Resources
This is a list of different resources that have helped me game master. Either through learning how to run the game in general better or by inspiring me with ideas for campaigns or adventure ideas. Links that go directly to resources may be affiliate links.
Instructional Resources
The Angry GM - A great RPG advice website. While he has a unique tone in which his message is delivered, his advice has a lot of great food for thought in how you design adventures, campaigns, and great ways to run games. He is one of the few voices that really focus on the game aspect of the RPG. This site is an invaluable resource if you really want to dive into the mechanics and how to enhance the game aspect of your RPG, even if he is a little "hey kids get off my lawn" at times.
Fistful of Dice - One fourth of Absolute Tabletop, Matt Click has done a fair-share of videos on how to run a better game. He has done videos on dungeon structure, prep, and generally tips on how to run games.
GM Tip - This one is by Geek and Sundry. Lots of good nuggets of GM advice. They tend to be shorter videos with faster interviews of popular GMs, including Matthew Mercer, Matthew Coville and Satin Phoenix.
Gnome Stew - A great website with lots of advice articles. I’d highly recommend checking out the books they have to offer as well. They give a lot of good advice on how to plan and run games as well as resources for coming up with session ideas.
Matthew Colville - He runs a channel (amongst other things) where he covers different aspects of running a game. He has a variety of tidbits that he covers throughout his channel. We've particularly enjoyed bits on encounter building, thinking about the goals of your Monsters/NPCs, and some of his ideas on making your world feel real.
Roll Up and Die - A great podcast with hosts discussing all things tabletop. They have discussed how to build tension, fear, how cities would work, how to make a good game with the environment as a protagonist, how to include props, and so much more. They also always end with an idea you can steal which is a great way to get you thinking about things you can do for your game.
Runehammer Games - Formerly known as Drunkens and Dragons, don't let his ridiculous (and hilarious) antics fool you, this has some of the best advice on how to think about designing individual rooms, keeping the pressure on players, creating dungeons and generally making your games great. Check out his youtube videos, particularly the room design series. The room design series along with a very short lived podcast called The Encounter Machine was a major inspiration for this site.
Tabletop Terrors - A pair of brothers who give a variety of RPG related advice. Their topics can be a bit sporadic, but there are lots of good information in the channel. They are the other part of Encounter Machine, the short lived podcast that inspired this site. They are also part of an awesome publishing company by the name of Absolute Tabletop.
Cool Publishers and Products
Absolute Tabletop - We are a huge fan of this groups work here at RPG encounters. We've backed both of their kickstarters and bought a few other products. Of particular note is their Oath of the Frozen King Adventure Kit. It's a pre-made adventure, but with lots of room for modification and change. It's meant to be able to be run on the fly, but it has enough flexibility so that it could be run several times with a different experience each time.
Critical Hit Publishing - They publish a lot of resources, particularly for D&D 5E, but many can be easily adapted into other games. Of particular note is the Cinematic Environs series which has mechanics in place to help make your environments feel more like a hazard then just a backdrop. They've done everything from deserts and the sky to underwater environments.
Engine Publishing - Associated with the wonderful Gnome Stew blog, they have released a few excellent and inspiring books over the years. All of their material is completely system neutral. Much of it focuses on on how to run games in general, but we particularly love Masks: 1,000 Memorable NPCs for any Roleplaying Game and Eureka: 501 Adventure Plots to Inspire Game Masters. These are both great books to pull out if you are out of adventure or NPC ideas.
Runehammer Games - All of the information that the Runehammer channel shared was put into a delightful RPG known as the Index Card RPG. A very cool game that has roots in D&D but is faster paced and a bit more flexible.
Sly Flourish - He has published a number of interesting materials. Our favorites are Fantastic Locations and Fantastic Adventures. Fantastic Adventures is a great compendium of a few quests that can easily be prepared for a impromptu game or brought into your own campaign. Fantastic Locations is great inspiration for adding into your own game.
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