Help Me Take Your GMing To The Next Level

What new GMing knowledge would you like to master next?
It is time for you to get selfish here and get some GM advice customized just for you. What ebook would you like me to write next that you would use to make your GMing better, easier, more fun?
I am wrapping up the editing on my latest product. It’ll be released in 2011, though I cannot tell you about it just yet. It’s a killer, though, if I do say so myself. Mike Bourke and Michael K. Tumey co-wrote it, so you know it is going to be detailed and have a gorgeous map.
Now I am looking at my text file of ebook ideas, wondering what to write next, and thought I would put it out there to you. How can I help take your GMing to the next level? What would you like to learn so you become an even better GM?
For example, Brad at Level 99 Games requested a book on villains. How to design, plan and run them. That seems like a potentially interesting topic.
I also received a request from a GM looking for help running large groups of players. That is a challenge! Would an ebook on that topic interest you?
Maybe you need a few Pathfinder NPCs, complete with crunch and flavour for instant use in your games?
I have several books on GMing sitting on my bookshelf. They cover an overview of the role quite well. I find they do not do the deep dives on many topics, however. That’s where I think I can help you best. If you can describe specific problems or areas you would like to see more techniques or tips detailed for, I think that would help you much better than developing yet another overview type book.
What are your GMing pain points? The more specific, the better, so I know what context, content and advice you need that would solve your exact problem.
Drop a comment below with your request, or email me. Your feedback and requests are appreciated!
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December 6th, 2010 at 8:17 am
I’m still waiting (patiently, I hope) for a worked example of city building.
December 6th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Hi C,
You are speaking of this post? http://www.campaignmastery.com/blog/pillars-of-architecture/
Thanks for the reminder. I’ll ping Mike about it. He is offline right now, in the middle of a home move, but the email will be waiting for him when he gets his internet connection hooked up again.
December 6th, 2010 at 8:46 am
Any product to improve GM-fu at the table (or off the table) gets my vote.
It seems there’s very little on actually being a Games Master on the theoretical side that goes beyond “How to create x for y” once you get past the introductory and basic stages.
Oh, and Johnn, why don’t you follow Yax and put a case study of your next project on Gamer Lifestyle, so we can see it from conception to realisation?
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December 6th, 2010 at 8:47 am
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December 6th, 2010 at 9:46 am
Johnn
I absolutely love NPC Essentials and use it all the time! in fact, due to computer misfires and mishaps I think i’ve actually bought it 3 times and in fact don’t currently have an electronic copy as my computer went off to get fixed and never came back (fortunately I have a paper copy that I prefer anyway).
Anyway, I’d happily read/buy a book on your Riddleport Campaign – have you got any more updates as I see there haven’t been any for a while.
December 6th, 2010 at 10:18 am
Hi James. Email me and I will get you a PDF of NPC Essentials if you want it.
I have recently talked about Riddleport in the newsletter. I was thinking about turning it into a campaign report type series at the Roleplaying Tips blog. Not sure if it is something gamers want to read though – it does not have any GM advice in it.
Thanks for the feedback!
December 6th, 2010 at 10:32 am
I would like to see a book with checklists what you should prepare. E.g.
Session
-> List of names
-> A story
-> 2-4 factions involved
-> …
In this way, DM’s can see what they are missing in their games. It is basically a checklist. (Also, clearly separate what is cool, what is cool sometimes and what is really needed)
I know it would help me a lot. (But maybe I should craft it myself)
December 6th, 2010 at 11:35 am
I’d like to see a good book about collaborative gaming. Like, where the players create major elements of the setting, plot, NPCs, and even adventures, rather than leaving it entirely up to the GM. This is a tricky thing to get right — there are different levels of involvement to consider, and problematic group dynamics can arise.
While many games are built around this idea (mainly indy games) and several gaming books touch upon it (there’s some good bits in DMG2) I don’t know of a generic role-playing book devoted to this topic.
December 6th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Johnn: Yes, that’s the one. Thank you.
December 6th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
I would love to have an e-book about running a sandbox campaign. How to make quests, NPCs, interesting locations, etc., all on the fly. If it had random tables in it, that would be all the beter.
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December 6th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Cool beans. Hey, have you seen Toolbox and Toolbox II? Highly recommended for sandbox and ad hoc games.
December 6th, 2010 at 11:46 pm
Hi Johnn,
I would love to see an ebook on civilization building, specifically tying together advice which has been provided in the past in a cohesive methodology and process.
I’m not particularly interested in the minutia of how the economy works, or pages of tables where I can roll-up how many fighters are in a city of a certain size – I’d like something which could equally serve as the main location of my D&D campaign or the main location of a fantasy novel.
I would love to see it come complete with an example civilization, sample city, sample city stat blocks for the other non-detailed cities (stat block being a short outline of the area, not numbers and percentages), rural area stat blocks (plus villages) plus all the basics for a complete civilization breakdown – culture, laws, relations with neighbours, ruling process etc.
I’ve seen a number of failed experiments to create a collaborative civilization/city but most of those failed (in my opinion) due to a lack of a central vision/direction and the agreement that anything posted was valid, sometimes within a few posting rules. I think this process could work if done in a judged, descriminating fashion. And it could be a solid foundation for an ebook of this nature.
Not sure if I’ve been able to get across what it is I’m hoping for, but hopefully it can be a basis for conversation.
December 8th, 2010 at 8:05 am
What I’d love to see are some really good scenarios and terrains for battles. I’ve seen one or two on blogs – just barely enough to know that it’s possible to throw togther a really creative and fun area in which to run a battle. For example, I just designed a forest battle with lots of trees for cover you need to squeeze to pass, steep hills, cliff ledges, a fast-moving river, and lots of rough terrain. I love to include hazards, but there are so few good examples. I love mini-skill challenges that affect the pace of the battle. I’ve heard it said that the terrain is one of the most important parts of an encounter, and I’m surprised that there aren’t more good examples out there.
December 11th, 2010 at 10:37 am
@Davane – great idea! Thanks.
@James – what info would you like to see in a “My Campaign” theme? What would you have me talk about? That could be a good a blog series here at Campaign Mastery or at the Roleplaying Tips blog.
@Steven – love the checklists idea as that’s how my brain works. If you have any checklists, I’d be happy to consider posting them on this blog!
December 11th, 2010 at 11:03 am
@Will – neat idea! That’s a contender. Let me give it some thought. My Riddleport campaign is especially full of player created content.
@Shinobicow – that’s also an excellent idea. Have you seen this series? http://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-make-fantasy-sandbox.html
@Gerald – agreed, I would use such a product myself. I’ll add it to the list I’m mulling over.
@Greg – Nice. See this series for some tips: http://www.campaignmastery.com/blog/category/combat/hazards-of-combat/ And your request sounds like an excellent opportunity to expand on that series!
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.
December 11th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Hi Johnn I would like to see how to make the micro mesh with the macro events of the world. I keep seeing things that you could get away with in a role playing party that wouldn’t work on a national scale and visa versa.
And maybe something that could merge structure and sandbox campaigns together for those ADD game masters? :P
December 11th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
My main pain point is physical, artificial environments. It’s easy for me to come up with broad geographies and nation-sized maps, histories, characters with motivations, natural caves and other wild terrain, and whatever else, but cities (thus my interest above), castles, and the like (including underground complexes for traditional dungeon crawls) are more difficult for me to create in a way that makes sense. I’d like to see a book of suggestions, methods, and so forth for creating those in ways that reflect the fictional histories and purposes they have and fulfill.
December 11th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
I have to second the “micro and macro” meshing. Every book on GMing and every scenario seems to have its own assumptions on this, and assumes that you share them in your campaign. Making things trickle down and trickle back up would be a killer topic, and one I don’t think has been addressed in depth before. Great idea Chris has there.