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The peasant rail gun. The bag of rats. The absurdity of minimalist disguises. No sensible GM would allow this malarkey at a real table, but I've always always found great joy in taking rules to their illogical extremes. Most of the examples in my head come from D&D, but I'm curious what else...

Is there any place to check out a 4e Skill Challenge style race done properly? Maybe an especially good module that features 'em?

I've got a chase sequence planned for an upcoming session. The only problem is that a dwarf (25 ft. movement speed) can never escape a human (30 ft. movement speed). This is a known problem, and I've seen a couple of different solutions and subsystems to address it. Do you guys have any...

Heh. I think I remember seeing that article! Any chance of getting your take on what that might look like in a practice in an RPG situation?

It's not easy giving constructive criticism. You worry about hurt feelings, awkwardness at the table, and (in the worst cases) ruined campaigns. I have a brief write-up on the subject over here, but I suggest we try a little exercise. Tell us what your GM does that annoys you. Write out...

So uh... True story? I totally did in a Pathfinder game. Dude was an occultist with ranks in Perform (oratory). Super dramatic kind of guy. I wound up getting around the "raising up undead is inherently evil" thing by making him a "journeyman executioner." It was a respectable profession. More...

Necromancers are cool. How do you play one without getting drummed out of town by peasants with torches and paladins with pitchforks? Comic for illustrative purposes.

Naw man. That's what I'm talking about. I'm asking for story hooks BEYOND the bond.

I write about "default storylines" over here, but the TLDR is this. If you’re playing any class with an inherent relationship to gods/fiends/eldritch-entities-from-beyond-time-and-space, then you’ve got a potential character arc laid out for you from Level 1. That's worth exploring, but I think...

Any examples of "priceless vases" that you've used?

When players find successful combat tactics, they tend to stick with them. How do you shake players out of "tactical complacency" without making them feel unfairly targeted? I offer up the classic ambush scenario as an option over here, but I'm curious how else you can knock player off balance...

You make it sound like a joke, but this is a major advantage of the boardgame bar type setting as a venue.

I've seen it run both ways, with GMs sometimes taking on hosting duties ("Thank you so much for coming to my home! Have some pulled pork.") and other times expecting snacks to be heaped upon their GM throne ("If you're going to come to my house, you're going to contribute to the snack fund.")...

For real? I thought he was still common knowledge throughout the hobby. Hey 5e people! Do you guys know Drizzt?

You want to play a drow. Unfortunately, your group have all read their RA Salvatore, and you can hear the scimitar jokes coming from a mile away. How do you roll up a drow who's so completely different from Drizzt that you're able to escape the onrushing flood of satire? Comic for illustrative...

My approach is to have a travelling merchant. Dude has maybe 15 things at any given time, three of which the PCs can't afford and another two of which are inappropriate to their classes. That leaves ten real items to sort through. In other words, my magic merchant is a Sears Catalog on wheels.

I've got a slightly longer write-up over here, but here's the crux of the argument: I think that it takes more than power gaming to explain why players like magic item shops. Looking at the magic item lists like a Sears Catalog might not be especially interesting in RP terms, but it does...

Blech. Fixed link. I don't know why it's never occurred to me, but rhino seems like an exceptionally dwarfy steed. I could picture the lone dwarven cavalrymen among a troop of elephant riders.... "Sure she's low to the ground, but that's an advantage!"

What’s the weirdest mount you’ve ever employed in-game? Comic for illustrative purposes.

As a GM, I always want that guy in my group. It can get old if it's a "look at me I'm being silly" sort of thing, but more often than not I just want to see the encounter actually do its stuff. It's no fun with the fireworks fail to go off because no one would light the fuse.