Blog Carnival: Game Master Mistakes
Mistakes – ones you’ve made in the past and how you got past them, one’s you’re making now and don’t know how to solve. That’s the theme for this month’s RPG Blog Carnival.
I remember reading some great advice awhile ago: it’s ok to make a lot of mistakes as long as you don’t make the same one twice. At the game table it’s easy to forget stuff, make a bad judgement call, let emotions override polite behaviour.
One of my biggest mistakes was actually away from the game. For the first few years of Roleplaying Tips I also got a new job that required quite a bit of overtime, I was getting writing contracts, and the ezine was chewing up a lot of hours every week. I decided to stop gaming for awhile. That “while” turned into a five year hiatus. That’s five years of non-gaming I’ll never get back!
Today my schedule is no different. There are not enough hours in the day to do everything I want. However, I made a conscious decision to claw a game night out every two weeks, plus some prep time on weekends. I’m busier than ever before, but the sky has not fallen and giant fires have not flared up because I take this time out for gaming. And I’m actually less stressed because I’m getting my gaming fix in again.
I’ve been keeping this up since 2005 and still going strong. Real life has its pressures, but a bit of planning and protecting my time lets me game without problem. This is healthy for establishing better life-balance, maintaining (and making new) friendships, and keeping my creative juices flowing in all aspects of my life.
Long live RPG!
Remember to check out the previous RPG Blog Carnivals:
August 2008: The Core Mechanic: Death and Undeath
September 2008: The Fine Art of the TPK: Homebrew
October 2008: Musings of the Chatty DM: Superheroes
November 2008: The Dice Bag: Religion
December 2008: Critical Hits: Transitions and Transformations
January 2009: Unclebear: New Years Gaming Goals and Resolutions
February 2009: The Core Mechanic: Monsters and Maps
March 2009: The Book of Rev: War
April 2009: A Butterfly Dreaming: Humor and Gaming
May 2009: Roleplaying Pro: The Future Of Roleplaying
June 2009: Mad Brew Labs: Steampunk & Klokwerks
July 2009: 6d6Fireball.com: Dungeons & Dragons
August 2009: Chgowiz’s Old Guy RPG Blog: Conventions, Ren Fairs, Carnivals, Oh My!
- Blog Carnival: Game Master Mistakes
- My Biggest Mistakes: A slip of the tongue
- My Biggest Mistakes: Information Overload in the Zenith-3 Campaign
- My Biggest Mistakes: Defying Expectations in the Zenith-3 Campaign
- My Biggest Mistakes: Magneto’s Maze – My B.A. Felton Moment
- My Biggest Mistakes: The Woes Of Piety & Magic
- Game Master Mistakes Carnival Roundup
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September 3rd, 2009 at 6:25 pm
GMing can be a lot of work, but the effort is both balanced and rewarded by the pleasure that comes from seeing your creations come to life and bring other people pleasure. It’s partially the pleasure of creativity and partially the vicarious pleasure we get from entertaining our friends.
It sounds to me like you gave away the pleasure and just kept the hard work componant – an experiment in time management doomed to failure! Hopefully, the balance you have now achieved is more sustainable.
September 7th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Here is the first of my 5 entries Mistake 01 – Being a Killer DM. Enjoy!
.-= Doug Daulton´s last blog ..Mistake 01 – Being a Killer DM =-.
September 7th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Great post, Doug. I’m looking forward to the rest of your submissions to the carnival!
September 11th, 2009 at 6:16 am
Here’s mine
http://www.bardofvaliant.com/2009/09/make-sure-you-have-enough-ice-carnival/
September 25th, 2009 at 5:15 am
Here is mine.
5 Beginner GM Mistakes (and how to fix them)
http://6d6fireball.com/rpg/5-beginner-gm-mistakes-and-how-to-fix-them/
.-= Chris Tregenza´s last blog ..5 Beginner GM Mistakes (and how to fix them) =-.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
My post won’t be up until Monday morning US time, but here is the link for when it is.
Mistakes, I’ve Made A Few (@GamesofState.net) –http://www.gamesofstate.net/2009/09/rpg-blog-carnival-mistakes-ive-made-a-few
Cheers
.-= Hammer´s last blog ..Spice Up A 3:16: Carnage Amongst The Stars Game =-.
September 30th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Poo, I screwed up and put my link up under Magneto’s Maze. Sorry about that.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:55 am
[…] Master Mistakes: Not Really Listening October’s RPG Carnival topic is that of Game Master Mistakes. It’s a subject on which every GM can comment. We’ve all made mistakes. I, personally, […]