GM Advice
First of all, I love helping other people. Especially gamers. Secondly, I write while I'm at work. My jobs is boring and this makes the day go much faster, and I love to write. Please bear in mind that I play Gurps, not D&D, so some of these recommendations may not be suitable for other games. I wrote this in response to an email that I received from a fan (?) of mine from the Gamegrene website that I write for. I thought is was worth putting up here...
One of the best tips for keeping groups together is to make it as exciting as possible for everyone invloved. Things like character backgrounds, creation, and ideas are comparatively boring and can be handled outside of the gaming sessions. I prefer writing up a short background for the campaign listing recommended skills, types of characters, local history and the like and emailing it to all the players. They then have to write up a character profile and background which suites the powerlevel and flavor of the game. I make their character for them (remember, Gurps is a point based system. I believe that D&D 3rd ed is also) and send them a copy for their approval. Thus at game time everyone is ready to go. If the players don't want to write up an email then you can sit with them, discuss their character, (remember to take notes!) and then write up their character.
It helps if the characters have some sort of connection to each other, but that is not neccesary.
This also applies to "downtime" actions. Watching a player haggling over a sword is boring for everyone but the player and the GM. Do things like this during breaks (when pizza arrives, cigarrette breaks, whatever), not during the game. It slows down the action too much. If this must be handled during the game, then roll skill checks to solve it. Remember that the merchant will always be better than the player at this as this is what they do for a living.
If you can do this outside of the game, always make the players haggle. Make sure that you roll, but give them modifiers to whatever merchant or haggling skill that they possess based on what they say. Even when I talk the players up 150% they still had fun, and that's what matters.
Always start a new campaign with combat. This is everyone's favorite part of the game, it introduces the game mechanics in a fun way, adds tension, and forces the character's to bond a little, even if only by having similar experiences to talk about.
Make sure that this combat has a reason and directly involves your plot. The very beginning of Star Wars episode IV is a good example. So is Serenity, Cellular, and most Jackie Chan movies.
Never say "you can't do that". Just apply an appropriate negative modifier to whatever they are attempting. Always let them know what the modifier is and why you are giving it (as long as it doesn't involve the hidden abilities of another party. then you would just say that there is a modifier and make them roll without knowing what it is. Use this rarely and always be fair.).
As for getting everyone together... That's a bit harder. I don't know the people involved, so this part is up to you. You have several options though.
1st you can meet every other week on a given day. Because you are in High School and have after school activities, I'd recommend Saturday night. That way you can play late and sleep in Sunday if you need to. And they have a week off to do things. That also gives you and extra week to plan evil things to do to them.
2nd. You can have two or more small groups instead of one normal sized group if half your group can consistantly meet at one time and the other half can meet at another. If you do go with multiple small groups then you can either have them work together as part of the same team, or as opposing teams which is equally as cool but has some long range problems (eventually one group HAS to lose). This way the group setting is fluid and characters can come and go as they players do.
3rd. You can NPC characters whose players can't make it for a session. Keep these characters in the background during the session that you are NPCing the character and do NOT screw over the character while the player is absent. This is for those players who have legitimate reasons for not being in the game or who only miss a session every now and then.
Having your group role-play as opposed to roll-play is a combination of the game system, the way you run the game, and the players. Most of it is up to you.
As a new GM I would recommend getting a system that encourages roleplaying. It does have to be a system that is easy to learn and it has to appeal both to you and your players. Good examples are Gurps and Serenity (if you're a fan of Firefly and the movie Serenity this works great. You'll have to start reading and watching westerns though).
Gurps is a generic system. You can play in any genre, any time, any world, and tell any story that you want. You are rewarded for the way you play, not by the things you can kill. Serenity is the same way plus you have the series and movie that you can show your friends that will introduce them to the world and culture that you'll be running a game in.
You stated that you started a fantasy adventure. I'm going to stay with that in my examples.
Since you are new at this, don't just arbitrarily make up the characters. Talk to your friends and find out what stories they like and why. What do they connect with? Do they like romance, fighting, comedy, thrillers, mystery, horror? You can combine all of these into whatever setting that you want (remember Firefly had all of the elements).
I would recommend that you go to the following link and download Caravan to Ein Arris. You can use this adventure with any system, though it is best in Gurps. The players hire onto a caravan and go on several missions during the trip. This allows for a fluid group setting like I mentioned above. There are options for espionage, comedy, and lots of fighting. It'll introduce the characters and players to life in a caravan, the desert, two kingdoms, and a religious order.
http://e23.sjgames.com/samples.html
In the beginning of this adventure the characters must pass tests to get hired onto the caravan. Guards, scouts, and other fighters will have to prove their combat skills. Healers and mages will have to prove their magical skills and prove that their skills will be usefull (no illusionists).
For fighters, I have always tested them with ranged weapons, melee weapons, and hand to hand. They are graded on skill. However, they must obey tournement rules, ie. no cripple or killing blows, one or two points of damage max.
I had a mage who was a gifted healer, both mundane and magical. She was tested by being disemboweled on the spot and having to heal herself.
Things like that keep the players on their toes, make for extremely interesting stories, and really draw the players in. But make sure that you reward the character for what you've done to them. That healer anded up as one of the highest paid people in the caravan. She made triple what the other players made and was given some rank as well. But boy did she freak out when the guy disemboweled her and said, "Heal thyself..." Ah... good times...
Remember, it's your job to entertain yourself and your players. Manipulate them
as much as possible, but never let them catch you doing it. Be subtle whenever
you can.
One of the best tips for keeping groups together is to make it as exciting as possible for everyone invloved. Things like character backgrounds, creation, and ideas are comparatively boring and can be handled outside of the gaming sessions. I prefer writing up a short background for the campaign listing recommended skills, types of characters, local history and the like and emailing it to all the players. They then have to write up a character profile and background which suites the powerlevel and flavor of the game. I make their character for them (remember, Gurps is a point based system. I believe that D&D 3rd ed is also) and send them a copy for their approval. Thus at game time everyone is ready to go. If the players don't want to write up an email then you can sit with them, discuss their character, (remember to take notes!) and then write up their character.
Give them plenty of choices.
It helps if the characters have some sort of connection to each other, but that is not neccesary.
This also applies to "downtime" actions. Watching a player haggling over a sword is boring for everyone but the player and the GM. Do things like this during breaks (when pizza arrives, cigarrette breaks, whatever), not during the game. It slows down the action too much. If this must be handled during the game, then roll skill checks to solve it. Remember that the merchant will always be better than the player at this as this is what they do for a living.
Always leave them a way out.
If you can do this outside of the game, always make the players haggle. Make sure that you roll, but give them modifiers to whatever merchant or haggling skill that they possess based on what they say. Even when I talk the players up 150% they still had fun, and that's what matters.
When things bog down, throw in a fight to wake them up.
Always start a new campaign with combat. This is everyone's favorite part of the game, it introduces the game mechanics in a fun way, adds tension, and forces the character's to bond a little, even if only by having similar experiences to talk about.
Never roll combat for two NPCs, just describe what happens.
Make sure that this combat has a reason and directly involves your plot. The very beginning of Star Wars episode IV is a good example. So is Serenity, Cellular, and most Jackie Chan movies.
Never say "you can't do that". Just apply an appropriate negative modifier to whatever they are attempting. Always let them know what the modifier is and why you are giving it (as long as it doesn't involve the hidden abilities of another party. then you would just say that there is a modifier and make them roll without knowing what it is. Use this rarely and always be fair.).
Change your voice and mannerisms when playing different
NPCs, this makes them individuals in you mind and in the minds of your
players.
As for getting everyone together... That's a bit harder. I don't know the people involved, so this part is up to you. You have several options though.
1st you can meet every other week on a given day. Because you are in High School and have after school activities, I'd recommend Saturday night. That way you can play late and sleep in Sunday if you need to. And they have a week off to do things. That also gives you and extra week to plan evil things to do to them.
2nd. You can have two or more small groups instead of one normal sized group if half your group can consistantly meet at one time and the other half can meet at another. If you do go with multiple small groups then you can either have them work together as part of the same team, or as opposing teams which is equally as cool but has some long range problems (eventually one group HAS to lose). This way the group setting is fluid and characters can come and go as they players do.
3rd. You can NPC characters whose players can't make it for a session. Keep these characters in the background during the session that you are NPCing the character and do NOT screw over the character while the player is absent. This is for those players who have legitimate reasons for not being in the game or who only miss a session every now and then.
Don't be shy, you are the focus of the game. Be confident in
yourself and your story.
Having your group role-play as opposed to roll-play is a combination of the game system, the way you run the game, and the players. Most of it is up to you.
As a new GM I would recommend getting a system that encourages roleplaying. It does have to be a system that is easy to learn and it has to appeal both to you and your players. Good examples are Gurps and Serenity (if you're a fan of Firefly and the movie Serenity this works great. You'll have to start reading and watching westerns though).
Gurps is a generic system. You can play in any genre, any time, any world, and tell any story that you want. You are rewarded for the way you play, not by the things you can kill. Serenity is the same way plus you have the series and movie that you can show your friends that will introduce them to the world and culture that you'll be running a game in.
Listen to your players' feedback. Adjust your game
accordingly.
You stated that you started a fantasy adventure. I'm going to stay with that in my examples.
Since you are new at this, don't just arbitrarily make up the characters. Talk to your friends and find out what stories they like and why. What do they connect with? Do they like romance, fighting, comedy, thrillers, mystery, horror? You can combine all of these into whatever setting that you want (remember Firefly had all of the elements).
Let the players take turns in the spotlight. Design and run
adventures that promot this. The best fighter in the group is not going to be
the best politician.
I would recommend that you go to the following link and download Caravan to Ein Arris. You can use this adventure with any system, though it is best in Gurps. The players hire onto a caravan and go on several missions during the trip. This allows for a fluid group setting like I mentioned above. There are options for espionage, comedy, and lots of fighting. It'll introduce the characters and players to life in a caravan, the desert, two kingdoms, and a religious order.
http://e23.sjgames.com/samples.html
Be realistic, but fudge reality a bit when needed.
In the beginning of this adventure the characters must pass tests to get hired onto the caravan. Guards, scouts, and other fighters will have to prove their combat skills. Healers and mages will have to prove their magical skills and prove that their skills will be usefull (no illusionists).
Be fair to everyone.
For fighters, I have always tested them with ranged weapons, melee weapons, and hand to hand. They are graded on skill. However, they must obey tournement rules, ie. no cripple or killing blows, one or two points of damage max.
I had a mage who was a gifted healer, both mundane and magical. She was tested by being disemboweled on the spot and having to heal herself.
Player's love misery. Be hard for their characters,
preferably without permanent damaging them. Make life hard.
Things like that keep the players on their toes, make for extremely interesting stories, and really draw the players in. But make sure that you reward the character for what you've done to them. That healer anded up as one of the highest paid people in the caravan. She made triple what the other players made and was given some rank as well. But boy did she freak out when the guy disemboweled her and said, "Heal thyself..." Ah... good times...
posted by Keko at 08:41
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