If you’ve ever seen AGemOrSomething’s work on Etsy, then you’ve seen the colorful creations of Felix Van Der Sluys. This pro GM of Dungeons of Dragons 5e, Honey Heist, and Monster of the Week brings the energy of her detailed physical creations to their games. Imagine the kind of NPC you’d get from a “bubblegum wizard” miniature decked out in color-shifting paint! Felix’s players praise the “tremendous voices” and “high energy” she embodies their characters with. For this week’s highlight, we talked with Felix about where they get inspiration from and how she handles the physical challenges of the job as a chronically ill pro GM.

In this article Steve Huynh discusses the challenges and rewards of building a community on online platforms such as discord and how to make them safe!

In this week's GM of the Week, we're highlighting GM Eric VanSingel!

Eli Elliot (he/they); Pro-GM, Podcaster, Streamer. Eli is the GM for No Peace and Death, an actual play on twitch.tv/FriendsWhoRollDice. In the TTRPG industry, they love to run make sure that their stories are collaborative. Making sure that worldbuilding is driven by their players. In this GM Spotlight we talk a little about their work, Black History Month, and diverse worlds!

Rob Perez, creator of RPG Mastery, is all about the NPCs. He considers interaction with NPCs to be about 2/3rds of a Dungeons & Dragons game, core to both the exploration and role play pillars of the game. His players love his NPCs to the point where they bring them along for adventurers and even get invested in entire story arcs about their favorite side characters. Rob plays along by making character sheets for recurring NPCs so they can showcase unique talents without overpowering the players. Balance and flexibility are key for a great GM, and they’re qualities Rob has in spades. 

Dungeons & Dragons is more popular than ever, which makes it a great time to start playing. Or StartPlaying, in this case, as we have a friendly group of expert GMs ready to run a variety of beginner-friendly sessions. But with so many different settings, hardcover campaigns, and play styles out there, it can be hard for both player and DM to pick the right first time game. 

Making a living playing Dungeons & Dragons sounds like a dream, and it often feels like one when you’ve got great support! Then tax season comes around, and suddenly the reality kicks in. There’s no W-2 to make things easy, you’re a self-employed individual now. Or would you be better off as a business? Can you write off your dice and energy drinks? Does your small corner of the living room count as a home office? We’re just as confused as you are, so we asked self-employment tax expert Liz Hanley for her sage advice. 

Streaming on Twitch is one of the most rewarding forms of content creation, especially when it comes to Dungeons & Dragons and other TTRPGs. However, it can be hard to grow your channel’s size and viewership when you’re just starting out. As a streamer for the Twitch channel TotalPartyChill, I’ve gone through my fair share of experimenting and researching to find the best ways to grow my channel. In the process, I also found that it helped more players find and use my paid DM services. Now, I want to use my experience to help you grow your Twitch as a professional Game Master.