I am defiant to the unwritten rules of GMing


Gamer Life General Discussion


I read through the Gamemastery Guide and recycled memories of various RPG's that I participated in before and realized I break the unwritten rules and etiquette. The strange thing about this is my players love it. All of them have closed their minds and refuse to play in some of the more traditional ways.

One of my most egregious offenses is that I do nothing to steer my players resulting in divided factions and a divided party. Intraparty conflict is frequent within my group and every player loves it. I spare them the generic inclusions in the campaign and make their entrances dynamic and their conflict genuine. Why would a human outsider trust a Nosferatu or an Orc? Many GM's cleverly try to resolve this issue, but I let the role play handle it. It would not be uncommon in one of my campaigns when the time is right for a PC to attack and possibly even kill another PC or the party to battle amongst themselves, but this only builds on the tension and drama of the story.

One of the implied consequences of a divided party is player boredom, but I segment the story and devote equal timeshare. Using dynamic storytelling and applied game mechanics I find the players are as captivated by every PC's stories as much as their own. By their own admission my players declare that my campaigns break down like something akin to George RR Martin's Game of Thrones where you have compelling stories weaved from a series of interconnecting plots ultimately unfolding a grand plot. When I look at my sidelined PC(s) they give the active player his time and they discuss it. All of my players feel empowered as a result. Although at times I can be managing several different story arcs in a session I thoroughly grasp the world and translate that to the story. The only downside to my tactics is that I had to turn players away as it got to a point where I would have had double digit frequent players and simply could not comfortably accommodate that many guests.

Another instance of my different approach to GMing is I pull no punches and spare no players. Some GM's do this, but it is common to have a GM work to quickly restore a PC immediately after resolving a conflict or event resulting in that PC's demise. I will do no such thing and death is a real part in my game. I cheer for my players to win, but I run the events as the fortune of dice coupled with the tactics of a player let them unfold (and as a compliment to the guide I do not let them see their hp, which adds great drama). My group as a result loves combat. They respect each adversary and their realization of mortality makes them role play in a literary way as opposed to a mathematical way. Death does not ostracize my players as much as it opens the window to the realm of possibilities for the future of the story (i.e. the fallout of the death, who will be affected most, who stands to gain, what butterfly effect will this have on the future of the campaign etc.). In the place of a fallen player stand a new unique character unlike any the PC's have encountered that will bend the fates of the game and decide the outcome of the future.

I will never pigeon hole a player nor will I dictate their actions sans thwarting metagaming. There is no deus ex machina in my campaigns. I will never defy the results of the dice. Nor will I ever ignore the intentions of a PC. As a result I break quite of bit of the advice from the Gamemastery Guide, but before I go labeling myself rebellious I do submit to the number one rule, which is to enjoy the game.

Shadow Lodge

Who are you defying? No one is telling you how to play your game.

You may as well be shouting at the tide.

Sovereign Court

I was disappointed in the Game Mastery Guide. I think it helps to think of it as more of a rookies guide and you, like myself, seem to be a more experienced GM. Nice job your games sound interesting and fun.


TOZ wrote:

Who are you defying? No one is telling you how to play your game.

You may as well be shouting at the tide.

I was actually declaring that I was defiant of the advice in the Gamemastering Guide, which is a recent addition to my collection. I apologize for any confusion in the matter. I know nobody is telling me how to play the game, but I was sharing my experiences on the matter. Perhaps I may be "shouting at the tide," but perhaps there are those with whom my piece of writing may encourage that feels that they are compelled to comply with many of the writings contained within the Gamemastering Guide in order to run an effective campaign. Additionally, I was aiming to have a civil discussion about some of the effective ways others bend the rules to their players satisfaction.


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Normally, to get to the point of playing games like yours, a group must mature by playing games more similar to those recommended in the GMG. Most players do not deal well with intra-party conflict. Most do not do well with the boredom inherent in a divided party. Most do not do well with their PCs dying. It takes time to become comfortable with the respective members and play-styles to move beyond these reactions.

Your players are no different, save that they have acheived the maturity needed to look past those negatives and find positives they can enjoy. You have an excellent group, be thankful. Perhaps you have always played in this manner, from the beginning of your gaming history. In which case, congratulations, that is something that rarely happens. Most people need to work to such a level, through time, personaly maturation, or playing with different people.

You have an good group, that can play together at a point most "average" groups (if there is such a thing) can not while remaining cohesive. Good for you.

I will no longer post in this thread, as the obvious and intentional word choices and phrasings you have used make it plain to me that you are either trolling or self-aggrandizing, and I have no desire to play a part in either activity.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Pathfinder Accessories, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Dexter Dunbar wrote:
Additionally, I was aiming to have a civil discussion about some of the effective ways others bend the rules to their players satisfaction.

Bend, break, repurpose, animate, and decorate! :)


News flash! Players tend to gravitate towards GMs whose style they like!


Its really more guidelines than actual rules


The Black Bard wrote:

Normally, to get to the point of playing games like yours, a group must mature by playing games more similar to those recommended in the GMG. Most players do not deal well with intra-party conflict. Most do not do well with the boredom inherent in a divided party. Most do not do well with their PCs dying. It takes time to become comfortable with the respective members and play-styles to move beyond these reactions.

Your players are no different, save that they have acheived the maturity needed to look past those negatives and find positives they can enjoy. You have an excellent group, be thankful. Perhaps you have always played in this manner, from the beginning of your gaming history. In which case, congratulations, that is something that rarely happens. Most people need to work to such a level, through time, personaly maturation, or playing with different people.

You have an good group, that can play together at a point most "average" groups (if there is such a thing) can not while remaining cohesive. Good for you.

I will no longer post in this thread, as the obvious and intentional word choices and phrasings you have used make it plain to me that you are either trolling or self-aggrandizing, and I have no desire to play a part in either activity.

I have no idea why you deferred to declaring I was trolling or self aggrandizing by writing a piece describing why I run campaigns that differentiate from the recommendations in the Gamemastery Guide. I suppose you have drawn your conclusions by my attempt at making a semi interesting thread title or describing how my players like rules that contradict the Gamemastery Guide, but as a GM you are only as good as your least interested player. I have players routinely lined up to enjoy my campaigns and have others in wait should a spot come open. The demand is not egocentrism or an attempt to bolster my status. The demand for my campaigns is because I defy the traditional implementation of rules and use compelling storytelling, which my players love.

Additionally, you imply that boredom is inherent with players because they can look past the negative. I have played in campaigns where I have been attached to the groups at all times in D&D 2e, 3.5, M&M 1e, M&M 2e etc. and found I was more bored when forced to submit to the will of others and have my influence contained within the parameters of the story. My group contains players of all experience levels ranging from their first campaign to 15+ years experience and they have all agreed that having a liberated approach is the best means of playing.

The problem for players when it comes to PC death and split parties is that they are often disinterested in the story or other elements. Can your players not enjoy cinema or a novel because they lack influence over a particular scenario? Wouldn't watching these other pieces of drama color the world you are participating in? If you run a game as specified by my alternative approach along with great story telling then your players will feel like they are embarking on a journey through a novel or a great piece of cinema wherein they can influence and control a key character in the story. Consequently, there are no dull moments because everybody has an interesting character that no matter the consequence is interesting to anybody watching/participating.

I would like to thank TriOmegaZero for the link. That was nice.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Not so sure this has much to do with Paizo products as it does with GM awesomeness.

Like "Hey, you know that core rulebook? I go classless/diceless in a steampunk time travel game" probably isn't going here either.

Contributor

Moved thread.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Go Back to the Night, you have no business here!


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It's no longer cool to give advice to D&D players, especially DMs. They all know what's better for their own games better than anyone else, even when they don't, and any attempt to give general pointers that could possibly run counter to how an experienced DM already does things is sure to be met with a, "How dare you try and tell me how to run my own game!"


Wall-of-Text...Stopped reading.


I run most of my games in a game store, and depending on the RPG in question, might have almost completely different people from one game to the next, based on who has what night off and who signs up first.

It's not just a matter of "gamer maturity," it's the difference between a group that is composed of people that were high school buddies that have gamed together for 10-15 years and know each other quirks and gaming styles, and people that may have been playing for just as long, but have never sat at a table with the GM or the other guys at the table before.

Having "best practices" to fall back on really isn't a bad idea, and even though I've been gaming for 25+ years, once in a while I don't mind rereading advice that I've heard before, to remind me why it keeps coming up.

If I get comfortable with a group, and I know what pushes their buttons and what doesn't, I can figure out where I can deviate from "best practices" and where I can't. But a brand new group, or a group that still has decidedly different quirks as to what they do and do not enjoy, you need to remember the basics and build from there.


The only thing the Gamemastery Guide gave me was the Magic Items Table that was missing from the Core Rulebook, so I don't have to rely on a print-out from the 3.5 SRD.


TOZ wrote:

Who are you defying? No one is telling you how to play your game.

You may as well be shouting at the tide.

+1. I don't think anyone looks at the GMG as the GM's bible.

The experience mentioned has a lot to do with the players also. Some groups can survive and thrive in that situation, while other groups would be split by it no matter who the GM was.

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