In this month’s Fanservice BS, I address how to be wrong as a GM. And how to handle being wrong. It’s basically two articles in one. Because my Patrons SUCK at picking topics.

We all know that innovation is the most important thing ever in games, right? So why don’t more people choose what’s innovative over what’s familiar? And what does that mean for you as a GM?

Once upon a time, I claimed to be the only one to know what game balance actually was and to be able to define at least three types of game balance in RPGs. Now that everyone has forgotten that I said that, it’s time to explain what I meant.

Symbolism is a great way to add some artistic merit your game. Just don’t actually use it ever.

The problem with letting your fans pick the topic is that they don’t have to actually worry about whether the topic they pick actually has a useful article in it. What do they care? They don’t have to write this crap. So here’s a post about mimics or whatever.

In this month’s Fanservice BS, I look at how to make race and culture actually matter. Whatever the hell that means.

It’s time for my first ever Fanservice BS, wherein I post the rant my Patreon supporters wanted to hear. Today’s topic: why I hate ability scores in D&D 5E.

After four years of missing it, I decided to participate in David Chapman’s #RPGaDay blog carnival discussion thing. And, because I’m me, I decided to do the entire thing in one day at the last minute. Enjoy.

Every campaign can benefit from a well-run Session Zero. How do you run a good Session Zero? I can’t tell you that until I tell you what a Session Zero is actually for.

Is there any value to hidden content in D&D? Not just optional content, but actual, concealed, hard to find, totally missable content? Of course there is.

Conflict lies at the heart of every story. And when we think of conflict, we think of the struggle between good and evil. Especially in D&D. But what if I told you that good and evil aren’t in conflict at all? And that D&D alignment is complete and utter gibberish that never made any sense?

It’s time for a random pile of bulls$&% from the brain of the Angry GM. Today’s steamer is about clock speeds, decision points, why D&D runs at two different speeds, and how the designers of RPGs really need to figure that s$&% out better. Don’t worry, this has nothing to do with Time Pools.

Here it is: the awaited solution to the Infamous Angry Riddle Solution. Enjoy. Hahaha. Just kidding. You’re going to hate it. And I’m not sorry.

Once upon a time, six years ago, I ran a contest on my website. And people were furious. As a fun bit of bonus content, here’s the story and the logic puzzle that infuriated my budding fanbase.

I wanted to write about NPCs, but so many people argued about whether RPGs were winnable and whether they needed goals that I had to explain to everyone why they are and they do. And then I had to explain why Fiasco isn’t an RPG.

Just because someone wrote something, that doesn’t mean they know anything about it. Gygax is no more trustworthy about RPGs than anyone else. Especially when it comes to the importance of rules.

Should a GM get paid to run games? That’s the latest ridiculous internet argument I got to witness. But, believe it or not, it’s actually worth weighing in on. At least, I think it is. So here I go.

I’m feeling reflective. Let’s reflect on some design elements from D&D 4E that definitely shouldn’t have been left out of 5E that can definitely make you a better monster builder.

Like Quark closely examining Morn’s hidden stash in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode Who Mourns for Morn, if you look too closely at the treasure system in D&D, you’ll find someone has extracted all of the value and there’s nothing left but worthless gold.

This article is about basic probability, dice, and statistics in D&D and other RPGs. I love this s$&% and I think it’s important and useful to understand. So, let’s use math to answer some questions about dice rolling in RPGs. Or not. Next week, I’m back to talking about NPCs, so you can skip this one if you want.

Well, it happened again. Another week on Twitter, another fight about why metagaming is bulls&$%. But what is metagaming? And why is it a waste of time to worry about it? Well, I’ll f$&%ing tell you.

Have you been using my tips to create your own original content? Do you want to publish your content? Do you want to maybe even SELL your content? Great. Just don’t get your a$& sued. Fortunately, the OGL and the DMs Guild can help. If you know how to use them.

We tell a lot of funny stories about gaming. But just because a story is funny doesn’t mean its good advice. In fact, most funny stories are funny because they aren’t good gaming. It all comes down to tone.

Improvisation is the single most important thing that can utterly ruin your game if you f$&% it up. It’s also widely considered to be unteachable by f$&%ing sissies who are afraid of working at things. Not me. Let’s embark on a series to teach you how to improvise, why it’s important, and why you shouldn’t.

Every creator eventually has some dips$&% ask them “where do you get your ideas?” It’s a stupid question. And it’s the reason more people aren’t creators. Do you want to know where I get my ideas? I make them! From my brain!

“Angry,” they say, “why don’t you show us your game notes! Angry, teach us how to prep. Show us the way.” I CAN’T DO THAT! STOP ASKING!

Alignment doesn’t exist in 5E. It’s vestigial. Practically non-existent. And yet, it’s still there. Why? Because the designers couldn’t take a firm stand on anything. But YOU can. If you hate alignment, get rid of it. It’s easy. But if you LOVE alignment, you can actually make it useful.

Can we abbreviate a D&D 5E Stat Block enough to include monster stats inline with the adventure? Without creating a layout nightmare or wasting huge amounts of page space? The answer is yes. Can we abbreviate the discussion about user interface design and how it relates to RPGs and why it’s important? Hell no!

A published module seems like it should take no prep at all, right? Well, if you’ve ever run one, you know that’s a lie. Published modules can take a LOT of prep work. Even worse, it’s not always clear HOW to prepare. Unless you’re a genius like me. Or you read this article.

Are you going to GenCon for the first time? Great! Are you a super-popular blogger or podcaster or game writer? No? Let me tell you how to do it under 7,500 words.