Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering

By: Robin D. Laws

Narrated by: Colby Elliott

Has your game got the blahs? Are your players spending more time thumbing through your book collection than hunting down clues, more energy heckling one another than in crushing their cruel foes? Never fear, o beleaguered Game Masters, for Robin D. Laws, noted game designer (Feng Shui, Hero Wars, Dying Earth, Rune) and columnist for Dragon magazine is here to help. Know your players! Analyze your system! Build your campaign! Design adventures! Prepare to be spontaneous, and improvise like a fiend! Whether you're a beginner or an experienced roller of the polyhedrals, the insights in this book will improve your Game Mastering faster than you can say, "Roll for initiative!"

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2002 Robin D. Laws (P)2019 Last Word Audio

Critic reviews

"Robin D. Laws' collection of game mastering wisdom seems at first deceptively slim. But this should be required reading for anyone who has ever - or who ever wishes to - actually run a game for other thinking human beings. Campaign design, adventure design and plot hooks have certainly been discussed ad nauseam in many an article before, but I don't remember any advice being as basically sound nor as solid as Robin's. In Dragon magazine, I have the pleasure of illustrating his 'The Play's The Thing' column. I'm just glad I now get to enjoy his thought-provoking insight and erudition without having to stare down a deadline at the same time. If ever any university taught Game Mastering 101, this would be the textbook for the course, and Robin would be tenured many times over." (John Kovalic, Dork Tower)

Good info. for the easily distracted

I find listening to most rule incidents information difficult as I tend to get distracted. I felt he did a good job explaining information and kept the information as brief as possible.

Must Have for Any Game Master or Roleplayer

The material here is brilliant. It gives you the needed principles to work with different players and rule sets, in a simple, easy to use manner. If you haven't been a GM before, this provides a good picture of what to expect. If you're experienced, then it helps to fine tune your GMing craft. If you're a player with little intent of ever being a Game Master, this is still a must read, as it will help you better understand your GM and fellow players.

Good stuff for simi experienced GMs

Robin's Laws is a decent set of general rules for simi experienced GMs. The book helped me understand my players and what rewards would best suit them. I give it a five because this book gets to the point and genuinely helped me.

A good Help You Game Book!

This book is a good place to start if you're thinking about starting as a Gamemaster. This book works as a tool to up you game as a veteran Gamemaster! A good read.

Not bad

It's annoying that something only two hours long is sold as a full book, but it does have useful tips for DMs. I just feel there should be more content.