GMing Tips

[jaegamer]

I'm participating in a panel on better GMing at Confusion (Troy MI, Jan 22-24, 2010), and I'm compiling a set of useful tips.  It's a one hour panel, and I'm sure I'm not the only one on it.  I'll be storing my own ideas in this post (and will be updating it as things occur to me), and I'd appreciate any tips any of you have.

In no particular order...

• It's not just YOUR story, it's THEIR story too (collaborate).
• Don't be wedded to your scenario.  If you plan for 4 possible choices, the players will take the 6th.
• GM ain't havin' fun, ain't nobody havin' fun.  (The inverse is also true.)
• Know your players and their characters.  Make sure there's an opportunity for everyone to shine.
• If you don't want them to screw it up, don't let them roll the dice (contsts/tests should be meaningful - if they need info/success/whatever to continue, *give* it to them
• Nobody likes a no-win scenario.  Make sure you've thought of at least one way to succeed.  Mind you, the players will probably come up with another.
• Failure can be even more interesting than success.  (differs from no-win, in that failure at a particular test means an unexpected outcome, as opposed to "too bad, you're dead".
• Players don't mind losing a character if the death is meaningful.
• Complicate their lives, complicate their lives, complicate their lives.
• Dependents, cohorts and NPC friends - snack food for monsters and ways to complicate their lives.

Stuff I've appropriated from other people:

• Failure is boring.  The credible but unrealized threat of failure is very exciting (Robin Laws)
• Say "yes" or roll the dice. (Vincent Baker)
• Try to give your players at least one meaningful choice in an adventure with no pre-determined conclusion. (@slyflourish)
• "The game must be fun shall be the whole of the Law." Making Light

Comments

[tlatoani.livejournal.com]

Players don't mind losing a character if the death is meaningful.

That may be true with some players, and they may tell you it's true, but I've seen the spark completely go out of a player when he had to get a replacement character. It was dramatic, he said it was fine, he was a great roleplayer -- but when we actually played, his heart wasn't in it any more. Fortunately it was a Shadowrun game, so we were able to retcon his having a clone and he got the PC back with a lot of financial damage and some missing augments.

I would say here that you should know your players and group well, and make a judgment call about whether and when you can get away with killing a character. I wouldn't make the broad generalization.

[varianor.livejournal.com]

I think the more mature the player is, the more true this is. I died recently in a D&D game. It was a truly heroic death for my rogue who is only marginally useful compared to the sorceror, cleric and psion. I would have been happy to stop there! Instead I got raised. I contrast that to the death of my character in essentially an Arms Law game over 18 years ago. We all died after orcs blocked the end of a tunnel and we ran out of food and air. Coincidentally the GM was moving to Texas and wanted to end the game. Hardly "meaningful".

[tlatoani.livejournal.com]

I'm not convinced. More mature players can also have a lot of time and thought invested in their character.

[jaegamer.livejournal.com]

Fair enough - re broad generalization. I really meant it more as an exhortation against random dice-generated death.