GM utility page
The beauty of tabletop RPGs is that players can try whatever they like, and the Gains Master can answer with equal parts structure, chaos, and controlled swolecery. If that freedom feels like a lot at first, use the tables and guidance below to get your first few sessions under the bar.
GM Style
Difficulty lives in two places: the scale of the encounter and the DC of the action in front of the players. Use both on purpose and let the scene breathe when the dice say things get ugly and everyone starts panic-spotting each other.
Encounter difficulty
Video games often have a problem: algorithmic encounters grow stale. Thus we turn to ttRPGs, where we can control the scale, flavor, and genre of our encounters. Even then, it takes a skilled GM to properly cater encounters to a group.
A quick and easy way is to randomize the difficulty. The GM still needs to develop the goal and setting of the encounter; see the Encounter Generator for ideas. This randomization keeps the stakes high, because not every fight needs to be won and running away is a legitimate resolution.
It also gives players a chance to flex their brain muscles in creative decision making, or later flex their character muscles as they steamroll an encounter level that once gave them difficulty. Variety is king, and every king should be at least a little ripped.
d8 randomizer
| Roll | Encounter tier | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trivial | Breather fight, comic speed bump, or victory lap. |
| 2 | Easy | Low-pressure obstacle that still makes the group engage. |
| 3-4 | Moderate | Standard danger where resources and teamwork matter. |
| 5 | Challenging | Serious threat that may demand a plan or retreat. |
| 6 | Ridiculous | Swingy danger where the fiction should feel unstable and loud. |
| 7-8 | God-Tier | Legendary opposition, survival scene, or table-shaking event. |
Scale examples
| Tier | Example |
|---|---|
| Trivial | A couple of drunk guards, weak scavengers, or a hazard the crew has already outgrown. |
| Moderate | A trained patrol, a named rival with backup, or a monster that owns the terrain. |
| God-Tier | A legendary beast, a war machine, or an encounter built to be survived rather than slain. |
Difficulty class and resolution
As with most ttRPGs, there needs to be meaning behind a dice roll. What does a 12 mean? What about 35? How hard is it to climb a 4 meter wall? How hard is it to climb that wall with only one arm and one leg while running from the Basilisk that chomped them off?
That is the Difficulty Class of the action the player wishes to take, and it is your job to set it. Do so only after the player describes how they wish to complete the action, because that part is relevant.
Now as a GM you get to decide how the attempt plays out. How far off did they miss or surpass the DC? Use the table below for a sense of the outcome, and remember the scope of absurdity and power scaling at your table so you do not break the immersion for yourself or the players.
DC guide
| Difficulty | Target | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Trivial | 2-6 | Routine stunt, clean setup, or no real pressure. |
| Easy | 7-14 | Simple climb, light danger, or plenty of time. |
| Moderate | 15-30 | Real risk, active pressure, or sloppy footing. |
| Challenging | 31-50 | Bad position, heavy stakes, or serious injury. |
| Ridiculous | 51-99 | Nearly impossible without luck, help, or absurdity. |
| God-Tier | 100+ | Mythic nonsense that should feel legendary. |
Outcome guide
| Outcome tier | Roll result |
|---|---|
| Catastrophic Failure | Less than a quarter |
| Humorous Failure | Less than half |
| Mild Failure | Less than one |
| Normal Success | One or more |
| Greater Success | Double |
| Overwhelming | Quadruple or more |
| Absurd Success | Decuple |
Wall examples
Regular Wall
Suggested DC: Around 10-15
A 4 meter wall with decent handholds might be an Easy or low-Moderate DC. A miss costs time, position, or composure. A clean success gets the player over it.
Basilisk Escape
Suggested DC: 35 and up
That same wall with one arm and one leg missing while a Basilisk is charging becomes Challenging or worse. A miss can mean a fall, lost gear, or the monster catching up. A big success buys distance, saves another player, or turns panic into momentum.
Muscle Wizard gets better when everyone knows how "flexible" the game reality is and how influential humor will be. Make those calls early, say them out loud, and stay consistent. This affects whether silly actions have consequences and how far your table wants its swolecery to bend before it snaps.
Session 0 checklist
Decide whether Words of Power must stay literal, can run on broad comic logic, or can go full cartoon nonsense. Establish the lane before characters lock in.
Say no when a word erases tension, fully replaces another player's gimmick, or breaks the agreed tone. Whenever possible, turn that no into a nearby yes. A stick and bone method, if you will.
Pick where the campaign sits between slapstick, heroic pulp, and cruel parody. Let the jokes, the danger, and the aftermath all live on the same dial.
Choose how sharp failure should feel. Lighter games can soften injury spirals and death. Meaner games can let bad luck and cursed fallout linger, often changing the course of the story.
Reward strange plans when they respect the table's scope. If a plan is clever, funny, and still leaves room for risk, let it sing. Don't forget the stick, when a player disrespects the table's boundaries.
Decide how quickly absurd strength should enter the campaign. A lower ceiling keeps scenes scrappier. A higher ceiling turns the game into escalating legend. Will a roll score of 300 for a Zap spell summon dozens or thousands of lightning bolts? Stay consistent.
Whether you run the world as an open sandbox or a tighter campaign, the GM's job at the table is the same: present clear trouble, set stakes, and let player nonsense collide with meaningful consequences. Every GM has a different prep threshold; whether it takes days of work or pure improv is entirely individual. Our advice is to keep a few encounters ready, then adjust them based on the fallout from the last set of heroic bad decisions. Sandbox styles lean into improv, campaign styles lean into structure, but there is no wrong way to run the rack.
Decide together at session 0 what style of play you want and how much prep you need to feel comfortable.
Ask what the players actually want: a home base, exploration, more or less combat and so on.
Set the difficulty and the stakes: How big are the baddies? How magical is the magic? Can there be too much MUSCLE?
Is everyone there for the story, the mechanics, or the vibes? What about phones, food, and other distractions at the table?
Sandbox vs campaign
| Category | Sandbox | Campaign |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Wandering crews, open jobs, drop-in sessions, and player-led detours. | Recurring players, character arcs, world politics, and a stronger story spine. |
| Prep focus | Prep factions, places, independent encounters, and simpler NPCs | Prep milestones, recurring villains, escalating fronts, and deeper lore. |
| Pressure | Liberal use of lethality against players, player versus player competitions | Narrative-focused consequences with adjusted story beats. |
| Player freedom | High freedom with lots of side angles and opportunistic chaos. | Freedom in action, less in destination. |
| Rewards | Contacts, gear, gold, rumors, territory, and accidental new problems. | Those and more: reputation, faction shifts, and character-narrative progress. |
Many games discourage metagaming, using knowledge your character would not have to gain an advantage at the table. MUSCLE WIZARD does too. The twist is that it also has an entire lane where players are encouraged to step out of character and bargain with the GM in broad daylight.
Talk as the player
This is the clean place to step out of character. Let the player say exactly what they want, exactly what they are offering, and what kind of downside would still feel fair. Then answer that bargain plainly, like two adults negotiating over a flaming dumbbell.
What XP buys
Part 1
XP is a currency
XP is not only long-term progression. It is also spendable table currency that can buy power, recovery, or a twist in the scene right now. If the player wants a real advantage, make the price feel real.
Part 2
Buying ability dice increases
If a player wants to raise an ability die, XP is the cleanest price tag. Bigger dice and bigger jumps should cost noticeably more. Treat it like a permanent investment, not a free rewrite in the middle of trouble.
Part 3
Healing with XP
XP can buy back momentum, patch up ugly injuries, or keep someone in the fight when the scene still has teeth. The more severe the damage, the more XP it should cost to shake it off.
How to run the bargain
Part 4
Purchasing events
Players can spend XP to ask for the world to move: a dragon arrives, a target slips on bad footing, a guard looks the wrong way, or a third party crashes the scene. They are buying movement in the fiction, not a guaranteed win.
Part 5
Monkey's paw rule
If a bargain would flatten the tension, attach a catch. Give them what they asked for in the bluntest possible way, but let consequences, collateral, or a future problem come with it.
Part 6
Coincidence as narrative power
Use coincidence to justify the bargain when needed. Bad timing, lucky timing, overheard rumors, traffic, weather, old grudges, or a hungry monster in the wrong alley can all make the spend feel like part of the story instead of a cheat code.
You do not need a dense stat block. Give the creature a clear identity, a short list of memorable abilities, and a Power Level that tells you how hard it will push the players. It only compares to itself, so it may take a few encounters before your threat design gets truly gym-forged.
Though the player characters can do anything, the NPCs should keep to their words of power. They are tied to the description of the being and character, and if the creation isaround long enough for growth or change, the Words of Power should adapt as well.
Scaling
Creature power level scales 1-20. The sum of creature difficulties in the encounter should set the encounter difficulty.
Maybe you don't want your monster going all out; its injured. Or their player character's teacher is only sparring with them. You can lower the encounter difficulty by disabling certain Words of Power by various narritive means.
Template
Build from these six parts and you can improvise the rest at the table without pulling a narrative hamstring.
Step 1
Name
Name the creature or NPC and decide what makes it funny, scary, or both.
Step 2
Look or gimmick
Lock in the visual hook, comedy bit, or threat profile that makes the build memorable on sight.
Step 3
Power Level
Assign a Power Level. The booklet guidance puts 3-10 in the normal range and 20 aside for powerful creatures.
Step 4
Ability acronym
Build each ability from the acronym of its name so the concept stays tight and easy to improvise.
Step 5
What it wants right now
Give it a clear immediate goal so you always know what it pushes toward in the scene.
Step 6
What makes it break, panic, or overcommit
Decide what cracks the creature under pressure, then only use the abilities that matter in the moment instead of firing the whole sheet every time.
Worked examples
Example 1
Both egregiously arrogant and excessively nonchalant, Master Jimmy is the unwilling mentor of the Player Characters in the gym of Flexhaven City. They are someone of notable strength and influence, but not an official leader of any kind.
M
Magnate
Has a naturally noble disposition which commands some level of authority.
E
Enchantment
Skilled in creating minor magical artifacts.
N
Natty
Through their obsession against supplements, they find it easier to convince others of the same and find themselves stronger when they use their mother-gifted body.
T
Thighs
Has strong thighs: they can leg lock, thigh-crush, run fast, and more.
O
Oracle
Has access to future predicting magic.
R
Ripper
Through rigorous training and body sculpting, they are capable of tearing things apart.
Example 2
Yet another apple goblin, staying unseen as it collects its apple debt.
G
Greedy
They like to take, but not to give, so they are very good at taking.
O
Oily
They are gross and greasy, and very good at slipping from your grasp.
B
Binder
Magically, physically, and conceptually they have a natural gift for tying one down with contracts, ropes, and oaths.
L
Loans
They are basically investment bankers if you think really hard about it.
I
Invisible
Through magic they remain unseen until they wish otherwise, or get punched out of it.
N
Nabber
With quick fingers they can take what is not theirs.
Items should open angles, reward action, and make the table laugh when they go wrong. They are best when they support a player's plan instead of solving the whole scene alone.
Workshop rules
Players can get up to three chances to create items with GM approval.
They should roll using any abilities that genuinely support the item they want.
The higher the roll, the better the quality.
If any result is 1, the item is broken or Cursed.
If players want to create magical items, the roll result needed is doubled.
Starting gold can be rolled with 3d6 or a d20. Roughly, 1 gold feels like $10-$20.
Crafting results
Higher rolls make stronger items. If the item is magical, double the result needed.
1-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-19
20-99
100+
Item template
Once the roll tells you how potent the item is, fill in these details to make it table-ready.
Name
Give it a name players will remember and happily shout across the table.
Description
Explain what the item actually does before you start talking numbers.
Magical or mundane
Decide whether it is clever gear, alchemy, absurd craftsmanship, or outright magic.
Die size or flat bonus
Tie the item's mechanical payoff directly to the roll result so its strength is obvious.
What it looks like on the table
Describe the shape, sound, glow, smell, or flex-worthy flourish that sells the prop.
What can go wrong if it backfires
Decide how it jams, breaks, embarrasses someone, or becomes Cursed when things go sideways.
Curses work best when they push the fiction somewhere weird and specific. They should feel like consequences with personality, not just a punishment tax.
Curse families
Start with the source of the curse so the effect feels like it belongs to the thing that caused it, not like random haunted cardio.
How to build it
Choose the source
Pick the curse family first so the weirdness has a coherent flavor and belongs to the thing that caused it.
Decide the target
Roll or choose who actually catches the curse based on the current scene and the kind of chaos you want.
Deliver the effect
Use the effect table, then make the consequence immediate, specific, and visible in the fiction.
GM reminders
Roll reference
Choose or roll the target, then decide how the curse manifests in the scene.
Who gets hit
| d4 | Target |
|---|---|
| 1 | Yourself |
| 2 | Something related to the curse type |
| 3 | A random target |
| 4 | The closest living being |
What happens
| d8 | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Explode |
| 2 | Summon or Illusion |
| 3 | Transmutation |
| 4 | Possession |
| 5 | Barrier appears |
| 6 | Luck |
| 7 | Charmed |
| 8 | Visions |
Over 216,000 Combinations
Pull a goal, a pressure point, and a payoff. Keep the pieces that fit and reroll until the encounter feels like it belongs to your table. Some combinations will look completely unhinged. Good. That is where Muscle Wizard usually starts breathing hard.
Goal
What the whole flexercise revolves around
Recover the bronze dumbbell idol from the flooded vault under Flexhaven Bathhouse before the trustees drain the chamber and spot the empty shrine.
Pressure
Why the room starts sweating
The flooded vault door seals for another year when the tide horn sounds.
Payoff
Why anybody bothers risking the reps
The bronze dumbbell idol grants one clean answer about any locked door in the city.
