Some Tips for New Storytellers

Adam’s riding solo on this one, and he’s pulling a bundle of helpful tricks and tips out of his Storyteller’s saddlebag—especially for folks just starting out running Mage games. If you’re a veteran, you might hear some familiar ground, but if you’re new to the Storyteller’s seat, this one’s a gold mine. Show Notes 🔍 Mysteries in Mage How to prep, run, and avoid dead-ends in investigative stories using the Three Clue Rule, leads vs. evidence, and flexible scene design. 📉 Failing Forward Why a botched roll doesn’t have to mean failure. Let the players move forward with consequences instead of slamming the brakes. 🎲 Let It Ride One roll covers an entire scene—less stress, more fun. A simple rule to keep the tension without constant dice-checking. 🏙️ Portraying Cities with Flavor Bring your setting to life! Split the city into districts, add landmarks and “scenic encounter” tables to make your urban Mage game sing. ⏰ Faction Clocks A slick little tool to track what NPC factions are up to, using clocks to show progress and raise stakes in the background. 😈 Villain Advice Three time-tested tips: Let worthy foes emerge from play Keep villains offscreen and safe until the big showdown Don’t be afraid to let bad guys run away when things go south 📚 Source of Inspiration Much of this wisdom comes from Justin Alexander’s book So You Want To Be A Game Master and his legendary blog The Alexandrian, with Mage-friendly tweaks and examples sprinkled in. 🎧 Related Episode Missions, Mysteries, and Magick: Paranormal Investigation in Mage - Using weird ⁠artifacts⁠, team dynamics and investigations that make sense in the World of Darkness.