When I got into rpgs, I had an amazing gm, but sadly, very few since have ever been even what I'd call great.
In fact, many gms I see running games don't seem to really understand what it means to be a gm, nor what a great gm actually does.
Several become a gm either because there is no one else, or for a bad reason. I can't tell you how many I've come across that became a gm to tell a story they wrote.
Problem is, gming is not about telling a story, it is about crafting an experience. In telling a story, the experience gets neglected.
Most don't catch on to that because the experience is like air, it is invisible and often goes unnoticed, with problems being attributed to other things (much like when getting smothered with a pillow. It is easy to name the pillow as killer, but it isn't the pillow that kills, but rather the lack of air.)
Therefore, this year I want to start a youtube channel about being a better gamemaster, with advice on everything from running games to handling problem players. With respect to the various playstyles and how they impact things.
I am posting this thread to ask for all kinds of advice, resources, and materials to aid in making this the best it can be and to discuss it's creation and potential content.
Oh, and feedback would be nice as well.
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The piece of advice I always give in "DM Advice" threads is:
Expect the unexpected.
In my years as a DM (or ST), countless times have I seen the players overlook obvious clues, not agree with planned allies, take routes not planned for, and decide not to follow plot. Because of that, I think the ability to improvise is among the most important traits for a DM.
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I have to totally agree with Scythia. You can lay out options A, B, and C, but I guarantee you half the time they'll take Option Q. Be prepared. Don't be afraid to move an encounter accommodate their offbeat thinking (unless it absolutely has to take place in a certain place and time, in which a little railroading might be necessary).
Be prepared. An inventive and intelligent group of players is like herding fish.
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Be prepared. An inventive and intelligent group of players is like herding fish.
This. As a GM, your most important saves are Reflex for when the PCs send your adventure careening off the rails in a fiery ball of fury, and Will for all of the terrible, terrible puns.
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Ford: What is the point of it? Get a couple of cheap thrills? Some surprises? But it's not enough. It's not about giving the guests what you think they want. No, that's simple. The titillation, horror, elation. They're parlor tricks. The guests don't return for the obvious things we do, the garish things.
They come back because of the subtleties, the details. They come back because they discover something they imagine no on had ever noticed before. Something they've fallen in love with. They're not looking for a story that tells them who they are. They already know who they are. They're here because they want a glimpse of who they could be.
The quote is from Westworld, the character talking is discussing why people keep coming back and paying so much money to experience the park. I think it works well as insight into why people like roleplaying games. Some of course are drawn to the cheap thrills, but it's usually pretty easy to spot them.
One of my favorite games to run is Mythender. It's full of the garish, cheap thrills. The players essentially play demi-gods who band together to kill bigger gods. When I run it at a convention, the story is basically always the same. The details are always different, motivations are different, methods are different, but the core ideas and concepts are always the same. I let the players build their own story, but I as GM ensure that it includes the concepts that are central to the game.
As GM you can tell the story you want, but the trick isn't to focus on the details you want (details are good for immersion within the story though). Rather ensure that the central concepts and ideas are present. Leave the specifics vague until they are absolutely required. Let the players color in details so that the world fits their imagination. This way you can nudge them towards the themes the game is about.
For example, if a game is about white hats vs black hats, avoid morally grey areas. Don't give them moral conundrums to survive; let them make clear, unambiguous choices that push the story forward. Don't spend time on the consequences of their decisions, unless they're making the "wrong" ones (ie, they made a black hat choice, when they're supposed to be the white hats). Conversely, if your story is about that morally grey area don't give them easy choices. Put them in situations where sacrifices are required for the greater good.
Mythender is about power versus free will. The more power you have, the less free will you have. Eventually a player will have the choice when interacting with mortals, they can either use their divine power to gain even more power from the mortals, or they can try to reject that power and empathize with the mortal's plight. If they seek more power I use that opportunity to highlight how the world will become a worse place if the player continues down that path and becomes one of the gods that they loath.
One session they were hunting Odin. One PC was a former member of Odin's priesthood and had actively served him, so now he was focused on destroying Odin's influence amongst mortals. He called out the village priest and executed him in front of the rest of the village. The village took up his call for independence, venerating him as their inspiration. From then on the village took up a tradition of burning suspected priests of any god alive (except for the PC's once he became a god) and did so in his name.
It is possible to tell a story as a GM. Don't have preset specific details, but rather use the central themes of the story to reflect the consequences of player actions within the game. The precise nature of who did what when is less important, and these kinds of details aren't useful in planning if you want to make player participation meaningful. Give the players appropriate situations to deliberate over for your game, and ensure that the consequences follow the themes you want to express most.
Another good thing I noticed was asked, paraphrased
"How do I fill in between the planned story points?"
I just realized that I never responded to these replies. My apologies.
These are all excellent things to include.
I definitely agree with the importance of improv (I've created entire campaigns on the fly), though, there are ways to design the adventure to handle the players heading off track by designing the adventure to drop the important bits where ever is needed. Not to mention, always fail forward.
The Alexandrian is highly recommended reading.