Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Kobold Guide to Gamemastering

By: Keith Baker, David "Zeb" Cook, Monica Valentinelli, Frank Mentzer, Shanna Germain, Brandon Hodge, James Jacobs, Kevin Kulp, Steve Winter
Narrated by: Ray Greenley
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Decades of GMing experience!

Whether it’s advice from grognards who were running games at the dawn of RPGs, or suggestions from the new generation of game designers, these 21 essays by experts are here to help you improve your GMing skills and create fun, amazing, memorable campaigns that’ll be talked about for years.

In this audiobook, master GMs and storytellers give you advice about solo campaigns, shy players, cell phones, and making rulings on the fly. Are you unprepared for the game you’re running half an hour from now? Did you accidentally kill all the PCs? Do you want to run a game for kids? Did the plot take a sudden turn and the PCs have gone into uncharted territory? We’ve got you covered.

Complete with discussions on highlighting player strengths, tips for new and veteran GMs, and character romances, you’ll find useful advice about making your game more welcoming, more engaging, and more fun.

Featuring essays by Wolfgang Baur, David “Zeb” Cook, Shanna Germain, Monica Valentinelli, Steve Winter, and many other game professionals.

©2017 Open Design LLC (P)2021 Open Design LLC
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“Highly recommended for gaming nerds everywhere.” (CityBookReview.com)

“A fantastic resource.” (Skyland Games)

What listeners say about Kobold Guide to Gamemastering

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    31
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great for beginner DMs

Very high level and basic information on common situations that arise while playing. The chapter on knowing the rules vs making rulings was the highlight for me, but it does seem like something any DM could figure out after a session or two.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great for making an inclusive space

I love how there is stress on making sure no one is uncomfortable or excluded.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

a little too PC for me

good info to keep in mind good ways to handle a tpk and very good ways to inform the player characters talk to much about not being a bad person that seemed unnecessary but that is good to know for a new dm

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thanks for the Inspiration

this gave me so many ideas without overwhelming me or my players. It helped spur an otherwise lackluster writing period into a flurry of ideas and inspiration to improve my game, writing style, and approach to DMing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Self promotion and back patting abound in this book.

It’s just a collection of “essays” from a few well respected RPG names. Not useful in its entirety but some parts you might find helpful if you are in a particular situation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Do not buy!

This is crap. Want to be a great gm/dm? Don't be a a-hole, communicate with your players, try to make the game fun for your players and yourself. There i summarised the book for you. Get a DMG and Lazy DM books, far better investment, has ctual content.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Woke Garbage

Unless you are looking for a heavy dose of woke indoctrination and little substance, then this book will be waste of your time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Utter garbage!

Starting off your book with insults and indoctrination is not the way to get readers. The first real chapter of this book is nothing but “woke” liberal nonsense.

I’m telling you please don’t waste a credit. Buy the Lazy dungeon master books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

waste of money

Instead of talking about all the good things roleplaying games have, This book focuses on white men are bad and will make the game about them being more privileged then everyone else

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!