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	<title>ars ludi &#187; gm craft / the basics</title>
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	<description>art of the game, roleplaying game theory from the brain of ben robbins</description>
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		<title>Character Monologue: Tell Us What It&#8217;s Like To Be You</title>
		<link>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/128/character-monologue-tell-us-what-its-like-to-be-you/</link>
		<comments>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/128/character-monologue-tell-us-what-its-like-to-be-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:51:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ben robbins</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[gm craft / the basics]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Our heroes have just come back to town after exploring the wastelands, and the GM asks Fred what his character, Skark the scavenger, is doing. &#8220;He&#8217;s looking around to see if he can buy some more shotgun shells, then he’ll check in at the weather tower to see if they picked up any new radio [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>20</slash:comments>
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		<title>Keeping the Peace: Applying Social Sanctions</title>
		<link>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/93/keeping-the-peace-applying-social-sanctions/</link>
		<comments>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/93/keeping-the-peace-applying-social-sanctions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:47:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ben robbins</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[gm craft / the basics]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[There are a lot of things a GM does to run a great game: straight man, creative enabler, spinner of fantastic yarns, tactical challenger, person who makes all the funny voices&#8230; But there&#8217;s one job that I see GMs forget to do more than any other, and that&#8217;s keeping players in line. Oooh, shades of [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<title>Be Interested</title>
		<link>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/89/be-interested/</link>
		<comments>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/89/be-interested/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:14:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ben robbins</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[gm craft / the basics]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[When you look out from behind your GM screen at all those beaming faces, there is a natural human tendency to focus on what is interesting. Chuck is doing cool stuff, so you pay attention to Chuck. You react to what he&#8217;s doing, which means the game world does too. The other players aren&#8217;t doing [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Learn to Explain Failure</title>
		<link>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/65/learn-to-explain-failure/</link>
		<comments>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/65/learn-to-explain-failure/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 May 2007 00:49:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ben robbins</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[gm craft / the basics]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[If you want to be a good GM, one of the most important things you can do is learn to explain failure. Player characters fail all the time. They try to leap onto moving horses (whoops, trampled), talk obstinate shopkeeps into extending small loans (taciturn glare, veiled threats to call the city watch), or bulls-eye [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>13</slash:comments>
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		<title>Give Them Details (part 2), Gratuitous Details</title>
		<link>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/32/give-them-details-part-2-gratuitous-details/</link>
		<comments>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/32/give-them-details-part-2-gratuitous-details/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Aug 2006 11:44:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ben robbins</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[gm craft / the basics]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Details are good, and can make the game feel more real to the players. But there&#39;s a flip side, which is that gratuitous details can alienate your players. It&#39;s about suspension of disbelief: if the players perceive the details as a natural part of the game world, the details will improve their game experience. If [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Give Them Details</title>
		<link>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/31/give-them-details/</link>
		<comments>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/31/give-them-details/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 29 Jul 2006 10:33:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ben robbins</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[gm craft / the basics]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[A good action scene paints with a broad brush, but then zooms in and focuses on select specifics. Details make the scene feel real to the players. Landmarks, place names, and even military unit designations lend reality to the situation, not to mention keeping one fight from being just the same as the next. Saying [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Ask Questions</title>
		<link>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/30/ask-questions/</link>
		<comments>http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/30/ask-questions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Jun 2006 07:59:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ben robbins</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[gm craft / the basics]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[A good GM asks questions. A good GM doesn&#39;t say &#8220;this is what happens&#8221; unless he follows it up with &#8220;what do you do?&#8221; A good player asks questions. A good player asks how high is the wall, how far is it to the shore, does the innkeeper seem irritated or just busy? A GM [...]]]></description>
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