The Game Master’s Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying: Guidelines and strategies for running PC-driven narratives in 5E adventures (The Game Master Series) Paperback – October 17, 2023

The thesis of the book, and the value of this method, is explained very concisely in the first few pages. The rest of the book is teaching you how to go about it. I'm very excited to put these principles into play; they're great for the homebrew campaigns that make up most of what I do, but can also be applied concurrently with a premade adventure like The Shattered Obelisk: Phandelver and Below or Curse of Strahd.

My son loved it.

Very neat perspective. Looking forward to trying some of the tips as a player as well as a dm

Solid advice on making the players be the ones to take the reins of the game by focusing the game itself on their goals.Good news is this works great for a lot of games that already have this as part of say, character creation. Hero and GURPS have 'disadvantages' that can have the players have bits that put them into the game right away. Other games can have it as part of their session zero.The author does mention some specifics for D&D as well as Blades in the Dark, but because it's aimed at a D&D crowd, I find it a little weaker than it should be not because it's not solid advise, but you'd need multiple chapters into order to determine if this type of campaign can fit your style.For example, if you're player has a goal of rescuing someone from the Temple of Elemental Evil, that's great. They have a reason to go to the town and a reason to look for the dungeon. But... what happens once they get the person out? Well, then they need another short term goal. And another. Which hey, that's how the real world works right? You get one thing done, it's time to move onto the next. But unless you can hook them into the Mega Dungeon in and of itself, as opposed to individual goals, which can be done, but might be a little more tricky to get the whole group hooked, it can be at almost a cross purpose.D&D at certain points works well as 'good vs evil' or 'i'm a murder hobo out for gold' in which case hey, your motivation as to why the players keep going to the Temple, or any other mega dungeon for that matter is solved.I think the book would've benefited more for D&D if they covered handling more in depth examples of taking existing material and running it with the ideas in this book.For those just running fresh off this book? It will go much easier as the ideas and sound and can be put into use right away.Recommended for those looking to put the players at the forefront of the game.

This is a book about what experienced players do all the time. But, it gives structures to make it table/ game wide and have all players, new and expert, participate in player agency. My favorite line in the book is when the authors point out that the reason people love making a new character so much is that you have complete control over that everything that has happened and is happening to the character when the story begins. This method helps players continue that feeling and lessons the work of the Dungeon Master.I do have to say that I was disappointed when it showed up so much smaller than the other books in the series. My picture here shows it next to another book in this 5-book set. All of the other ones are the same size and then this. It doesn't really fit. Now, I will say that its size let me take it on a trip and read it on the plane, so I love it on its own. It's just that I wasn't expecting the difference, and I don't want you to get caught off guard.Also! In the ad they have it is clearly a hardback book, but this order of mine was paperback.

This book tell you how to bring (most) of the best aspects of Blades in the Dark to any other RPG rule system. I was a reluctant DM due to either memorizing long and complex pre-written campaigns, or being faces with the daunting task of creating a world, plots, and encounters out if thin air. Blades in the Dark changed all that (watch Haunted City actual-play on YouTube or podcast). Blades pushes 80% of the narrative responsibility on to the players, which does two things:1. Allows the players to do the things that are most fun for them2. Relieves the DM from 80% of their work!I have run entire (successful) BitD sessions with literally 0 prep. This book gives you the methods to apply that kind of gaming to typical fantasy systems which otherwise would have been the typical "stop the bad guy from executing his plan". Many of the methods will seem obvious after you read them, but not obvious, otherwise you would have written the book yourself. Spend $15, get the book, and everyone will have more fun and breathe new life into old games.

The next Evolution of the RPG industry has already happened. It wasn’t brought to us by some big-name company. It has been a quiet, Indie developer-led event. This book is not responsible for the shift, but it does summarize what is now upon us. The future of RPGs will steer us further from the tabletop wargaming roots of Dungeons and Dragons. The future is player-centric, quest (or goal) driven narrative-focused gaming. While there is still room for the Warhammer 40k’s and Battle-tech style game, TTRPGs are going to step further into a realm of interactive storytelling. Blades in the Dark, Apocalypse World, Ironsworn, and now The Game Master series have all codified what I accidentally stumbled upon 25 years ago (and wasn’t smart enough to recognize at the time). Player-driven, narrative-focused games are simply more fun than every other D&D game I’ve run or played in during the last 40 years. I, for one, am excited to finish this book and reinvigorate my interest in a game I fell in love with when I was 8 years old.