James D’AmatoThe Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide: Role-Play the Best Campaign Ever―No Matter the Game! (Ultimate Role Playing Game Series)

Having grown up playing games of all kinds, reading books of all genre's, and loving the art of storytelling, I found myself struggling to understand how to start a fun, cohesive, and inclusive story in tabletop RPG's. James D'Amato has changed that with this guide. This book details the many aspects of storytelling, acting, improv, and RPG's in a way that is simple and easy to understand. The writing is friendly, informative, and very conversation-like; As if you were sitting down with him for a hot drink and having a conversation.James keeps in mind the many aspects of playing RPG's. The player and GM experience both inside and outside the game, advice and suggestions on how to tailor your game to your players, as well as instructions on how to make your game a fun collaborative effort, and much, much more. Something I love about this book, and James, is that he's aware of some of the tougher subjects in RPG's like player investment, emotions, involvement, self-awareness. We all get invested in the games we play, and sometimes emotions, tension, and stress can run tight. Every few pages, James includes advice and suggestions on how to handle moments like these to the best possible outcome.On top of all that James includes prompts and interactive sections of the book to better help the reader understand and apply the information they learn throughout the book. For those of us who also learn by doing, not just by reading, this is incredibly helpful!

I'd say about once every, 4 hours, someone on r/dnd will post saying "First time DMing tomorrow, any tips?" The answer is this book. RPGs will come with core rules book which teach you how to rule the system, this book will help you figure out how to run the game. Similar to how chess takes 5 minutes to learn the rules but forever to really learn the game, this book allows you to sit down and pick the brain of a master.James draws from both his RPG background and his improv training to teach you when to states things explicitly, and when the implicit imagination of your players is vastly superior. He'll take you through several examples of the same outcome/roll and but your language as game master flavors the impact. If you are hoping to reconnect your game system to your narrative and learn how to get your players invested (and avoid a lot of common GM pitfalls) this book is for you.

After playing 30+ years I got this for two reasons; possibly for a fresh take on RPGs gameplay, a possible tool for my newer players to speed along the orientation process to roleplay.This reference goes out of its way to appeal primarily to the SJW tropes. Nothing in this book actually serves to promote gameplay or roleplay. The contents are nothing in the way of exercises or examples designed for teaching the reader what an RPG does or provide examples of gameplay that any level of player could improve or demonstrate the basics of any form of roleplay in a TTRPG.

This is a great primer on roleplaying as an art, equally valuable for players or game masters. The book pulls together many great subjects I've seen in a dozen other texts into one solid reference, and introduces some new stuff I'd never thought about. As a whole, it delivers what it promises, a breakdown of how to run a game that satisfies everyone involved, and leaves nobody behind. As anyone who has participated in such a game knows, it can be a memorable and mind blowing experience. I really appreciate the focus on improvisation and collaboration, which are often overlooked in lieu of game master narrative and mechanics. It's good to remember that everyone at the table is creating the world, not just the person running the game.Recommended for any GM who wants to up their game, players or GMs. Functions as a perfect primer for new players who just want to know how these things work at their best.

My first impression of this book was that it was a little hard to read, due to some grammatical awkwardness. Soon, however, I realized the value of the book. It's an excellent guide to creating RPG plots and characters, from an expert in the field. Read it cover-to-cover if you want, but it's more valuable as a reference. Want some tips on running a Session Zero? Flip to that chapter, and learn not only how to create a cohesive team of characters, but how to cooperatively define the parameters of the game world, resulting in a game that everyone's invested in.James has been running the incredible podcasts "One Shot" and "Campaign" for years, and is the founder of the One Shot Network, a collection of high-quality roleplaying-focused podcasts. Listen to a few episodes of One Shot, and you'll realize he's the exactly the sort of person you'd want giving you RPG advice.

There is some terrific information in this book, especially for people new to table top role playing games, and most especially for new GMs. However, the degree to which you're going to find this book useful is dependent upon your motivations for playing role playing games in the first place.Yes, I get it. They're called "role playing games." But that doesn't mean that there aren't a fair percentage of people who are drawn to them for elements beyond the role playing aspect, and for whom the role playing aspect has little to no appeal at all. The appeal of the settings, enjoyment of reading, and even a fascination with mathematics and probability are all elements which could legitimately be enticing factors.The author, at least in this particular book, presents the material without really acknowledging differences in motivation. The material is presented with a very heavy slant toward the role playing aspect, and at times, covers material you might expect to find in an introductory improvisational acting book.There's nothing inherently wrong with that. But if you're new to TTRPGs, and there are elements that have drawn you to these games beyond the role playing aspect, then this book may not be for you.

There are lots of books about GMing and the like. What makes this book stand out is that it is full of very specific advice and exercises that cross genres. It's a quick and easy read but I will be months sorting through and putting this information into practice.I am not a novice GM I have been running games since the 70s and it is nice to find a book that still gives me a fresh perspective on the are and craft of running role-playing games.

I'm dead happy with this book. As a long term player who has never DMed before but wants to, right from the start this book was giving me some hot tips. Like just thinking smarter about what system to use that compliments the story I want to make with players! I just hadn't thought of that before, but of course it's a great idea, and it immediately takes the pressure off, knowing I don't have to rebalance another DnD oneshot and make sure players haven't played it. I can look for a system that crafts the experience I want to craft rather then crowbarring it into a system designed for something else.I won't spoil the rest of James advice for up, but the book is filled with stuff like this. Very wise bits and pieces!

Cannot comment on content as bought as a present, but the recipient certainly spent a lot of time reading this and two similar books by the same author I bought him over Christmas.

An amazing resource for making better more enjoyable role playing more accessible, higly recommended!

Fantastic book full of helpful tips and exercises for tabletop RPGs. I've been playing for 3 years and hadn't considered a lot of the things James has wrote about. Can't wait to improve my improv and GM skills!