Comments on: Bringing on the next generation, Part Two: Gamemaster Mentors

By: Johnn

Johnn — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:44:38 +0000

Great article, Mike. Super tips in the comments, too, Mike and Loz.

I especially liked the tip about walking in the players’ shoes. It’s easy to lose site of that when you are knee deep in details, meta-game concerns, and evil plotting.

I’m going to make it a goal this year to play in game, at least a couple times.

By: Loz NEWMAN

Loz NEWMAN — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 20:24:17 +0000

True. Also another trick is mentally “tagging” an in-game culture with two-word labels (in unusual combinations)to guide your future presentations. e.g. Greek Pirates, Viking Merchants, Aztec Duellists, Syndic Knights, Mage Smallholders, etc). I even once (during a massively multi-cultural world) added the tags into the written recap of the world given to the players… to help *them* swiftly grasp the essence of each culture. Basic principal I’m trying to illustrate here is once again : “A small effort, well spent ahead of time, beats flailing around any day”. AKA, Prior Prep Prevents Poor Performance.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:21:53 +0000

@ Loz: Thanks for the compliment.

I like to write a 1-line idea for every area and region that I place on the map, and every culture. Just in case I need to improvise because the party have moved in a radical direction (either geographically or in terms of plot). My players are able to spot the delaying tactics and make a big thing of my being caught short, largely because I’ve been so successful at using these 1-line starting points and thinking on my feet that I have a reputation of never being caught short (well, once a decade or something ridiculous like that).

By: Ravenous Role Playing » Blog Archive » Friday Five: 2009-12-25

Ravenous Role Playing » Blog Archive » Friday Five: 2009-12-25 — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:52:45 +0000

[...] Bringing on the next generation, Part Two: Gamemaster Mentors Are you just getting started at GMing a game? Perhaps you’ve been a long time player and want to dabble in the realms of running the game instead of just a single character. If you have that itch that needs to be scratched, go see what they have to say over at Campaign Mastery on the topic of starting out as a GM. It will save you tons of heartache, time and energy. [...]

By: Loz

Loz — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:09:20 +0000

Very good article. Congratulations!

That method of never creating more of a dungeon/world than you believe (important word!) you need to resonates with me. It cuts down on wasted work wonderfully. The only potential trap I’ve come across is players charging into (literally) uncharted territory. Generally some light improvisation (a minor encounter, detailling the trek in more than usual detail, getting the players to debate their plans, etc) gains you enough time to reach the end of the gaming session and breathe freely again (i.e. get ready those bare-bones concepts/descriptions).

The other very important point mentioned above (in my personal opinion) is “Empathy”. Understanding the players point of view and taking it into account. Even if you don’t let it completely override your decisions. My N°1 principle : “We are a group of people who get to together to have fun”. Avoiding things that are fun only for the GM is a big part of this.