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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Saracenus" data-source="post: 9544585" data-attributes="member: 47839">Ok, most of the books that are on my shelf have been already listed here, but here are few that are not.For the new DM:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">So You Want To Be A Game Master, Justin "The Alexandrian" Alexander. This is a nuts and bolts guide to being a DM. It will take the reader step by step from basic stuff and then eventually lead you to more advanced concepts. If you are an avid reader of his blog some of this will be familiar. However with is book you a portable, updated guide that organizes a lot of info into digestible chunks. Those chunks are:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Dungeon</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Mysteries</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Raids and Heists</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Urban Adventures</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Into The Wild</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Extra Credit</li> </ul></li> </ul>      Be warned, this book is 544 pages, but mercifully there is an index. <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Game Master's Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying, Jonah and Tristen Fishel. This book is a revelation for myself. Way back in the early days of TTRPGs I unconsciously was doing this kind of DMing because unless I was running an adventure module I was making stuff up on the spot in reaction to the players actions instead of giving them something to react to. I don't know why I stopped doing this (I probably can partially blame my deep involvement in Organized Play). This book is heavily influenced by story first games like Blades In The Dark but this is a guide to running a proactive campaign in the more rules chunky D&D ecosystem. </li> </ul>More Advanced Topics:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hamlet's Hit Points and Beating the Story, Robin D. Laws. This dude again. Robin's treatise on story beats (traditionally the domain of Movies, TV, Theater, and Books) and how they can be used for controlling the narrative in an RPG is seminal. Be warned, once you read these book you will not look at stories, no matter the medium, the same way again. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Kobold Guide To Gamemastering, multiple authors and edited by Sean K. Reynolds. I put this into the advanced pile not because the concepts are super advanced but it is a collection of essays that is frustratingly light on actionable advice is more of concepts and theory. There is stuff to glean from it but if you are new DM this book is not going to hold your hand. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Adventure Crucible: Building Stronger Scenarios for Any RPG, Robin D. Laws. Yep, that dude yet again. I see this as a companion for So You Want To Be A Game Master. Learn the basics from Justin, then take that basic understanding and amp it up. It is a laser focused chapbook on the structure of adventures and has solid advanced advice on how to create strong scenarios in the following structures:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Dungeon</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Mystery</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Chain of Fights</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Survival</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Intrigue</li> </ul>And the less common<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Picaresque</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Drama</li> </ul></li> </ul>As I find other books on my hard drive and bookshelf I will post up some additions.</blockquote>

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