i have some work ahead of me ;_;
Advice for the Game Master Part 3
(2267 total words in this text)
(880 Reads) Printer friendly page
7-15-01
Posted by The Old Druid
It is now time for the game to start. All the players are finishing their pre-game tasks, and they are beginning to listen for the GM's
first words. The music is at a perfect place to turn it down, or turn it off and start. The moment is just right to begin a exciting adventure, but just then the GM realizes "Oh my God, where are my game notes?"
Question: What does a GM do to specifically prepare and conduct a
successful game?
First of all, I must mention that the GM's success is strictly a
judgment call by the players. Running a game is both an art and a
science that taps into all the skills, strengths, and weaknesses of the GM. I must also mention up front that if everything else is mastered, but fundamental organization skills remain weak, then the GM will always struggle and remain frustrated. Good GMs bring a lot of different talents to the table to "pull off" great game sessions. GMs also bring their own personal preferences, beliefs, and idiosyncrasies to the table. Over time, as players and GMs game together, they eventually learn those subtle and intangible qualities displayed by each other, and then everyone magically starts to factor these concepts into their respective play (either consciously or subconsciously) in order to get an edge, or imagine that they are getting an edge over the next person.
Most everyone eventually learns to read between the lines, and find
little clues in what is said, how it is said, and even when it is said
(given particular circumstances). More experienced GMs know all this
about people and constantly make adjustments to keep the players honest. People are very smart, their relationships through language(s) are extremely complex, and the resulting interactions across the game table are both subtle and sophisticated. Keep all this in mind as you master both playing and being a GM.
To answer the question in detail, I believe that there are 7 different
talents to develop in order to achieve the level of accomplished or
expert Game Master. Your personal level of achievement in these areas
will affect the overall quality of the game presented to the players.
Weaknesses in several areas will not kill the game for everyone. The
object is to self analyze your own talents and try to improve in those
areas you want to improve. No one is perfect in anything they do, but
practice and determination go a long way towards success.
1, Organization is the first talent to develop. Without fundamental
organization skills everything will be difficult to accomplish. You must learn to keep everything, and be able to find it when you need it. Keeping notebooks organized and easy to use can be both cumbersome and confusing. Usually several notebooks will be needed, and there are millions of ideas on how to make and keep notebooks organized. I recommend the following if you are open to suggestions. Keep only one notebook for the current game session. This should be one comprehensive notebook to cover everything you need for the current game. I even pull stuff out of other notebooks (as needed) to make this one notebook a one-stop shopping guidebook. It should contain all the necessary urban, rural, and underground maps, current and old PCs, current and old NPCs, monster or daemon sheets, misc. notes, equipment and shopping lists, Beastiary lists, poisons, herbs, magic spells, all applicable charts and tables, and your current story line notes and sketches.
This keeps you isolated within one notebook and helps your speed in
finding what you want. If you maintain several notebooks for a game, you could spend more time looking and less time gaming. Make index tabs for the various sections (that you decide on) for easy access, and put everything in an order that makes sense to you, so you can open and dig quickly without delaying the game excessively. Other notebooks can be for A.) NPCs and PCs. B.) Maps, lists, charts, and tables C.) Master Beastiary and Monsters (daemons) D.) Master Spell Books and E.) Anything else you want that is not necessarily required for the current game.
2.) Drawing or sketching is the second talent to develop. Be able to
draw or sketch well enough so you or someone else can at least figure
out what you are trying to communicate. Maps and charts will be
required. I like to make 2 map copies. One map is for the players and
their level of knowledge (when they earn it), and the second map is for me, and my level of knowledge. "Everyone is singing off the same sheet of music". You might already be a Picasso, but if not, practice,
practice, and practice some more from store-bought modules or your
friend's work. Just try to get good enough so that your sketches get the job done without making people choke when they see it. If drawing and sketching is simply too much for you, enlist the aid of a relative or friend to help you.
3.) Story line creation is the third talent to develop. If your drawing is weak, you can still survive well with other skills, but if you can't develop an original story line (can't find, or use someone else's storylines or ideas), then the players will feel let down. Obviously, there are many sources for story ideas (maybe the last game session could spin off a new story). Look around, read some game modules, novels, paperbacks, and weave your own stories like a blanket. Practice and develop characters, draw a map for ideas, sketch faces, watch a movie, and copy some basic plot concepts. Work hard at it, try to "plant some seeds", and eventually you will reap the harvest from the hard work by producing some outstanding stories. Your players will appreciate you for it.
4.) Game design flexibility is the fourth talent to develop. People call it "scripting" verse "flying free form" as a GM. How much do you allow the players to roam around? How flexible are you in cutting back on the monster hoard when they are beginning to crush the players into the ground? Do you have the design planned so you can react smoothly and evenly no matter what the players do, so they never know you actually changed things from what you had on the paper? What is critical is allowing yourself the opportunity to modify things for the smooth and even transitions required when the players do things you did not expect them to (and they will do it all the time). You can try to force the players down one road, into a special room, or to open a chest, but when they decide to do it their way, you better be prepared to make the transition without them noticing anything out of the ordinary. That takes forethought or planning, and you can make those plans with notes on your paper.
Ultimately, you will not even need those notes. You will learn
instinctively over time to add a daemon here, subtract a daemon there,
throw in a cavalry patrol squad here, add an extra trap there, make the cliff impossible to climb, make the water undrinkable, have a NPC show up at the right place to give the needed piece of information, etc, etc. You can call it "dancing" or "thinking on your feet", but one of the big tricks as a good GM is to be as smooth as silk, talk the story along with style through NPCs and narration, position yourself to be one step ahead of the players, and deliver a smooth and fascinating game because you were flexible in your design. Sounds challenging doesn't it? It's really fun and easy with practice.
5.) Running the game is the fifth talent to develop. Flexibility allows you to be more smooth while running the game, but there are still elements of running a game that require talent regardless of how well planned and flexible you are in the design. You must execute or deliver the game like an orchestra leader manages the musicians and the music, so their customers enjoy the musical performance. The players are your customers also, and they are as critical about their gaming as the people that listen to orchestras are about their music.
Start the game, plan breaks, and end the game with goals in mind. The
players must be oriented as to where they are, why they are there when
they start, breaks must be in places that do not kill the drama you are trying to build up during the game, and try to end the game with a
measure of insightful review and possible likely outcomes created by the players during the game. This gets their minds stirring about possible reactions from their enemies, and they might say things that you could use later on. They turned out to be right after all about how their enemies reacted, or you can use their words to help you go the opposite direction to surprise them.
Try to end the game after something has been accomplished positively, or something substantial has failed to happen. People get very tired after many hours of playing, but they still like to end in places where they can remember the set up, and remember their success or failure. Play to your player's strengths (or weaknesses) and try to end the games in a manner that best suites their personalities and desires. The end can't always be over the dead body of the enemy sorcerer, with the open chest of gold and platinum, and the pretty princess (or handsome prince) fainting in your arms. Corny or sloppy endings do not stimulate much interest in the next game session either. I've had my share of hasty endings that left a "whine" in the air, and I'll never forget them.
6.) Resolving problems ethically is the sixth talent to develop. It is
plain and simple. Be absolutely fair, honest, and non-prejudicial when
dealing with a group of people. If you give anyone preferred treatment, everyone else will immediately sense it, hate it, and hate the game session for it. Never give anyone a break you are not prepared to give everyone else. Never give anything away that is not earned. If you have an extra special friend or "lover" playing while you run a game, you better re-read these words, because you will be tempted to cut them some extra slack. Don't do it!
You are the high judge, jury, and executioner, and you represent the
laws of the land. If the judge is corrupt, then the universe is corrupt, and when the laws don't mean anything, then people quite caring. Players need absolute fairness and absolute surety about the world they are playing in, so they can relax and simply enjoy the game you are presenting. When the players must stress about the GMs whims and senseless gifts to one person, while other players are held to strict or more severe standards, they will eventually turn against the GM (mentally) and begin to test for the true depth of corruption. I've been there as a player, so I know how it all "plays out." Since the GM is corrupt, and their worlds are unreliable, you learn to hate playing in them so you stop playing with that GM.
7.) A sense of timing or drama is the seventh talent to develop. A good story (like a good movie script) for RPGs needs a healthy dose of drama and atmosphere with excellent timing to deliver the story in a concise and meaningful way to the players. I don't care if you are playing a Marvel Comic, 3 Stooges, Hell Raiser, AD&D, or Elric RPG (Comic or Fantasy Science Fiction), drama and a sense of timing will always be required in any story to bring excitement to the minds of the players. A real and credible threat needs to exist. A series of clues, ideas, or leads need to exist. A series of puzzles and obstacles (physical and/or mental) need to exist to challenge the players. Non-player Characters (NPCs) are needed (crucial) that possess well developed personalities and viewpoints, concrete goals, and that are essential elements within the drama. These NPCs represent both essential allies and enemies of the PCs, and carry the story and the drama to it's climax right along with the PC's actions, (unless you plan on killing off all the NPCs).
You are organized, planned, mapped, detailed, flexible, and even fair,
with a great story line, and eager players. You can run the game
smoothly (mechanically), but even with all that going for you, you still need to take into consideration the building up of the "terror factor", the timing of the drama, and the effects of the horror in the minds of the players. Even if running a comic RPG, there needs to be bad guys and a mission. Try to build the horror up like a gentle tidal wave. Try to touch the players with terror like a feather would tickle them in the dark. Push the players with the drama like a wind would blow them over a jagged cliff. You can incorporate these things into your story line through your detailed NPCs, the architecture, the motivations and the divergent objectives of everyone clashing against each other. Make the players swim in the terror, and make them swallow the horror as they splash and kick for their lives. I like to have a lot of NPCs used as cannon fodder to keep the element of death close to the PCs. The players will literally sweat a little as they move their lead figure down the dungeon hallway, but they will always come back for more.
Isn't gaming wonderful!
Take Care,
The Old Druid
(2267 total words in this text)
(880 Reads) Printer friendly page
7-15-01
Posted by The Old Druid
It is now time for the game to start. All the players are finishing their pre-game tasks, and they are beginning to listen for the GM's
first words. The music is at a perfect place to turn it down, or turn it off and start. The moment is just right to begin a exciting adventure, but just then the GM realizes "Oh my God, where are my game notes?"
Question: What does a GM do to specifically prepare and conduct a
successful game?
First of all, I must mention that the GM's success is strictly a
judgment call by the players. Running a game is both an art and a
science that taps into all the skills, strengths, and weaknesses of the GM. I must also mention up front that if everything else is mastered, but fundamental organization skills remain weak, then the GM will always struggle and remain frustrated. Good GMs bring a lot of different talents to the table to "pull off" great game sessions. GMs also bring their own personal preferences, beliefs, and idiosyncrasies to the table. Over time, as players and GMs game together, they eventually learn those subtle and intangible qualities displayed by each other, and then everyone magically starts to factor these concepts into their respective play (either consciously or subconsciously) in order to get an edge, or imagine that they are getting an edge over the next person.
Most everyone eventually learns to read between the lines, and find
little clues in what is said, how it is said, and even when it is said
(given particular circumstances). More experienced GMs know all this
about people and constantly make adjustments to keep the players honest. People are very smart, their relationships through language(s) are extremely complex, and the resulting interactions across the game table are both subtle and sophisticated. Keep all this in mind as you master both playing and being a GM.
To answer the question in detail, I believe that there are 7 different
talents to develop in order to achieve the level of accomplished or
expert Game Master. Your personal level of achievement in these areas
will affect the overall quality of the game presented to the players.
Weaknesses in several areas will not kill the game for everyone. The
object is to self analyze your own talents and try to improve in those
areas you want to improve. No one is perfect in anything they do, but
practice and determination go a long way towards success.
1, Organization is the first talent to develop. Without fundamental
organization skills everything will be difficult to accomplish. You must learn to keep everything, and be able to find it when you need it. Keeping notebooks organized and easy to use can be both cumbersome and confusing. Usually several notebooks will be needed, and there are millions of ideas on how to make and keep notebooks organized. I recommend the following if you are open to suggestions. Keep only one notebook for the current game session. This should be one comprehensive notebook to cover everything you need for the current game. I even pull stuff out of other notebooks (as needed) to make this one notebook a one-stop shopping guidebook. It should contain all the necessary urban, rural, and underground maps, current and old PCs, current and old NPCs, monster or daemon sheets, misc. notes, equipment and shopping lists, Beastiary lists, poisons, herbs, magic spells, all applicable charts and tables, and your current story line notes and sketches.
This keeps you isolated within one notebook and helps your speed in
finding what you want. If you maintain several notebooks for a game, you could spend more time looking and less time gaming. Make index tabs for the various sections (that you decide on) for easy access, and put everything in an order that makes sense to you, so you can open and dig quickly without delaying the game excessively. Other notebooks can be for A.) NPCs and PCs. B.) Maps, lists, charts, and tables C.) Master Beastiary and Monsters (daemons) D.) Master Spell Books and E.) Anything else you want that is not necessarily required for the current game.
2.) Drawing or sketching is the second talent to develop. Be able to
draw or sketch well enough so you or someone else can at least figure
out what you are trying to communicate. Maps and charts will be
required. I like to make 2 map copies. One map is for the players and
their level of knowledge (when they earn it), and the second map is for me, and my level of knowledge. "Everyone is singing off the same sheet of music". You might already be a Picasso, but if not, practice,
practice, and practice some more from store-bought modules or your
friend's work. Just try to get good enough so that your sketches get the job done without making people choke when they see it. If drawing and sketching is simply too much for you, enlist the aid of a relative or friend to help you.
3.) Story line creation is the third talent to develop. If your drawing is weak, you can still survive well with other skills, but if you can't develop an original story line (can't find, or use someone else's storylines or ideas), then the players will feel let down. Obviously, there are many sources for story ideas (maybe the last game session could spin off a new story). Look around, read some game modules, novels, paperbacks, and weave your own stories like a blanket. Practice and develop characters, draw a map for ideas, sketch faces, watch a movie, and copy some basic plot concepts. Work hard at it, try to "plant some seeds", and eventually you will reap the harvest from the hard work by producing some outstanding stories. Your players will appreciate you for it.
4.) Game design flexibility is the fourth talent to develop. People call it "scripting" verse "flying free form" as a GM. How much do you allow the players to roam around? How flexible are you in cutting back on the monster hoard when they are beginning to crush the players into the ground? Do you have the design planned so you can react smoothly and evenly no matter what the players do, so they never know you actually changed things from what you had on the paper? What is critical is allowing yourself the opportunity to modify things for the smooth and even transitions required when the players do things you did not expect them to (and they will do it all the time). You can try to force the players down one road, into a special room, or to open a chest, but when they decide to do it their way, you better be prepared to make the transition without them noticing anything out of the ordinary. That takes forethought or planning, and you can make those plans with notes on your paper.
Ultimately, you will not even need those notes. You will learn
instinctively over time to add a daemon here, subtract a daemon there,
throw in a cavalry patrol squad here, add an extra trap there, make the cliff impossible to climb, make the water undrinkable, have a NPC show up at the right place to give the needed piece of information, etc, etc. You can call it "dancing" or "thinking on your feet", but one of the big tricks as a good GM is to be as smooth as silk, talk the story along with style through NPCs and narration, position yourself to be one step ahead of the players, and deliver a smooth and fascinating game because you were flexible in your design. Sounds challenging doesn't it? It's really fun and easy with practice.
5.) Running the game is the fifth talent to develop. Flexibility allows you to be more smooth while running the game, but there are still elements of running a game that require talent regardless of how well planned and flexible you are in the design. You must execute or deliver the game like an orchestra leader manages the musicians and the music, so their customers enjoy the musical performance. The players are your customers also, and they are as critical about their gaming as the people that listen to orchestras are about their music.
Start the game, plan breaks, and end the game with goals in mind. The
players must be oriented as to where they are, why they are there when
they start, breaks must be in places that do not kill the drama you are trying to build up during the game, and try to end the game with a
measure of insightful review and possible likely outcomes created by the players during the game. This gets their minds stirring about possible reactions from their enemies, and they might say things that you could use later on. They turned out to be right after all about how their enemies reacted, or you can use their words to help you go the opposite direction to surprise them.
Try to end the game after something has been accomplished positively, or something substantial has failed to happen. People get very tired after many hours of playing, but they still like to end in places where they can remember the set up, and remember their success or failure. Play to your player's strengths (or weaknesses) and try to end the games in a manner that best suites their personalities and desires. The end can't always be over the dead body of the enemy sorcerer, with the open chest of gold and platinum, and the pretty princess (or handsome prince) fainting in your arms. Corny or sloppy endings do not stimulate much interest in the next game session either. I've had my share of hasty endings that left a "whine" in the air, and I'll never forget them.
6.) Resolving problems ethically is the sixth talent to develop. It is
plain and simple. Be absolutely fair, honest, and non-prejudicial when
dealing with a group of people. If you give anyone preferred treatment, everyone else will immediately sense it, hate it, and hate the game session for it. Never give anyone a break you are not prepared to give everyone else. Never give anything away that is not earned. If you have an extra special friend or "lover" playing while you run a game, you better re-read these words, because you will be tempted to cut them some extra slack. Don't do it!
You are the high judge, jury, and executioner, and you represent the
laws of the land. If the judge is corrupt, then the universe is corrupt, and when the laws don't mean anything, then people quite caring. Players need absolute fairness and absolute surety about the world they are playing in, so they can relax and simply enjoy the game you are presenting. When the players must stress about the GMs whims and senseless gifts to one person, while other players are held to strict or more severe standards, they will eventually turn against the GM (mentally) and begin to test for the true depth of corruption. I've been there as a player, so I know how it all "plays out." Since the GM is corrupt, and their worlds are unreliable, you learn to hate playing in them so you stop playing with that GM.
7.) A sense of timing or drama is the seventh talent to develop. A good story (like a good movie script) for RPGs needs a healthy dose of drama and atmosphere with excellent timing to deliver the story in a concise and meaningful way to the players. I don't care if you are playing a Marvel Comic, 3 Stooges, Hell Raiser, AD&D, or Elric RPG (Comic or Fantasy Science Fiction), drama and a sense of timing will always be required in any story to bring excitement to the minds of the players. A real and credible threat needs to exist. A series of clues, ideas, or leads need to exist. A series of puzzles and obstacles (physical and/or mental) need to exist to challenge the players. Non-player Characters (NPCs) are needed (crucial) that possess well developed personalities and viewpoints, concrete goals, and that are essential elements within the drama. These NPCs represent both essential allies and enemies of the PCs, and carry the story and the drama to it's climax right along with the PC's actions, (unless you plan on killing off all the NPCs).
You are organized, planned, mapped, detailed, flexible, and even fair,
with a great story line, and eager players. You can run the game
smoothly (mechanically), but even with all that going for you, you still need to take into consideration the building up of the "terror factor", the timing of the drama, and the effects of the horror in the minds of the players. Even if running a comic RPG, there needs to be bad guys and a mission. Try to build the horror up like a gentle tidal wave. Try to touch the players with terror like a feather would tickle them in the dark. Push the players with the drama like a wind would blow them over a jagged cliff. You can incorporate these things into your story line through your detailed NPCs, the architecture, the motivations and the divergent objectives of everyone clashing against each other. Make the players swim in the terror, and make them swallow the horror as they splash and kick for their lives. I like to have a lot of NPCs used as cannon fodder to keep the element of death close to the PCs. The players will literally sweat a little as they move their lead figure down the dungeon hallway, but they will always come back for more.
Isn't gaming wonderful!
Take Care,
The Old Druid