Evil PCs can ruin campaigns with constant backstabbing, angry players, and uncomfortable situations. But evil PCs can also be a source of great inter-party conflict. The question then is, how do you ensure that evil PCs add to the game instead of detract?

This week's Quick Tip offers three DM tips for dealing with evil PCs.

Click here to view the whole battlefield.

You enter the cavernous Inner Fane, a symmetrical chamber built of dark stone with a sickly green hue. Its ceiling stretches up into darkness, upheld by a circle of pillars that converge into pointed arches. The air hangs thick with the occult.

Concentric steps lead down to a central altar at the chamber's nadir, an island surrounded by a shallow blood pool. Black ceremonial candles stand on bronze sconces; their flames cast the long shadows...

Derek Myers recently posted an article on Dungeon's Master.com that explored a game world in which no new non-consumable magic items could be created. Common or generic +1 swords would be non-existent, every magic item would have a history to it, and merchants wouldn't stockpile enchanted arsenals.

Low Magic?

While I wouldn't say I run low-magic campaigns, I will say that I run low-magic game worlds. In my Disciples of Dreth'dor campaign, the PCs work as hired mercenaries for a pow...

Session Report-Back is a feature in which I jot down my after-action thoughts about my weekly D&D session for my Disciples of Dreth'dor campaign.

We last left off -- quite a while ago -- with the PCs having powered through a skill challenge that saw them climbing a giant staircase to the villain's lair while dodging obstacles thrown at them and falling stalactites from above. Having succeeded, they found themselves at the villain's main gate, greeted by guards.

The battlefiel...

Introducing a new player to D&D is a great experience, but sometimes, it's difficult to know how best to teach neophytes the game. The PHB and DMG provide some basic guidance, but it still leaves some questions unanswered.

This week's Quick Tip offers three DM tips for teaching new players how to play.

Session 2 of the Drogan's adventures in Thunderspire Labyrinth is now live on YouTube. Listen to how they deal with prisoners of war.

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

This session was surprisingly unproductive -- I'd planned for roughly half an hour of dialogue and planning before the Drogans headed to the Chamber of Eyes. Who would have predicted a full hour would have gone to dealing with that stupid hobgoblin? Well, the players seemed to enjoy making him crap his pants, so if it was...