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The Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide: Role-Play the Best Campaign Ever―No Matter the Game! (Ultimate Role Playing Game Series) Paperback – October 8, 2019

by James D’Amato (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 955 ratings
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Improve your RPG campaign with this comprehensive and interactive guide to making the most out of your gaming experience.

Whatever RPG game you play, from D&D to Call of Cthulu to licensed games like Star Wars, every detail is important. From setting the scene to choosing the right music or even adjusting the lighting to create the right atmosphere, every choice helps maximize your gaming experience.

The Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide provides practical advice for everything from pre-game preparations and in-game improvisation to working out a plan of attack with your teammates to learning how to lean into the setting of your game. Including instructions, prompts, and activities, it offers everything you need for successful, fun role-playing with your friends every time you play.

Create hours of narrative and make the most out of your storytelling skills by setting the perfect scene for your adventure. Whether you need advice on your character or working better with your gaming group, James D’Amato includes everything you’ll need to take your game to the next level.
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Previous page
  1. Part of series
    Ultimate Role Playing Game Series
  2. Print length
    256 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Adams Media
  5. Publication date
    October 8, 2019
  6. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.6 x 8.44 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1507210930
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1507210932
  9. See all details
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  1. The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide: Prompts and Activities to Create the Most Interesting Story for Your Character (U
  2. The Ultimate RPG Guide Boxed Set: Featuring The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide, The Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide, and
  3. The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide: Expanded Genres Edition: Prompts and Activities to Create Compelling Characters f
  4. The Game Master’s Book of Villains, Minions and Their Tactics: Epic new antagonists for your PCs, plus new minions, fighting
  5. The Ultimate RPG Campfire Card Deck: 150 Cards for Sparking In-Game Conversation (Ultimate Role Playing Game Series)
  6. The Game Master's Book of Traps, Puzzles and Dungeons: A punishing collection of bone-crunching contraptions, brain-teasing r
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From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

“James D’Amato is one of those rare storytellers who can not only make those delightful and unexpected choices that make the table laugh or their eyes go wide, but he has that second, rarer gift. When doing it, he can build upon what’s already been established, weaving a little more and passing the tapestry to someone else to be inspired from.”

—Alan Linic, writer for Saturday Night Live and cohost of the tl;dm podcast

“Look, I’m gonna level with you: James D’Amato is doing the coolest, most exciting, and original work in tabletop game design right now and provides a truly vast assortment of tools and techniques for you to immediately and profoundly improve the narrative experience of your game. If I were you, I’d be getting this book in my hands as fast as possible!”

—Brennan Lee Mulligan, host of CollegeHumor’s Dimension 20 D&D RPG show

“I’ve been role-playing for thirty-five years and I’m still learning how to make our sessions more fun and more emotionally resonant by listening to the great One Shot podcast. James has put together a great collection of ideas that’ll appeal to a wide range of players, from newbies to old hands.”

—John Rogers, writer and showrunner for Leverage, The Librarians, and Jackie Chan Adventures

“This is a book you’ll get hours of helpful enjoyment out of… a required resource.”

—Outright Geekery

“Buy this book and use it to make your gameplay more entertaining for all audience members.”

—Game Vortex

“Incredibly useful.”

—Game Industry

“A great tool.”

—The Gaming Buddha

“A joy to read.”

—Game Industry



“A good primer on the ins-and-outs of playing an RPG.”

—Venturebeat

About the Author

James D’Amato is the author of The Ultimate RPG Series, cofounder of the One Shot Podcast Network, and host of the One Shot and Campaign: Skyjacks podcasts. He trained at Second City and iO in Chicago in the art of improvisational comedy: he now uses that education to introduce new people to role-playing, and incorporates improvisational storytelling techniques to create compelling and entertaining stories for RPG campaigns and one-shot adventures.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Adams Media (October 8, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1507210930
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1507210932
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.44 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 955 ratings

About the author

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James D'Amato

James D'Amato

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
955 global ratings
Highly recommended no matter what level of experience!
5 Stars
Highly recommended no matter what level of experience!
James is an incredible storyteller, and there’s no one I’d trust more to break down what makes a good RPG than him! The exercises in the book are incredible for GMs and players alike, and there’s a great attention to inclusivity, compassion, and boundaries at the game table. No matter your level of passion for TTRPGs, no matter what game you play, I highly recommend picking up this book to deepen your experience with games!
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Top reviews from the United States

Terry M Jarratt
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, insightful, and full of great suggestions and advice!
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2019
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Having grown up playing games of all kinds, reading books of all genre's, and loving the art of storytelling, I found myself struggling to understand how to start a fun, cohesive, and inclusive story in tabletop RPG's. James D'Amato has changed that with this guide. This book details the many aspects of storytelling, acting, improv, and RPG's in a way that is simple and easy to understand. The writing is friendly, informative, and very conversation-like; As if you were sitting down with him for a hot drink and having a conversation.

James keeps in mind the many aspects of playing RPG's. The player and GM experience both inside and outside the game, advice and suggestions on how to tailor your game to your players, as well as instructions on how to make your game a fun collaborative effort, and much, much more. Something I love about this book, and James, is that he's aware of some of the tougher subjects in RPG's like player investment, emotions, involvement, self-awareness. We all get invested in the games we play, and sometimes emotions, tension, and stress can run tight. Every few pages, James includes advice and suggestions on how to handle moments like these to the best possible outcome.

On top of all that James includes prompts and interactive sections of the book to better help the reader understand and apply the information they learn throughout the book. For those of us who also learn by doing, not just by reading, this is incredibly helpful!
6 people found this helpful
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Ryan Thomas
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book that's very informative and helps a lot for DM's and PC's
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2023
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I haven't been playing D&D long and I ordered this book, and it has helped me a lot at being a better gamer and dungeon master! Well worth it and very informative! If you're new to the TTRPG games, or need something to help you be a better DM, this is the book for you! It's helped me a lot when it comes to playing in a campaign with way to not only help your character progress in their story, but to also be better interactive with your fellow players and help them with their stories also.
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DP
4.0 out of 5 stars Great ideas on how to improve your game.
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2019
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I think a lot of DM's should read this. There are a lot of great ideas to improve your game, and to better mesh with your players. A worth-while read for any D&D fan.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read!
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2023
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I was kinda stoked to find this. If there’s anything part of creative development that you struggle with, or are just brand new to DND, this book is perfect for you. It touches on pretty much everything (Sans backstory development, but they have a book for that too.) from world building, to group warmup exercises that help people who may have never met before understand the dynamics of how individuals and the group as a whole will play. There’s a lot to list, but it’s worth the purchase!
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Brian Holt
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential narrative tabletop gaming treatise
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2019
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This is a great primer on roleplaying as an art, equally valuable for players or game masters. The book pulls together many great subjects I've seen in a dozen other texts into one solid reference, and introduces some new stuff I'd never thought about. As a whole, it delivers what it promises, a breakdown of how to run a game that satisfies everyone involved, and leaves nobody behind. As anyone who has participated in such a game knows, it can be a memorable and mind blowing experience. I really appreciate the focus on improvisation and collaboration, which are often overlooked in lieu of game master narrative and mechanics. It's good to remember that everyone at the table is creating the world, not just the person running the game.

Recommended for any GM who wants to up their game, players or GMs. Functions as a perfect primer for new players who just want to know how these things work at their best.
4 people found this helpful
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Ananda Ray
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for new and experienced game masters alike.
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2019
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I'd say about once every, 4 hours, someone on r/dnd will post saying "First time DMing tomorrow, any tips?" The answer is this book. RPGs will come with core rules book which teach you how to rule the system, this book will help you figure out how to run the game. Similar to how chess takes 5 minutes to learn the rules but forever to really learn the game, this book allows you to sit down and pick the brain of a master.

James draws from both his RPG background and his improv training to teach you when to states things explicitly, and when the implicit imagination of your players is vastly superior. He'll take you through several examples of the same outcome/roll and but your language as game master flavors the impact. If you are hoping to reconnect your game system to your narrative and learn how to get your players invested (and avoid a lot of common GM pitfalls) this book is for you.
12 people found this helpful
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Racer X
3.0 out of 5 stars Good book for first timers to TTRPGs, with good information for long-time players as well.
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2019
Verified Purchase
There is some terrific information in this book, especially for people new to table top role playing games, and most especially for new GMs. However, the degree to which you're going to find this book useful is dependent upon your motivations for playing role playing games in the first place.

Yes, I get it. They're called "role playing games." But that doesn't mean that there aren't a fair percentage of people who are drawn to them for elements beyond the role playing aspect, and for whom the role playing aspect has little to no appeal at all. The appeal of the settings, enjoyment of reading, and even a fascination with mathematics and probability are all elements which could legitimately be enticing factors.

The author, at least in this particular book, presents the material without really acknowledging differences in motivation. The material is presented with a very heavy slant toward the role playing aspect, and at times, covers material you might expect to find in an introductory improvisational acting book.

There's nothing inherently wrong with that. But if you're new to TTRPGs, and there are elements that have drawn you to these games beyond the role playing aspect, then this book may not be for you.
26 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Carrie
5.0 out of 5 stars Item as described
Reviewed in Canada on November 29, 2020
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Item arrived quickly, is as described
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Zoey
5.0 out of 5 stars This book will make your game better
Reviewed in Germany on July 17, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is a very helpful source book for everyone who likes TTRPGs. It is not focused on one particular game or ruleset, but talks gaming in general: What does really happen when we sit down at the table? What does it mean to tell a story while being the audience at the same time? D'Amato manages to ask questions and make suggestions that may be leaning towards a narative-heavy gaming style but should still be useful for any other preferences. The prompts, questions and games suggested in the last chapter also seem really helpful. If you are looking to make your gaming sessions better, this is the book for you.
One person found this helpful
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Client d'Amazon
2.0 out of 5 stars not as good as the book on PC creation by same author
Reviewed in France on October 25, 2019
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not as good as the book on PC creation by same author. previous one was just FANTASTIC. This one is more vanilla, with lots of ideas and concepts read in many other rpg theory/advice books. less than average. very disappointed given the author is fantastic.
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Kit Goode
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a super friendly guide for someone wanting to run ttrpgs.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2019
Verified Purchase
I'm dead happy with this book. As a long term player who has never DMed before but wants to, right from the start this book was giving me some hot tips. Like just thinking smarter about what system to use that compliments the story I want to make with players! I just hadn't thought of that before, but of course it's a great idea, and it immediately takes the pressure off, knowing I don't have to rebalance another DnD oneshot and make sure players haven't played it. I can look for a system that crafts the experience I want to craft rather then crowbarring it into a system designed for something else.

I won't spoil the rest of James advice for up, but the book is filled with stuff like this. Very wise bits and pieces!
5 people found this helpful
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Ricardo
5.0 out of 5 stars Rly good
Reviewed in Spain on October 20, 2019
Verified Purchase
If I could go back in time and giv myself this book... Oh boy I'd be a happy camper, and my GMing skills would be so much better.
This book is essential to anyone that appreciates good storytelling and roleplaying
Thanks James, for helping us tell better stories once more
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