Beginning GMing
star...@hotmail.com
god, Junior High School (Keep on The Borderlands, anyone?). The game itself
will be set in a background of my own devising (Urban fantasy/horror should
pigeonhole it pretty well) and will use the OTE game mechanics. In
preparation for this, I have prepared a brief introduction to the setting and
mechanics for the players, and have made lists of NPCs, locations, and
factions for my own use (I am all too capable of calling an important NPC
"Joe Black", only to refer to him as "John Brown" the next time he shows up,
so I'm trying to prevent that sort of thing).
My question, now, is this: What else should I do before the game begins?
What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that they
wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
avoid, and things to do without fail?
Tom Sullivan
" 'He was my pupil years ago. A young man not without talent, but slapdash,
and huckle-muckle in his workmanship.'
'What did you say?' the mayor asked.
'He's a jerk,' Dr. Hsu Ting Feng said."
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
sw
>My question, now, is this: What else should I do before the game begins?
>What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that they
>wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
>avoid, and things to do without fail?
>
>Tom Sullivan
Plan for about a half-hour or so delay between when you *say* the game is
going to start, and when you actually start doing anything of substance.
This'll give everyone time to hang out and get all the socialization out
of their system.
Munchies are a must. And drinks. Lots of drinks.
Be mentally prepared to improvise like a maniac, since no plan ever
survives contact with the players.
--
"Ideas are not usually a good thing..." -- Tom Russell, describing RACC.
"I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord, make
my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it." -- Voltaire
S. John Ross
| My question, now, is this: What else should I do before the game begins?
| What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that
they
| wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
| avoid, and things to do without fail?
I like making what I call "Trinity Lists" (renamed "Troikas" for my
Storytelling chapter in Digital Web 2.0 since "Trinity" now means something
else to the wolfies, but so it goes). I also referred to the technique in
GURPS Black Ops, and will be referring to it in yet another way in the
upcoming Star Trek (TOS) Narrator's Toolkit. The troikas go like this:
* A list of three conflicts that might happen in the game.
* A list of three interesting NPCs that might be encountered.
* A list of three intereting locations that the PCs might visit.
* A list of three "tone-setting" events that might occur, to give
genre-flavor.
* A list of three plot-moving revelations that might occur.
And the "optional" list includes
* A list of three seeds to plant for future development
* A list of three recurring threads to weave back in
* A list of three puzzles, dilemmas or moral choices
* A list of three strokes of luck (good or bad!) that might happen . . .
And so on. Making the lists insures that I have a LOT more material for any
given session that I need, and that I haven't overlooked something, and
that the adventure will be well-rounded. As much as anything, it's a
technique for "checking" my own adventure design, filling in the gaps and
so on.
In Digital Web, I also discussed applying "themes" to the troikas to keep a
consistent tone. In a Heavy Fantasy Game, for instance, your triple theme
might be God, Duty, and Family. Instead of just listing three NPCs (for
example) you list one NPC that invokes religious issues, another that
relates to the theme of Duty, and another that relates to Family in some
way. And the same for each of the others . . .
Pop 'em all on index cards, and cross 'em off as you go. Save any leftovers
for next week - and there will ALWAYS be leftovers, so making your lists is
only time-consuming the first time in, typically.
|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn/blue.htm · sj...@io.com
Håvard Rønne Faanes
>My question, now, is this: What else should I do before the game begins?
>What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that they
>wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
>avoid, and things to do without fail?
S.John Ross' reply to this one was excellent.
I would however like to make a few comments. NPCs are vital. Create a
bunch of them with their own motives and quirks that will make them
interesting. NPCs can help stimulate the players to interacting more with
the setting, as it makes the setting more lifelike.
The characters will very rarely do what you expect them to so
improvisation is a key to a successfull gaming session. However making
ideas for situations that can occurr is a good idea. Throw in a few random
events that will only happen if things seem to proceed to slowly. If I
notice that my players find the scenario a bit dull, I tend to throw in a
fight just to liven things up. Its a cheap trick, but it often helps.
Håvard
--
Haavard R. Faanes (h...@nvg.ntnu.no)
http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc
"Remember, there are no stupid questions, just stupid people." -Mr
Garrison, South Park.
AJB...@yahoo.com
> god, Junior High School (Keep on The Borderlands, anyone?). The game itself
> will be set in a background of my own devising (Urban fantasy/horror should
> pigeonhole it pretty well) and will use the OTE game mechanics. In
> preparation for this, I have prepared a brief introduction to the setting and
> mechanics for the players, and have made lists of NPCs, locations, and
> factions for my own use (I am all too capable of calling an important NPC
> "Joe Black", only to refer to him as "John Brown" the next time he shows up,
> so I'm trying to prevent that sort of thing).
>
> What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that they
> wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
> avoid, and things to do without fail?
You should always overdose on chocolate before a game. Then you can vomit
on rules lawyers.
Speaking seriously, prepare to improvise. Players go "off track" all the
time, and you should be prepared to deal with this without railroading them.
How you prepare to improvise I have no idea....
S Cordner
> >What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that they
> >wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
> >avoid, and things to do without fail?
Always take notes. Constantly. I tend to develop 'skeleton' games, where
the main plot is mapped out, as well as one or two main NPCs (and perhaps
for fantasy games a floorplan of an evil temple or something to that
effect).
The rest is winging it -- it works well for me, but I'm not sure how much
others do it. In any case, I find that having a small notepad to take
notes on makes the game a lot more fun: these 'skeleton' games are always
able to mutate to maximize the fun/tension/pathos/etc.
Which leads to another point. Its always a good idea to let the players
run amok. Players are going to do whatever the hell they want, and its
usually not what you expected, so the best advice here is not only be
prepared to wing it, but be prepared to wing it with style. This means
always keeping it interesting, having twists and turns, and complications
(though best not to make these too major, or they'll have no fun).
> NPCs are vital.
Great Tip: never use your own voice/inflections for the NPCs. Always
alter it somehow.
> Throw in a few random
> events that will only happen if things seem to proceed to slowly. If I
> notice that my players find the scenario a bit dull, I tend to throw in a
> fight just to liven things up. Its a cheap trick, but it often helps.
Great advice.
Nightshade
>My question, now, is this: What else should I do before the game begins?
>What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that they
>wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
>avoid, and things to do without fail?
It's hard to express this, but the best way I can put it is be
attentive to what is and isn't working for your players. While in the
end you're the one who's doing the work and have to be satisfied with
what you're doing, it's all too easy as a GM to take an "If you build
it, they will come" attitude, and assume that since you're running the
game coherently that the players will enjoy it. Sometimes you simply
have to make some adaptations to the taste and quirks of your players,
even if they somewhat move you away from your natural tendencies.
There are limits of course--there are things I do so poorly and so
hate to mess with that if my players want them out of the game they're
really better going somewhere else--but you really do need to stay
flexible and responsive.
Nightshade
>
>| My question, now, is this: What else should I do before the game begins?
>| What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that
>they
>| wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
>| avoid, and things to do without fail?
>
>I like making what I call "Trinity Lists" (renamed "Troikas" for my
>Storytelling chapter in Digital Web 2.0 since "Trinity" now means something
>else to the wolfies, but so it goes). I also referred to the technique in
>GURPS Black Ops, and will be referring to it in yet another way in the
>upcoming Star Trek (TOS) Narrator's Toolkit. The troikas go like this:
Very interesting, S. John. Enough so that I saved the message as a
file to look at later, and I don't do that often.
S. John Ross
I'm not ALL flame-war ;)
|| S. John "Largely Flame-War" Ross
SD Anderson
If possible use handouts for clues and let the PCs read the
material to try to find them. One key problem with GMing is that
everyone tries to talk to you at once. If you can get the
players to talk among each other more, you have more time to run
the game.
Collary: If you have a player in the game who works on the
basis of "I speak, the GM Speaks, I speak again, the GM speaks
again, then someone else speaks once, gets an answer and it's my
turn again!", note if his efforts are largely for the group or
for the most part independent of them. If the former, let the
other player's reaction to him decide things. If the latter,
separate his character and plan on isolating him permanently or
killing off the character.
Peter Knutsen
[Damn interesting post snipped]
> | Very interesting, S. John. Enough so that I saved the message as a
> | file to look at later, and I don't do that often.
>
> I'm not ALL flame-war ;)
When I see a good posting, I usually forward it to my own e-mail
adress, so it gets stored in my inbox forever. I've done that with
your posting...
> || S. John "Largely Flame-War" Ross
--
Peter Knutsen
S. John Ross
|
| > | Very interesting, S. John. Enough so that I saved the message as a
| > | file to look at later, and I don't do that often.
| >
| > I'm not ALL flame-war ;)
|
| When I see a good posting, I usually forward it to my own e-mail
| adress, so it gets stored in my inbox forever. I've done that with
| your posting...
As long as it's Be Nice to Sjohn Day, there's this vote going on over at
RPGnet . . . ;)
|| S. John "Basically a Whore" Ross
Peter Knutsen
"S. John Ross" wrote:
>
> | My question, now, is this: What else should I do before the game begins?
> | What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that
> they
> | wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
> | avoid, and things to do without fail?
>
> I like making what I call "Trinity Lists" (renamed "Troikas" for my
> Storytelling chapter in Digital Web 2.0 since "Trinity" now means something
> else to the wolfies, but so it goes). I also referred to the technique in
> GURPS Black Ops, and will be referring to it in yet another way in the
> upcoming Star Trek (TOS) Narrator's Toolkit. The troikas go like this:
>
> * A list of three conflicts that might happen in the game.
[many "lists of three snipped]
> * A list of three strokes of luck (good or bad!) that might happen . . .
The "GMs as players" thread mentioned rumours, and this can be used
too, in your "troika" system.
List three rumours that are true (and relevant for the player group)
List three rumours that are false (and relevant)
List three rumours that are not relevant to the current plotline
Advanced GM's could also list three major "world" events. Okay,
"world" is too big, but three major events that take place in the
country or area where the players are. A princess is getting married,
a priest is being promoted to bishop, the country goes to war with
a neighbour. Things that bring the world alive. But inexperienced
GM's should be careful with this part, it can complicate the campaign
world.
> And so on. Making the lists insures that I have a LOT more material for any
> given session that I need, and that I haven't overlooked something, and
> that the adventure will be well-rounded. As much as anything, it's a
> technique for "checking" my own adventure design, filling in the gaps and
> so on.
>
> In Digital Web, I also discussed applying "themes" to the troikas to keep a
> consistent tone. In a Heavy Fantasy Game, for instance, your triple theme
> might be God, Duty, and Family. Instead of just listing three NPCs (for
Do you suggest that this is done with all the troikas? It might
work...
> example) you list one NPC that invokes religious issues, another that
> relates to the theme of Duty, and another that relates to Family in some
> way. And the same for each of the others . . .
>
> Pop 'em all on index cards, and cross 'em off as you go. Save any leftovers
> for next week - and there will ALWAYS be leftovers, so making your lists is
> only time-consuming the first time in, typically.
Another suggestion: know the characters in advance, before you start
to plan. Or at least do as much of the planning as possible after
you know what types of characters the players have created.
> || S. John Ross
--
Peter Knutsen
S. John Ross
| The "GMs as players" thread mentioned rumours, and this can be used
| too, in your "troika" system.
Oh, absolutely.
| List three rumours that are true (and relevant for the player group)
| List three rumours that are false (and relevant)
| List three rumours that are not relevant to the current plotline
|
| Advanced GM's could also list three major "world" events. Okay,
| "world" is too big, but three major events that take place in the
| country or area where the players are. A princess is getting married,
| a priest is being promoted to bishop, the country goes to war with
| a neighbour. Things that bring the world alive. But inexperienced
| GM's should be careful with this part, it can complicate the campaign
| world.
Yep. And yet more things to list are included both in Digital Web 2.0, and
in the current working manuscript for the Star Trek Narrator's Toolkit
(plug, plug).
| > In Digital Web, I also discussed applying "themes" to the troikas to
keep a
| > consistent tone. In a Heavy Fantasy Game, for instance, your triple
theme
| > might be God, Duty, and Family. Instead of just listing three NPCs (for
|
| Do you suggest that this is done with all the troikas? It might
| work...
It does; I've been doing it for years. For more details, see Digital Web
2.0, on sale now at better (and in fact, most) game, hobby and bookstores.
;) Plug, plug. For less detail, see GURPS Black Ops ;)
| > Pop 'em all on index cards, and cross 'em off as you go. Save any
leftovers
| > for next week - and there will ALWAYS be leftovers, so making your
lists is
| > only time-consuming the first time in, typically.
|
| Another suggestion: know the characters in advance, before you start
| to plan. Or at least do as much of the planning as possible after
| you know what types of characters the players have created.
Oh, absolutely. Knowledge, all kinds, as always, is power.
--
|| S. John Ross
Andy Staples
>I'm not ALL flame-war ;)
SJohn, it's pearls of wisdom such as that which make it worthwhile
reading all your posts. Besides, you can be entertaining in a flame war.
Sometimes. ;-)
I tend to wing things a lot. My scenario ideas often never even make it
onto paper, occassionally I make brief notes. I don't tend to use
floorplans and miniatures, but if I need some, I've got a few "generic"
plans and some old ICE cardboard figures.
But if you wing it, you've got to have something ready for when
inspiration fails you or you're caught wrong-footed by the players. It
*will* happen. So you use tricks like John's troikas (I'm going to adopt
these - neat idea).
A couple of old tricks I should probably use more often...
Rumour Cards:
A small set of index cards with rumours on them. If you have some kind
of campaign theme (always a good idea if you lean towards the theatrical
end of RPGs), you can classify them Relevant, Irrelevant & False. Or
just decide on the spot whether a particular rumour is true or false if
you have a more haphazard approach.
Brief Encounters:
Write up a basic encounter with an NPC or group of NPCs (or monsters, if
you use them). Give them descriptions - what they're doing, how they're
dressed, names. If you have a location make sure it's pretty loose (next
town/village/spaceport, in woods, etc).
Then come up with maybe four or five variations of who these people
*really* are, ranging from "they are what they seem" through "they
aren't what they seem but are relatively harmless" to "they aren't what
they seem and are really nasty pieces of work".
Sometimes, of course, even encounters who *are* what they seem can be
problematic (a party of nobles to known outlaws, Imperial Navy patrols
to smugglers, etc).
Some encounters may be fairly trivial in plot terms, just offering
players a chance to roleplay and maybe pick up a rumour (useful if the
session's going swimmingly). Others might lead to mini-adventures
(equally useful if you've really been caught off guard).
Like SJohn's troikas, you can reuse them. File off the serial numbers
(names, descriptions, etc), cross out the variation you've used, and
pick another one another session.
A final trick, for after the session (yes, I know the original poster
was asking about *before*, but, well...)
Always take time after a session to discuss how the session went with
the players. Did they enjoy it? Which bits did they like best? And which
bits the least? What do they think they might do next session? What do
they think is going on in the campaign?
It helps you direct your thinking to the kind of game your players will
like, cuts down your workload, and their ideas might give you some ideas
as well.
--
Andy Staples (andy.s...@minarsas.demon.co.uk)
That very night in Max's room a forest grew, and grew, and grew, until his
ceiling hung with vines, and the walls became the world all around.
- Maurice Sendak, "Where the Wild Things Are".
S. John Ross
| >I'm not ALL flame-war ;)
|
| SJohn, it's pearls of wisdom such as that which make it worthwhile
| reading all your posts. Besides, you can be entertaining in a flame war.
| Sometimes. ;-)
Depends on my blood sugar, mostly, I think ;)
| I tend to wing things a lot. My scenario ideas often never even make it
| onto paper, occassionally I make brief notes. I don't tend to use
| floorplans and miniatures, but if I need some, I've got a few "generic"
| plans and some old ICE cardboard figures.
|
| But if you wing it, you've got to have something ready for when
| inspiration fails you or you're caught wrong-footed by the players. It
| *will* happen. So you use tricks like John's troikas (I'm going to adopt
| these - neat idea).
Exactly. My style is also fairly improvisational - I do a basic plot
outline that can be crammed onto a single notecard, and go. My troika-habit
developed from that.
[several useful ideas snipped for space - see origin post]
| Always take time after a session to discuss how the session went with
| the players. Did they enjoy it? Which bits did they like best? And which
| bits the least? What do they think they might do next session? What do
| they think is going on in the campaign?
Amen. I'm a big proponent of post-session dialogues.
| It helps you direct your thinking to the kind of game your players will
| like, cuts down your workload, and their ideas might give you some ideas
| as well.
Yep. All my best campaigns were at least half-written by the players,
whether or not they knew it ;)
mr_sta...@my-dejanews.com
you've convinced me to buy a copy of Digital Web II when I have some cash
again--I already have Black Ops, 'tho.
I'm going to be hinging a lot of the first session on the characters that my
players design. I've made a few advance plans, based on the fact that I can
count on at least one guy to play an ex-cop/soldier, but for the most part I
want to wait until I hear their preliminary character ideas, so I can base
plot hooks on them.
There *is* an overarcing plot (stolen cheerfully from an old ballad), but I
don't necessarily expect the PCs to have any direct influence upon it--it'd
be nice, but I know better then to expect them to jump the way that I want.
On the other hand, what's happening *will* effect the PCs, along with the
rest of the town, even if they don't know all the details (Forgive my vaguess
here--some of my players may be reading. I trust them...but only so far.
Hi, Bob!)
The plan of action thus far is as follows: give the players the basic details
of the game (here's the mechanics, it's set in the modern day, magic
exists--if you want to play a magician, talk to me), and tell 'em to design a
character. Once the character has been e-mailed to me, I can work with the
player to fine tune the details (e-mail is a wonderful thing, isn't it?)
until we are both satisfied with the results.
Once the characters are in their final forms, I will give each player a bit a
reason to be going to their destination, along with some information that is
also tailored to the character--a newspaper article, a want-ad, a journal
entry, a missing sister, etc.--and give them a week or so to look it over,
absorb it, and ask questions.
For the first game, I'll have them all meet upon the road, while implying
that there is more than mere chance at work. I intend to throw a small,
simple combat at them to give them a better handle on the OTE mechanics, and
then set them loose in the town. These are all reasonable and experienced,
players, so I will not need to contrive any elaborate excuses for them to
work as a group--they'll know that it is in their best interests, both as
players and as characters, to stick together. I'll offer them all a job
opportunity, shrug philosophically when they turn it down, and then gently
lob plot ideas at them and see what catches their interest. I'll try and
give them an enemy or two (that should be the easy part…), a couple of
potential friends/allies, and just let them go pretty much where they want.
I know that I'm going to have to fight the urge to turn this into some sort of
novel, but I think that I can manage it. It's much rather have a group of
players than a bunch of automatons, in any case.
Tom Sullivan
"No, the fall doesn't worry me. It's that sudden stop at the end...."
Wade Guthrie
> In about a month, I'm going to be GMing an RPG for the first time since...my
> What else should I do before the game begins?
> What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that they
> wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
> avoid, and things to do without fail?
Well. . .
Relax and have fun. Never forget that it's just a game.
If you're not familiar with the combat rules (you didn't say), you
can learn quite a bit by having a session or two of arena combat.
This allows you to run some monsters against the players'
throw-away characters. Arena combat will help you get
comfortable with the combat rules so that fights can go quickly.
COMBAT
Be descriptive and creative. Have your monsters bite, scratch,
and taunt the players. They should scream when they get hurt.
Let your monsters (and player characters) hop-up on tables, use
cover, and kick their opponents in nards.
Combat should be exciting. Describe the whoosh of the blade
as it misses a characters face or the sound of a bullet
ricocheting off the brick.
Pit your players against smart monsters. Intelligence is a
much nastier weapon than anything else you could give them.
THE PLAYER CHARACTERS
Work with your player(s) to develop characters that will fit into your
world. Have them create characters especially for your game --
don't let them use ones they've run under someone else. If you
care about role playing, have each player run only one
character.
You've already said that you're going to give each character a
background that will anchor him into your game world's culture.
That's good.
Party unity is really important (when you get more than one
player). Help the players build a party that will be comfortable
running together and will have reason to stick together. Don't
be afraid to give the characters relationships with other player
characters before the start of the game.
IMPORTANT: Let your players be creative! Don't kill their
ideas just because you didn't think of their solution to the
problem you've given them. The players must feel that they
make a difference to your world. Give them a world in which
they can do this.
THE GAME'S RULES
Modify the game's rules to make house rules you can live with.
I haven't yet seen a game system that didn't desparately need
changing and, besides, this'll keep any rules lawyers in your
group on their toes. The best reason, though, is to help give
your game your own, consistent, flavor.
MODULES AND CAMPAIGNS
Always read purchased modules completely before you run
them. Go ahead and change purchased modules to fit them
into your world.
Learn the 3-act structure and apply it to your modules and
campaigns.
STYLE
Dont try to buy the players' affection with copious amouns of
treasure being protected by wussey monsters. This gets pretty
boring pretty quickly.
Be a storyteller. It's not so much about which story you tell
but *HOW* you tell your story. Tug at the players emotions.
Build tension. Choose your words carefully (I often write
descriptions before each game session).
Tell your players what they experience rather than what they
know.
ALMOST FINALLY
Relax. It's just a game.
Stock the fridge with sodas, microwave a plate of nachos, and
have your friends over for a game.
SHAMELESS PLUG
Get a copy of "Game Mastering Secrets". I wrote it to answer
just this sort of question (and a bunch more). Check it out at:
http://members.home.com/wadeguthriepress/
--
Wade Guthrie
guth...@home.com
Check out my new book "Game Mastering Secrets" at
http://members.home.net/wadeguthriepress/
Nightshade
>| Very interesting, S. John. Enough so that I saved the message as a
>| file to look at later, and I don't do that often.
>
>I'm not ALL flame-war ;)
Now, I wasn't thinking that. At least not much. :)
Nightshade
>| But if you wing it, you've got to have something ready for when
>| inspiration fails you or you're caught wrong-footed by the players. It
>| *will* happen. So you use tricks like John's troikas (I'm going to adopt
>| these - neat idea).
>
>Exactly. My style is also fairly improvisational - I do a basic plot
>outline that can be crammed onto a single notecard, and go. My troika-habit
>developed from that.
Same here, which is probably why I found that useful.
S. John Ross
| Thank you all for the advice--I especially like the Troika's, S. John,
and
| you've convinced me to buy a copy of Digital Web II when I have some cash
| again--I already have Black Ops, 'tho.
In all seriousness, buy Digital Web 2.0 only if you use the Mage universe
or something comparable. It's mostly, as the title implies, about the
Digital Web, and while I'm very happy with the Storytelling Chapter I wrote
for it (and, for that matter, the characters and locations in other parts
of the book), buying the whole book just for that would qualify as extreme
;)
On the other hand, the upcoming Star Trek Narrator's Toolkit will be a
60-or-so page book on almost nothing except GMing techniques and related
ramblings, written entirely by Yours Truly. About 50 pages of it will be
very universally applicable. The rest will be a short adventure and some
random filler.
For that matter, the Star Trek: TNG Narrator's Toolkit, already out and
written by Kenneth Hite, is likewise a cracking good read. Better still is
Ken's new book, "Nightmares of Mine" on shelves any day now from
ICE/Chaosium - it's a whole book on horror GMing, with about two pages of
system references (to Rolemaster).
--
Simon Hopper
>In article <7datf5$55s$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,
> star...@hotmail.com wrote:
>> In about a month, I'm going to be GMing an RPG for the first time
>> since...my god, Junior High School (Keep on The Borderlands, anyone?).
>> fantasy/horror should pigeonhole it pretty well) and will use the OTE game
>> mechanics. In preparation for this, I have prepared a brief introduction
>> to the setting and mechanics for the players, and have made lists of NPCs,
>> locations, and factions for my own use (I am all too capable of calling an
>> important NPC "Joe Black", only to refer to him as "John Brown" the next
>> time he shows up, so I'm trying to prevent that sort of thing).
>>
>> What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that
>> they wish that they had known before they got started? What are the
>> things to avoid, and things to do without fail?
>You should always overdose on chocolate before a game. Then you can vomit
>on rules lawyers.
>Speaking seriously, prepare to improvise. Players go "off track" all the
>time, and you should be prepared to deal with this without railroading them.
>How you prepare to improvise I have no idea....
It's probably less preparation than experience, I remember the first time
players went a route I hadn't thought of before and it was obvious that it
was a dead end from the lack of detail. Now I'm a bit quicker on my feet.
Simon
Supermouse
<andy.s...@minarsas.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>Always take time after a session to discuss how the session went with
>the players. Did they enjoy it? Which bits did they like best? And which
>bits the least? What do they think they might do next session? What do
>they think is going on in the campaign?
In Vampire, our group has the 'learning point' discussion, which is very
useful to a ref. After that, and sometimes more important, is the
'bitching session', in which players take turns to discuss their views
on player characters, then NPCs. It's proved helpful, IMHRO.
Cordially,
--
Supermouse
The definitive Rodent.
Supermouse
>What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that they
>wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
>avoid, and things to do without fail?
Getting to know the PCs really well would be my next agenda.
I write around the player characters, rather than getting a plot and
stuffing them into it. For this, I need to know each PC nearly as well
as the player does.
But that's my style of game, and may not matter a whit for yours! :0)
And thanks for reminding me: I need to write out a few key locations in
full and I hadn't done it.
Cordially,
--
Supermouse
Ask not for whom the cheese rolls...
Raoul Duke
: Ken's new book, "Nightmares of Mine" on shelves any day now from
: ICE/Chaosium - it's a whole book on horror GMing, with about two pages of
: system references (to Rolemaster).
Yeah, it's out and it's great (and the Rolemaster bits don't even mention
numbers, just meditations on good skillsets and interesting
advantages/flaws). Highly recommended.
Joe
---
"Looking at my action figure, it occurred to me that that's not a bad way
to face the world: gorgeous, heavily-armed, and distinctively masked."
--Amy Rambow, contemplating Cosmic Angela | "I'd like to thank you and your
fellow pedophiles for your support." --attributed to Ross Perot |
Howling lunacy here: http://members.xoom.com/McGuffins/
Michael Ball
>My question, now, is this: What else should I do before the game begins?
>What are the lessons that experience has taught other GMs, things that they
>wish that they had known before they got started? What are the things to
>avoid, and things to do without fail?
You can try: