GM Gems (3/18/08)

Last night I purchased a copy of GM Gems from Goodman Games, written by the folks at WereCabbage.  This was the first supplement I’ve picked up from WereCabbage, and I’ve been absolutely delighted with it so far.  The purpose of the book is to spice up normal events in your campaign with unusual twists.  While GM Gems is certainly not the first book to do this, it has an air of playfulness in the entries which I feel are lacking from many other supplements of the same ilk.

Take this example in the middle of a section about ritual ascensions: one of the dwarven rituals involves being armed with only a shield while trained rams try to knock the player out of a circle of bones.  Should the player fail the test, they must present their rear to the creatures and allow themselves to take a full charge.  They are then ceremoniously given the nickname “The Fool’s Butt.”

The supplement is rules-neutral but has many conventions that most RPG rules use, referring the class levels and whatnot.  Many of the suggestions for single events also make excellent adventure seeds.  Even if you believe your brilliant Game Master brain can come up with all the fantastic ideas you’d ever need, I still recommend the different perspectives that GM Gems can offer.