Reference Thread: How to become a better Game Master

[dplax]

Dear aspiring Dungeon Master, we present you with the Encyclopedia Gigantica of Dungeon Mastering. This tome here has been cooperatively written by Bozos of Bones and dplax, with the blessings of Larry_OHF, and all the other greater dieties of the Roleplaying plane. It's purpose is only to help you be able to run the best of games in the plane of Roleplaying. In it you will find tips and tricks that the roleplayers have put together to assure you your game starts normally with ample players, and doesn't die. So, kindly reader, if you would step over to the next post you will be introduced with the first step of the starting of a game...


A player's guide might follow later on...

[ 01-16-2006, 05:05 PM: Message edited by: dplax ]

[dplax]

Section 1: What to do before starting the game

Many times have I seen a game started just from scratch with possibly no prior preparation and more often than not these games died pretty fast. I myself am guilty of starting a game with only an hour of preparation before it. Luckily Larry and Bozos as players helped push that game along and in the end it managed to take off.

So, you might ask what preparations a game needs before starting. Firstly you need to decide the setting, be it an existing fantasy world, historic, or a world of your own creation. Each of these requires different preparations.

If you are going to run your game in an existing fantasy world then most of the creation work has already been done for you, you only need to decide which part of the world your story shall be happening in and what type of characters you shall accept. For example a game run in the world where BG2 took place would fall into this category. Aspirations is in this category of the current games on IW.

If you run a historic game then your task is even easier as not only is the setting already decided, but the possible characters the players can choose are also pretty well defined. A game taking place during the Crusades could be an example for this.

However if you choose to run the game in a world of your own creation you need to do quite some work. You need to create the whole geography of the world, religions, cultures... Evidently this is the hardest of the games to run as not only yourself, but the players also might be unfamiliar with the setting, but with sufficient devotion it can be made to work. There can be a lot of examples to this, among the games running currently Revelations has a completely new world.

There is also the possibility of using parts of an existing fantasy world, and add other parts of your own creation, all depending on how much you want to customize the world the game is played in. Shadow of Love, and the Lord of the Forums games would probably be in this category as they are a blend among different worlds.

Once you have the setting established you have to decide what ruleset your game shall follow, if any.

You can run the game with a pre-determined ruleset with strict adherence to its rules, rolling the dice every time the dice roll is needed. Aspirations would be like this, using D&D 3.5th edition.

You can choose to run it with a pre-determined ruleset, but not always following the rules, and not always rolling the dice, sometimes making decisions by going the sensible way. Shadow of Love would be a game like this.

You can run your game in freeform style, with no fixed rules. This requires honesty from the DM and not picking repeatedly on one character. The LotR: Second Age game I had run a few months ago would be an example for this.

You can also run the game with just scores for Hit Points (playing the rest as freeform), so that players can have a better idea of their status, than: "you have a broken leg and a sword wound in your side". The closest to this would be Revelations, though it is slightly more complicated.

You can also create your proper ruleset for use in a game, but this requires a lot of work and after that requires the players to become familiar with it. It is a method I do not recommend, but it can be doable.

Once you have the setting and the ruleset (or lack of it) determined you are ready to think of NPCs, and the story/quest of the game. I recommend choosing an idea, which is at least somewhat original, as it is possible that people are already bored of ideas, which have been done previously.

All that done you need to decide whether you want the game to be open to all, or invitation only (closed in other words).

If you make your game an invitation only game, then you ask the players you want to invite and having gotten their replies you can post the sign up/discussion thread for their characters, or if not enough of them are interested, you can put back the game to a future point.

(comment)
I'll take the time to go a bit off topic and speak about a few things.

Discussion threads:

In my experience I have found that games without discussion threads tend to run much less smoothly than games with them. I strongly recommend having a discussion thread, otherwise the game thread might get clogged up with questions, and turn into chaos, breaking the atmosphere and the pace of the game with idle banter.

Not having enough players:

If you don't have enough players when starting a game, it might be better not to start the game. If you don't have enough players, the chance of the story needing a post from one of them to continue increases, and if for one reason or other that player can not post for some time, the whole game stalls to a halt, and if this happens players might lose interest.

You might ask what a sufficient number of players to start a game is. Well, this depends on the game and the players you have. There are games, which can run with only two players, and then there are games which can not run with five.

Etiquette
Try not to make your first post ever be the opening post of a game, as such games are doomed at the start. First take some time to play in games, get to know the crowd. Before you even post the discussion thread, it is a good idea to get a «feel of the market», to ask a few of the players you played with whether they were interested in a game and what they would like out of it.

Freedom
Players do not like being led around helplessly like puppets. With ample freedom, players will begin to think out of the box, start being more creative and this will in the end help everybody have a better time playing. Sure, overcreativity can be a problem if a player thinks of something you haven't thought of, and with that kills your dragon that was supposed to stop the party from gong further without an item or some more experience or something you needed. Improvisation helps here.
More about freedom in an upcoming addition to the Encyclopedia Gigantica.
(/comment)

If you run the game as a game open to all then usually you post a sign up thread and then players post their characters. If you do not agree with player's characters, you can ask them to change them, but usually not allowing someone to join in this case, is rare and needs to be justified well.

You can start a game by directly posting the game thread, but I do not recommend this (see note on Discussion Threads).

Once you have your setting, your ruleset, the outline of the story and a sufficient number of players you are ready to start the game.

[ 01-16-2006, 05:06 PM: Message edited by: dplax ]

[Bozos of Bones]

Section 2: Running the game

PART 1
Running the game is what will mostly dominate your time as a DM. It is monster management, plot progress, player interactions, controlling what the players know... In short, running the game is everything that happens after the game itself has started. Managing a good game will take a lot out of your free time, so be prepared for working on it.

To run a good game that will make you proud to be it's Master you'll need to balance the following:

Freedom

Mentioned before in the 1st section of this guide, freedom of action is among the most important feature of a good game. When faced with several options, those that are listed and those that are not forbidden, players will begin to either think how the character would react, or how they themselves would react in the given situation, both of which are ways of adding depth to a character. Alliances and animosities between players are not unknown, and separating the players into groups based by player preference will both make the game easier to manage, and the players will work closer together as they are in a smaller group. The freedom should be present in all parts of a game, from the town or the local inn, to the questing and battling the foes you set for the campaign. In peaceful areas, like towns and inns, players should be given options to buy, rest, make money or go on quests to eliminate their character's boredom, as some characters, like rangers an druids can have in rural areas.
But the key of the freedom in a game is not limiting the characters with just one available option at a given time. As the game master, you enjoy certain privileges, like controlling the player characters in some events. Mind you, that is only an option, some DMs take control in some times, some don't, leaving it all in the creative hands of their players. The more time you spend controlling player characters yourself, and the bigger moves you make with them will give the players the impression of not being in control, especially if this behavior is combined with not allowing the players to alter the storyline in ways they are trying to. It is a sure way of sending gamers seeking other games and leaving yours.

Keeping it Alive

This aspect of the game is closely related to the last one about freedom. It is about keeping the game players busy and the game flowing. You don't need to go as far as giving additional and non-related questlines in a story, because all these options in various places are here to ensure that something somewhere is always happening. If in a game of seven players, an event happens that is only important for four of the characters, keeping that event line open and flowing will mean that even players who'se characters are not directly affected by the events will keep reading the posts out of interest for the game and what will happen next. Hopefully, you would have a good story prepared before the game begins, but if not, the unique way that per-post RPGs work will ensure you have enough time for any move you need to make that you haven't prepared beforehand.
If at times it seems the game has reached a halt, and you have done your job of presenting the players with the situation and the options for action, asking about it in the discussion thread is a good idea. Remember that real life is ALWAYS more important than a game, so don't get mad or vindictive if players don't post when they are busy. If you ask what is the problem in a nice way, they might even make some suggestions about how you could make the game better, and raise their interest in it. Players especially love playing games they helped shape.

Being Fair

Everyone can have a critical miss for an attack roll and be the victim of a few critical hits within the course of a round or fail a save and be dominated, that's just bad luck. It may also be possible for a character to have all his actions in a round fail, and die as a result of a dozen critical hits or of Finger of Death. But in Pen and Paper games such events are witnessed by the players themselves, and they see that no foul play was the reason the player died. In per-post games, things are a bit different. Imagine that in one post you are a happilly blessed paladin charging at the enemy gates, and in the next you read that you have died as a result of a Disintegrate spell and can never come back to life. Not the same thing as seeing the dice roll and fall on the 1 for the save, is it? That is when the DM has to intervene and somehow lessen the blow for the player. Mind you, this rarely applies to free-form games that have no dice-rolling or variables, but the situation is quite possible in Dungeons and Dragons and similar rulesets. The intervention, although not entirely a correct course of action, is a great way to keep the player playing, the character alive and the game flowing, and then the player sees his character in great trouble, he will try and post to the best of his ability.
The first half of Being Fair is being mercyful. This is the second half; the punishment. Let's say a player is constantly challenging your ruling, insists on some over-powered sword or spell or armor or is generally being a pain. That is when that player's character finds himself on the course for a spike trap with a DC in the high fourties. Just to keep him in check. But, as with the mercy, this also demands good judgement on when to be used and why. It shouldn't be used against players who have had a streak of really good luck so as to even it out, and it should not be used against who have pointed out a mistake you made. But if someone insists he is Lord Ao himself, or is out of control in any way, then by all means, he should be dealt with.

[Larry_OHF]

Many things have been said as to how to properly play on this forum...the mannerims one should have, the rules one should follow, the way to create a game that flows well...

But there has been one major part left out of our conversations until today, when somebody brought to my attention that we have never discussed how to create a worthy opponent in our games that we operate. The antagonist has to be worth playing against, or the whole game is a joke and a child's second-rate waste of time. If a game master can have a really good antagonist...then that pretty much carries the interest of all players involved right through the game to the end. The most successful games on this forum have been those that scared us, worried us, made us WANT THEM DEAD!!! If you do not HATE the antagonist and desire to put him under the ground about six feet or more...then why play? Go to a cyber cafe if you are here to talk with buddies...but if you want to save mankind from a dragon of terrible power or if you are the bad guy and you want to make the world your pissing ground...then let's play some ball!

So the question arises...what makes a good antagonist? For those that want to play a hero...what makes a worthy opponent? For those that are bad guys...what enjoyment are you looking for in dealing out destruction to the goodie-goodies?

For those that are to operate and manage a game...your players will decide their good/bad agendas...but how do you make something for them to fight?


=================================================

Here are my thoughts, as a game master myself. I create a single entity that is over the others. He or she is the darkest and strongest one, and has plenty of evil and anger built in for world domination. When I play, I have to get into character. If I am writing about an undead skeleton chasing down the heroes...I have to hate the heroes and pretend to be that skeleton. Role-acting is a great way to make the part believable. It just like acting. Except you are acting in the cyber-sense. You are not really a skeleton, but you have to pretend to be one, and then your mind tells your fingers what to write. It is a very fun act to play. It does not mean I am evil...for I also play good guys in my own game. The imagination and some creativity is needed to be able to do this...and most important is that as a DM you have to be unbiased. You cannot have favorite good guys that are immune to death, or you cannot have a favorite bad guy that kills the whole party. There has to be a balance...and when it is time for something or somebody to die...then so be it. If it is your best friend...he'll understand. If it is your best monster...build another one and stop crying! This is a game world and our imaginations expand as far as we want them to. Do not limit your power of creativity for mundane things.

Let's here what others have to say.

[Morgeruat]

As a game master I like to create the villain just as I would any PC, including quirks, personality flaws, forethought in his actions, and real and obtainable goals, then and only then do I figure out where the PC's come into play. For a group of evil PC's a good villain can be someone worse, OR a would-be hero.

Having the Villain be of a similar strength to the PC's (or slightly ahead of them on the power curve) is another great tip, as the PC's expand their repetoire of skills and try to go after the villain they will find that he has new abilities that can counter theirs (it should be done as growth, not explicitly to provide an "out" so the villain doesn't die.)

If you allow resurrection of protagonists, there's no reason not to use it on villains, especially the main villain if the PC's accidentally killed him before the plot required it. This can also change the dynamic of the game as PC's will become the primary target and they won't think of where it's coming from, after all, how could Thulsa Dum be sending waves of fanatics after the Sir Justin the Just, Justicar of Justice if he has Thulsa's head in his backpack.

[Larry_OHF]

Character Hit Points

From the Original DMG – by Gary Gygax

It is quite unreasonable to assume that as a character gains levels of ability
in his or her class that a corresponding gain in actual ability to sustain
physical damage takes place. It is preposterous to state such an
assumption, for if we are to assume that a man is killed by a sword thrust
which does 4 hit points of damage, we must similarly assume that a hero
could, on the average, withstand five such thrusts before being slain! Why
then the increase in hit points? Because these reflect both the actual
physical ability of the character to withstand damage - as indicated by
constitution bonuses- and a commensurate increase in such areas as skill
in combat and similar life-or-death situations, the "sixth sense" which
warns the individual of some otherwise unforeseen events, sheer luck,
and the fantastic provisions of magical protections and/or divine
protection. Therefore, constitution affects both actual ability to withstand
physical punishment hit points (physique) and the immeasurable areas
which involve the sixth sense and luck (fitness).

Harkening back to the example of Rasputin, it would be safe to assume
that he could withstand physical damage sufficient to have killed any four
normal men, i.e. more than 14 hit points. Therefore, let us assume that a
character with an 18 constitution will eventually be able to withstand no
less than 15 hit points of actual physical damage before being slain, and
that perhaps as many as 23 hit points could constitute the physical makeup
of a character. The balance of accrued hit points are those which fall into
the non-physical areas already detailed. Furthermore, these actual
physical hit points would be spread across a large number of levels,
starting from a base score of from an average of 3 to 4, going up to 6 to 8 at
2nd level, 9 to 11 at 3rd, 12 to 14 at 4th, 15 to 17 at 5th, 18 to 20 at 6th, and
21 to 23 at 7th level. Note that the above assumes the character is a fighter
with an average of 3 hit points per die going to physical ability to withstand
punishment and only 1 point of constitution bonus being likewise
assigned. Beyond the basic physical damage sustained, hits scored upon a
character do not actually do such an amount of physical damage.

Consider a character who is a 10th level fighter with an 18 constitution.
This character would have an average of 5% hit points per die, plus a constitution
bonus of 4 hit points, per level, or 95 hit points! Each hit scored
upon the character does only a small amount of actual physical harm -
the sword thrust that would have run a 1st level fighter through the heart
merely grazes the character due to the fighter's exceptional skill, luck, and
sixth sense ability which caused movement to avoid the attack at just the
right moment. However, having sustained 40 or 50 hit points of damage,
our lordly fighter will be covered with a number of nicks, scratches, cuts
and bruises. It will require a long period of rest and recuperation to regain
the physical and metaphysical peak of 95 hit points.

[ 01-16-2006, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Larry_OHF]

Giving Players What They Want
Quoting from the DMG, 2nd Edition

Players in most AD&D games use the same character over many game sessions. Most players develop strong ties to their characters and get a thrill from watching them advance, grow, and become more successful and powerful. Your game's success depends on how much your players care about their characters. For these reasons, it is important to let they players create the type of characters they really want to play.
At the same time, watch out for a tendency in some players to want the most powerful character possible. Powerful characters are fine if that's the sort of campaign you want. A problem arises, however, if players are allowed to exploit the rules, or your good nature, to create a character who is much more powerful than everyone else's characters. At best, this leads to an unbalanced game. At worst, it leads to bored players and hurt feelings.
Therefore, before any player in your game creates his first character, decide which dice-rolling method to allow: will you use method I, any of the five alternate methods, or a seventh method of your own devising? Be prepared with an answer right away, because this is one of the first questions your players will ask.

=================================================

In my own words:

*You want to offer a game where you can lead a story that others will enjoy playing through.

*Players on this forum are looking for a great game to play.

*You do not have a game without players, and the players have no game unless they join something.

*You must convince players that your game is the one worth investing their time in. You have to sell your game to the consumer. You have to convince them that your game is the one where they can have the most fun. It has to offer what they are looking for. Clearly, your tastes in gaming will not always be the tastes of everyone, so don't expect players to want to play just because YOU think that they will have fun. They have to WANT what you are offering.

Another thing: TRUST. RELIABILTY. FAIRNESS.

Important terms for a DM, eh?

Why would anyone want to join your game if you are not a good gamer? How can a gamer that does not know basic gaming rules and etiquette lead others along a story? These are important things to consider. I won't bore you with details of what all I do right. Let it suffice to say that I know how to be a good gamer, and have grown into a person that can tell a good story. Others that game with me know that I deliver the goods. I have EARNED their trust because I am reliable and fair.