell, Hack & Slash

    The Burning Wheel is an award winning fantasy roleplaying game in which player take on the roles of vibrant, dynamic characters whose very beliefs propel the story forward.

    You’ve read both Dungeon Master’s guides. You’ve run a few games. You pick up ideas here and there on the net. Or maybe you're an old grizzled vet who has run games for 20 years.Maybe your game is feeling a little stale. Maybe your encounters didn’t run exactly as you wanted them too. Maybe you feel like you're stuck in a rut. Maybe you feel a bit overwhelmed when you have to come up with an exciting, creative game every week.You’re not looking for a huge tome on game theory. You don’t need yet another take on world-building. You’re looking for some practical tips you can use today to help you focus your energy in the right places and make some kick-ass D&D games for you and your friends. You want something you can read quick and start using right away.My friend, here is the book for you.This book was written to give you solid usable tips to help you build your story, design exciting encounters, and run a great game when you’re at the table. It’s a short book, designed to be read quickly and referenced often.Oh yeah, and it’s got some awesome original artwork by Jared Von Hindman of Head Injury Theater.This is a completely original book. Every chapter was written from scratch to help you focus on what’s important and get past some of the roadblocks we all face when designing a D&D game.

     Kobold Guide to Plots & Campaigns shows how to begin a new campaign, use published adventures or loot them for the best ideas, build toward cliffhangers, and design a game that can enthrall your players for month or even years. Want to run an evil campaign, or hurl the characters into unusual otherworldly settings? Want to ensure that you're creating memorable and effective NPCs and villains? We've got you covered. Complete with discussions on plotting, tone, branching storytelling, pacing, and crafting action scenes, you'll find all the tips and advice you need to take on the best role in roleplaying--and become an expert gamemaster, too! Featuring essays by Wolfgang Baur, Jeff Grubb, David "Zeb" Cook, Margaret Weis, Robert J. Schwalb, Steve Winter, and other game professionals.

    You may think you know all about Zeus, Odin, and Gilgamesh and the other gods of myth and legend, but you'd be wrong! Mythological gods done Rifts style! Dimension spanning beings of inhuman nature and power, impostors, cyborgs, bio-wizards, the Atlas robot, the Gilgamesh clones, The Olympian Club, alien intelligences, interdimensional mercenaries, vampires, devouring monsters, gods of light, gods of darkness, demigods and supernatural fiends - all with a distinctly Rifts flavor.

    Now they bring that ambition to bear on a world they would claim for themselves. With vast wealth, the ability to command the spirits of the dead, and a strict familial hierarchy, the greatest enemy to stand against Clan Giovanni is itself.The Curse of Caine StolenAs the next entry in the revised lineup of clanbooks, Giovanni takes one of the classic Vampire sourcebooks and brings it into a modern context. All-new information accompanies revised material, inviting you to add as much depth to your character as you like. The sheer volume of information contained in the new clanbooks (each with 32 more pages than the first-edition books) permits Storytellers to round out their chronicles.

    It discusses the genre in depth - with all its subgenres and inspirations (myth, novels, movies, etc.) - letting you design just the kind of fantasy setting that you want.GURPS Fantasy gives detailed, concrete advice - from the basics of the landscape itself, through its inhabitants and cultures, to the details of believable histories and politics. It also examines the nature of supernatural forces, and discusses the impact of wizards, monsters, and gods. And, of course, it looks at the many different ways that magic and users of magic can work in a fantasy world. And, perhaps most importantly, it advises GMs and players alike on the kinds of characters appropriate to fantasy - including ordinary folks, people with fantastic powers, and nonhumans.Whether your model is Tolkien, Jordan, or Leiber, this book will let create a town, a country, or an entire world. Like all Fourth Edition books

    Each class comes with a set of new powers, class features, paragon paths, epic destinies, and more that beginning players can use to build the characters they want to play and experienced players can plunder for existing 4th Edition characters. In addition to new builds, this book presents expanded information and racial traits for some of the game’s most popular races, including dragonborn, drow, half-elves, half-orcs, and tieflings.

    The vampires of this bygone age ride the dark as lords, play their games with the crowned heads of Europe, and travel to the mysterious lands of the East as they wage their ages-old war.The diablerie of saulot, the waking of Mithras, the destruction of Michael the patriarch, the return of the Dracon -- it all means the time of reflection is over. The Inquisition stirs and the time to act is now. Across Europe, monarchs of the night set princes and barons at each other's undying throats. Young vampires take to the field ready to claim their domain and become powerful lords in their own right. Blood calls to blood.The Dark Medieval is a very different time than the modern Final Nights. Cainites group in clans high and low, swear fealty to ancient vampiric monarchs and follow their roads of enlightenment in the same way mortals do religions. Ashen priests and princes face off in a violent world lit only by torches and fear. Dark Ages: Vampire Revised Edition is your complete guide to this time.

    Includes 300 new spells. There is information for the GM to create their own magic system. This book is a flexible magic system for playing the world of a favorite author or any type of wizard you can imagine.

    * A Complete new role-playing system! * Three complete adventures, including "Throne War," "Battleground on Shadow Earth" and "Into the Abyss!" * Attribute Auction system where players bid against each other, creating a unique family of immortals! * Enter a universe where Pattern lets you "walk" to any world you can imagine, where Logrus tendrils can reach across infinite dimensions, and where Shape Shifting lets characters sprout wings! * A mature, demanding, and time-consuming system that puts character development above all else! * Over 100 pages of tips on role-playing style and technique with dozens of crystal-clear examples!

    Source material, the Mechanoids, new equipment, monsters and adventure.Highlights Include- 40 Mechanoids and their bots with complete M.D.C. stats!- A.R.C.H.I.E. 3 and his new creations.- New weapons and equipment.- Five adventures, random encounter tables and adventure ideas. Optional Character sheets.- 120 pages

    Five years after a tragic fire and spate of brutal murders, the people of Sandpoint eagerly anticipate the Swallowtail Festival to commemorate the consecration of the town's new temple. At the height of the ceremony, disaster strikes!In the days that follow, a sinister shadow settles over Sandpoint. Rumors of goblin armies and wrathful monsters in forgotten ruins have set the populace on edge. As Sandpoint's newest heroes, the PCs must deal with treachery, goblins, and the rising threat of a forgotten empire whose cruel and despotic rulers might not be as dead as history records.This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path and includes:- "Burnt Offerings," and adventure for 1st-level characters by James Jacobs.- An exploration of your PCs' new hometown of Sandpoint, by James Jacobs.- A history of the ancient empire of Thassilon, by Wolfgang Baur.- The first installment of the Pathfinder's Journal, by Erik Mona.- Six new monsters by James Jacobs, Richard Pett, and F. Wesley Schneider.Cover art by Wayne Reynolds

    Forever in the line of fire, they have sacrificed their own comfort for the good of all Kindred. Or is this all an empty ruse that excuses their excess and greed? the proud history and black secrets of the clan reveal the truth.Clanbook: Ventrue includes:* The history and practice of the Kindred's most august clan* Hints and tips for making each Ventrue a unique and influential member of vampiric society* New Discipline powers, scandals and luminaries of the Clan of Leadership

    When you play, you explore the terror and confusion that comes both with growing up and feeling like a monster.Based on the Apocalypse World engine, this is a game with emergent story, messy relationships, a structured MC role, and a focus on hard choices.It’s designed to evoke stories like True Blood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ginger Snaps or The Twilight Saga. If you like supernatural romances, or stories of monstrosity and personal horror, or if you just like watching sexy people ruin their lives, then you’ll love this game.