Chris Perkins' final Dungeon Master Experience column

[Nemesis Destiny]

Well, here we are. The last one.

This was pretty much the only thing besides Dragon and Dungeon that I even go to the D&D website for these days. I'm going to miss this column.

On a positive note, this new campaign sounds like a lot of fun (and certainly makes me more keen on trying Next than the playtest packets). I particularly like the way he worked the Paladin-Warden-Blackguard construct into his campaign and made the setting monotheistic. It's a shame we won't get to "follow along" this time.

 

[Blackwarder]

What makes you think that it's his final column?

Warder

 

[Nagol]

Last week's article said so

Next week's article will be the last in this series — at least for a while. As much as I enjoy writing the column, it takes a large chunk of my time, and other projects are demanding more of my attention (not just D&D Next stuff but personal projects as well, including my next campaign and that Star Frontiers screenplay I've been hammering on). The articles I've written thus far are enough fill two Dungeon Master's Guides, and I'm feeling pretty good about that, and there's a decent chance I'll revive the column once my D&D Next campaign gets underway, but no promises. Thanks to everyone who offered praise and criticism, who embraced my advice or challenged it. I urge you to tune in next week for the farewell installment, and I hope my experiences behind the screen have helped you and your campaign.

 

[Blackwarder]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Warder

 

[hayek]

this is so sad!! this was some of the greatest DM advice out there on the internet. I mean... did anyone not like this column? I thought it was a phenomenal example of good experienced DMing - blending story needs with realism with gamism, all in a way that shows good DMing is an art not a science...

and the format was fantastic - a lot of other online articles/blogs/discussions could greatly benefit from mirroring it - it was excellent how he blended an abstract discussion of ideas or advice with a little practical example from actual gaming.

Thanks for the time and energy, Chris! Very much hope this column is resurrected at some point!!

 

[pemerton]

From the second-last column: Don't be afraid. Tell your story, let the players tell their stories, and make the most of it. Pull out the big guns, aim high, and don't let up.

Excellent advice, perhaps the best single bit of GMing advice there is.

On another thread, when I said my goal for my game is all awesome, all the time, another poster disagreed. But I really think that, when I was a less experienced GM, my game suffered because I would hold back my best material, out of some sense of verisimilitude, or "the climax is still to come". Whereas, to quote Chris Perkins from the same column, "The only thing you have to fear is running out of ideas, and that will never happen."

There's always more awesome where that came from.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I was an incredible column. I'm going to miss it.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Like so many others I am really going to miss this.

 

[Blue]

It was, consistently, the best article on the site. I look forward to the L&L articles for a glimpse of Next, and Jon's art articles at times are intriguing but that's without an art background that's not consistent for me. Chris Perkin's articles are the only ones I would be looking forward to and read just because I wanted to.

At a time when regular content is so low I'm surprised they are taking him away from this. Of course, I hope it's because he's putting those talents to good use elsewhere and we'll eventually see that. And he mentions possibly taking it up when his next campaign is rolling - I think that he's mined Iomandra for a lot of pertinent bits, but it will be fun to see how things unfold "in real time".

Good luck on whatever you're working on Chris, may it all be as awesome as your Dungeon Master Experience column!

 

[CharlesDM]

I somehow missed this column, but I very much liked the last two entries linked above. So, I will read the archive, and maybe Mr. Perkins will have resumed the column by the time I finish the archive