The Game Master's Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying - by Jonah Fishel & Tristan Fishel (Paperback)

About the Book

This unique new RPG guidebook is designed to transform gameplay in ways that empower players to create their own motivations and goals, then proactively pursue them - in effect, guiding the narrative of their characters, rather than having the Game Master do it.

Book Synopsis

Introducing the first book in The Game Master's new "Handbook" series!

Is your roleplaying in a rut? Flip the table and try something new! Proactive roleplaying will re-energize your players - and your game.

Most adventures in traditional TTRPGs start out the same way: Something bad happens and your players have to muster their courage to stand against it. Whether it's rescuing the little dog that was kidnapped by the local troll, stopping an assassination attempt at the archduke's wedding or recruiting an army to disrupt the construction of a world-ending ritual site, the party will always find a way to save the day. After all, what kind of heroes would they be if they let the dog, duke or entire population die? Saving the day is fun, but it starts to get repetitive after a while. If you're using a "bad guys try to do stuff, good guys try to stop them" engine to drive all your sessions, you're taking all the agency out of your players' hands. Bad stuff happens, good people have to try to stop it, roll, rinse, repeat.

There's a better way to play (and prep) your sessions. The Game Master's Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying shows you how to convert your TTRPG gameplay from predictable action/reaction cliches to player-driven narratives that put all the choices (and most of the prep work) in the hands of your players. The goals are theirs. The decisions are theirs. Everything that happens in the world you're building together occurs not because you planned it, but because the PCs are following their own paths, rather than Game Master breadcrumbs, to the scene of the next adventure.

The proactive approach ensures every battle has tension, every faction has a function and every session is high-stakes (and an absolute blast), putting the players and their characters in the driver's seat so you can sit back and simply put giant goal- (and soul-) crushing roadblocks in their way.

You'll also find:

- Foreword by Ginny Di with an afterword by Jeff Ashworth
- Writer's block-breaking charts
- Case studies from decades of sessions
- Templates for goal-driven NPCs and factions
- A modular adventure setting and much more!

The Game Master's Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying is compatible with your favorite 5th edition Fantasy Tabletop RPGs!

Review Quotes

Any of the Gamemaster's Guide series would make a great book for the GM in you life, but I'm a big fan of this one thanks to the solutions it offers to an often overlooked problem. Roleplaying in TTRPG's always assumes quite a bit of the DM and the amount of improv needed can often be daunting. This book breaks down the essential skills of good storytelling so you can create more interesting and fun games for players. Players can also benefit from reading it as a way of understanding how the game can be ran and how to help their GM/DM tell a better story. Plus at that price it's a real stand out compared to most expensive tabletop ephemera.
-- The Fandomentals

About the Author

Jonah Fishel and Tristan Fishel are brothers, writers and longtime RPG players. Jonah is a learning differences tutor based in Durham, NC, where he works with students with learning disorders, learning disabilities and "gifted" kids. Tristan is an author based in Newport News, VA. His work includes books and gamer guides available on Dungeon Masters Guild, the official Wizards of the Coast e-commerce store. He is also a contributing author to Dungeon Vault Magazine.