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

    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.

    Discover lost tombs, fight horrifying monsters, wander the wilderness and build your own stronghold to defend. Forbidden Lands is a legacy game, in which your actions will permanently change the game map, turning it into a living chronicle of your adventures. The unique rules for exploration, survival, base building and campaign in the game play can easily be ported to any other game world.The tabletop RPG Forbidden Lands was named one of the most anticipated RPGs of 2018 by EN World. The crowdfunding campaign raised over a quarter of a million dollars and was the third most successful RPG Kickstarter in the world 2017.With art by the internationally acclaimed artists Simon Stålenhag and Nils Gulliksson, lore by fantasy author Erik Granström, scenarios by esteemed game writers Patrick Stuart, Ben Milton and Chris McDowall and game design by Free League that created the award-winning RPGs Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon, Symbaroum and Tales from the Loop.

    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.

    But in the desperation of these last days, the world will take all those it can get: heroes, blackguards, madmen, and whoever else is willing to stand against the coming darkness. Will you fight the demons - or will you burn it all down and dance among the ashes? Who will you become when the world dies? Shadow of the Demon Lord opens a door to an imaginary world held in the grip of a cosmic destroyer. Enter a land steeped in the chaos and madness unleashed by the end times, with whole realms overrun by howling herds of beastmen, warped spirits freed from the Underworld, and unspeakable horrors stirred awaken by the Demon Lords imminent arrival.

    You’ve seen them. The twisted ones, the arrogant ones, the lost ones. Oh, you’d like to walk away and life be all cake and daisies, but you know you’re going here instead. You’ll try to convince yourself it’s because you’re greedy for the loot, or can’t resist a fight, but we all know the truth. So ready your sword, clean your pistol, and watch out for that dog – he might be small but he’s unreasonably vicious.Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay takes you back to the Old World. Get the gang together, create your (anti)heroes, and set off to make your way through the vile corruption, scheming plotters and terrifying creatures intent on destruction.The Fourth Edition Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Rulebook contains everything you need for grim and perilous roleplaying adventures in the Old World.

    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.

    This updated edition of the Origins Award-winning game contains new art, additional Action, Weapon, and Condition cards, and a revised and updated rule book.

    Included in this essential work:- A detailed survey of over fifty new monsters and a half dozen cultures that lurk in the Veins.- Procedures for Referees to generate both small and large-scale maps and locations within.- Expanded rules for players navigating a realm that has never seen the sun.- Full descriptions of the different types of light and the different types of dark.- The worst kinds of fear, madness, and nightmare.

    Troika! Numinous Edition is the new edition of our popular Troika! RPG, a complete science-fantasy RPG full of critically acclaimed writing, built-in wonder and room for everyone at the table to go wild!Inside the book you will find; a full automated character creation system that generates exciting starting points for players to build upon; weighty lists of spells and enemies to encounter; a baked-in plane-hoping setting which draws you into the world and allows you space to build upon its sturdy foundations.Lavishly illustrated by Jeremy Duncan, Dirk Detweiler Leicthy, Sam Mameli, and ENnie award winning Andrew Walter

    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.

    

    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.

    Visit the barbarian clans to trade or to plunder their treasuries. Establish a base of power among princes, guilds or rebellious refugees in the capital city of Yndaros. Or survive encounters with Arch Trolls, dark-minded Blight Beasts and undead warlords. But whatever you do, never ignore the warnings spoken by the wardens of the forest: tread carefully and do not disturb the ruins of old, for the dark deep of Davokar is about to awaken.