On Being a Game Master: Player Buy-In

I have two gaming groups and absolutely zero drama, it's wonderful and very refreshing. However, one problem I've encountered a few times in the last year or two is the issue of Players buying-in to the game. I've mostly seen this from new players, but I'm sure it can be an issue for anyone.

I attribute it to the expectations of some players who are more versed in novels, cinema, and these days even DnD on YouTube.

Essentially, what I'm talking about are player's who are constantly expecting for me, as the DM, to provide their character with a reason to continue to adventure. Heck, sometimes they even expect the other characters to provide this drive. At my table, if you are setting there, the understanding is that you want to be there and to some degree so does your character.

It's great to have deep ties to the story being told and clear goals that your character is working toward, but those things are two-way streets. The person running the game needs help achieving those goals. When you sit at my table for the first time, I don't know if your an active or passive player. If you prefer deep roleplaying, exploration, or heavy combat, and honestly most of us want some or all of that at the same time and our preferences can vary depending on the session.

And at my table I'm deeply appreciative, if the players convey their goals and expectations, though I can't guarantee to address all of them immediately.

Additionall, sometimes your character's arc is completed or the character isn't what you expected, and that's okay. I don't want you playing a character you don't enjoy. What I want is for you to come to the table and realize you are running a character in a game. That you are going to work with the other players to have an experience and either shape the story in the direction you want to go or be willing to follow another character doing the same thing.

Finally, every table isn't for everyone. I've had players who didn't care for my DMing style and we all parted amicably after communicating and trying, it just wasn't meant to be.

On Being A Game Master: Maxing Out

I've been lucky to be a part of three game groups over the last several years and I've been consistently running two games for most of that time. However, late last year the GM had to leave the one group I got to play in and I took over, essentially, by default. 

My plan was to stick with modules for all three groups and make the best of it. The best laid plans...

Three groups is difficult to run for me. Scratch that, it may be impossible for me to do. Part of it is something I'd already noticed about two games, when you get to the end of a session and your pumped up with motivation and ideas, you have a completely different game to prepare for and things get a bit fuzzy. Three games take that problem to the worst possible outcome for me.

I knew I had made a mistake almost immediately, but I didn't want to let anyone down (such a foolish notion). But within about three weeks, I was so burned out I nearly just stepped back from everything.

Thankfully, the one lesson I have truly learned in the last quarter century is to talk to your groups. I was able to hand the Thursday game off to a different GM and am finally starting to get things back on track.

It's good to try to organize things, but don't ever forget to be honest with yourself about your limitations and don't let your hobby turn into work.

On Being A Game Master: To OSR or to 5E or to Create Something New

My 15 year old son and my 12 year old daughter want to start a campaign with their friends and they want me to GM. 

My player's will be mostly new teens and I'm trying to figure out wether to start with Swords and Wizardry or Labyrinth Lord, DnD 5E, or some mash-up of my own devices (that might even include a Fate Accelerated adaption)?

I want the player to quickly make characters and not be bogged down, but I'm very unsure of the direction to go at this moment.

I'll keep you updated and any feedback is welcome, even if it's something completely different.

On Being a Game Master: Epic

For the second time this year, my players in a DnD 5E game I run, have hit 20th Level. I apologize for bragging, but this is only the second time this has happened in one of my games in over twenty-five years. 

Unlike my Monday game, where we moved on to Shadows of the Demon Lord (which we will be finishing up soon), my Friday game is going to continue. I'm looking at some options for running an Epic game, while also setting up adventures for all levels for the followers they have attracted. It will be kind of an Anthology Campaign, if everything works out.

It sounds pretty good. Of course, they have to finish the current arc first and destroy Azathoth in the Blind Eternities before it consumes Innistrad.

Wish them luck <E>

PS-Did I mention that they have pulled Larloch out of Ravenloft and sent Sorin, Nahiri, and St. Cuthbert into the Demiplane of Dread and Desire?

On Being A Game Master: Work Smarter Not Harder

As a Game Master, I can be very particular about the system I want to use. But upon reflection, I'm not sure that I'm making the best decisions. For instance, I've been reading over Monster of the Week, because I want to run a game that channels the Supernatural TV series and the Dresden Files novel series. But I find that I'm fighting myself because a large part of me would rather run FATE Accelerated with it. I've discovered that I often prefer to run toolkit games over games literally designed for the genre that I'm looking at.

Maybe it comes from Champions 4th Edition being my first game and picking up GURPS 3rd Edition because of it's Wild Cards supplement? Or maybe it's merely my penchant for being a game designer? When I was younger, I had the time to do all of the heavy lifting a toolkit system requires, but these days, not so much.

To give you an example, for years I've wanted to run a game inspired by Marvel Comic's Horror Heroes like Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Man-Wolf, etc. I've looked at games like HeroQuest or Basic Role Playing but never thought about using either the Storyteller, Storytelling Systems, or even Mutants and Masterminds. I can tell myself all kinds of reason why I shouldn't, but the truth is that all three systems  are tailor made for that kind of game and the tweaks they need are far less work than trying to build something from scratch.

I think, and I'm sad to admit this, I'm a snob when it comes to some systems. Sure, I might have my reasons for preferring one game over another, but I'm certain that taking the harder route has hampered running the type of game I really want. I mean, my Horror Heroes game has never gotten off of the ground and I think that's my stubbornness more than anything else. An the closest it ever came used Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition.

As much as I want to build games from scratch, the truth is that somebody often did that work for me and I need to look harder at their results.

On Being a Game Master: Bittersweet Ending

At the age of 43, I finally started a DnD (5th Edition) game at level 1 and finished it at level 20, I didn't abandon it, it didn't die on the vine, we completed it. No, they completed it, I was just there to give them a hard time.

I've known the ending was coming for weeks and honestly, I've been looking forward to it. My Monday group is great, but I've been running two DnD 5E games since November and part of me just wanted a break from a rule set that I've been playing for over three years. It's a fine rule set, at least tied with my favorite edition and just very well done for my tastes, but three years is a long time.

Well last night, as their group gathered in Waterdeep, all as high ranking members of the Lord's Alliance (and one vying for it's control) who had destroyed a Tarrasque and defeated three demon lords, the last act began. This session was about making up for one of their past sins: They had banished Fraz-Urb'luu to another world (they were only level 8 or 9) and he finally made his way back to Faerun, bloated with the souls of that world, which he'd destroyed to empower open his rift.

They defeated him with a Paladin's Vorpal sword and then they were given a chance to redeem themselves by Mystra: Go through the rift to that other world, back in time, and stop the demon lord.

Which is interesting because the game we begin next week is Shadow of the Demon Lord. I told the player's their characters would go through as new souls and have no memory of their other life (probably) or they could ignore the whole thing. It was their choice, but I kind of dug handling it this way.

But the hardest thing was saying goodbye (for now) to this game. It is much harder than I anticipated. You see, I am very lucky to have a great group and even more lucky they let me GM for them.

Thanks guys!

Here's a list of everyone who has been at my table in this game:
Ronnie (The Whole game as a Paldin)
Corrie (The Whole game as a Monk)
Ben
Kyle
David
Amber
Rick
Jake
Jason
Matt
Trent

On Being A Game Master: I Am Recovering From Gaming ADD

I just realized I've been Role Playing for 25 Years and I've been a Game Master for at least 23 of those. A Game Master, by thew way, with terrible Gaming ADD. It was always, "lets see how these rules work and then oh, let's see how these rules work." It began to affect my enjoyment of the hobby completely. I reached a point where I couldn't even decide WHAT game to run.

So I took a much needed sabbatical. But even when I came back, while I mostly focused on DnD 5th Edition, the games didn't necessarily last more than a few months, overall.

But I'm happy to report that I have one game that went from Levels 1 through 20 with DnD 5E one session away from being over and I'm running another DnD 5E game that just finished Princes of the Apocalypse and is now been hurled to Magic: the Gathering's Innistrad. My plan is to take this game to Level 20, as well.

If there is a secret, its great players, a better attitude toward gaming (I discovered no gaming was better than bad gaming, and in my case, shorter sessions. That's right, my average session is 2-3 hours.

If you feel overwhelmed with Gaming ADD, your not alone, take a break, take some time for yourself, figure out if you need a new group and just take it one session at a time.

On Being a Game Master: Endgame

I've been lucky for the last few years of having some stable, fun and relaxing gaming groups. My monday group, in particular has been great and we have finished a short Feng Shui 2E game, a Shadows of the Demon Lord playtest game, and after about 18 months we are close to finishing my DnD 5E game (I've never ran a DnD game from level 1 to 20 before). 

The characters just hit level 18 and are seeking the Grace of Mystra to gain a Wish spell to destroy the Tarrasque (in this case, Tarrasque is Draconic for Vorel, the dead brother of Tiamat and Bahumut). They have won Mystra's favor after rescuing Elminster from Avernus (though due it was the actions of a former member of the party that sent him there).

It's really cool seeing the players enjoy their high level abilities and I've spent about the last nine levels weaving in opponents who are essentially all the creatures I have ever wanted to use in a DnD campaign.

I'm guessing we will be done by August, at least I'll stop when they hit level 20 for a break from DnD 5E (I've basically been running and playing it for over three years now, though I'm running Princes of Apocalypse on Fridays).

It's very refreshing to finish games and I hope to continue the trend.

On Being A Game Master: The Cypher System and the Art of Improvisation

Every time I run one of Monte Cook Games using the Cypher System (Numenera, The Strange, Cypher System Rule Book) the whole experience just gets better and better.  

I'm an "off the cuff GM", I have loose plot lines and arcs at best, but my only goal is to shine the spotlight firmly on the players.  

The Cypher System, especially with the key point that the players roll all the dice, really allows me to focus my improvisational style and pump it into the game at 110%.  Its astonishing how much more focused I can be when I don't have to roll the dice for my NPCs.  Its AMAZING.

And while it took me a bit to grasp the brilliance of Intrusions, I find myself waiting for an appropriate moment to hand them out.  

But more than anything, its watching veteran and new players alike grasp the system and approach the game with a vigor and enthusiasm that makes me smile.

The game doesn't just inspire me, it helps me...provides me with the right to tools to help inspire them, as well.

Its AWESOME!

On Being A Game Master: The Cypher System

My history with the Cypher System has been filled with ups and downs.  But last night, while running a one shot, the ups reached pretty high.

Two of my players in my DnD 5E game couldn't make it, so I suggested to the other three players that

we do a one shot of Numenera using the phenomenal Weird Discoveries.

I made pre-gens and handed them out, with only two people there we proceeded to play and gave them an overview of the system.  We were about to begin when my third player showed up.  I gave a quick rundown and then printed out The Alexandrian's excellent Numenera System Cheat Sheet.

My third player, we'll call him Kurt, has been playing DnD with us for close to a year.  He faces some significant challenges dealing with speech, focus, and mood and is in his early twenties.  In his time playing DnD with us, he's very enthusiastic, a bit goofy, but still finds much of the D20 system's moving parts a bit of a mystery.

However, last night, within a few minutes of my brief overview and looking over the Cheat Sheet, he was off and running.  Filled with ideas, questions, and vivid actions.

I was astonished.

You see, this would be my fourth time running Numenera and the first two times were...unexpectedly rough.  Sadly, I went into those games with some biases from my experience in running games and mades some changes, like increasing Effort and starting at Tier 3, that combined with my inability to articulate the system, that left me cold on the game.

However, after having some great discussion with two kind and generous Cypher GM's, I came away convinced to run the game as written and trust my players to handle it.  

And boy has that worked out.

Kurt is a very kind and well meaning person and he picked up this game in a matter of heartbeats and before my very eyes became an enthusiastic and active keystone in the game.  He went from offering an occasional one-liner to a driving force in the game.  

And it had nothing to do with me.

Thank you Monte Cook Games.  Thank you for these tools.

On Being a Gamemaster: GM's Day and Remembering Gary

I wish I was enjoying today more, but a nasty sinus infection came upon me yesterday and I'm lucky to still have my voice.

If I was feeling better, I'd consider setting up a one-shot for my kids tonight, but we'll probably just watch Survivor.

While I've grown to appreciate Mr. Gygax's genius, it was a few years into my gaming career that I really was exposed to his work.  When  I started we were playing ADnD 2E and most of the Gygaxianisms had been washed away.  In fact, the vast majority of our group hadn't played ADnD 1E and Todd, our DM, wasn't even keen on us looking at those books.

So, my first real introduction to him was, unfortunately, Dangerous Journeys.

I can't say too much about DJ, we only tried playing it once and I'm sure a longer attempt would have been more enjoyable.  But, overall it didn't shine well enough for me to pick it up (though I was a college student with little money) and that one attempt left a huge bad taste in the group's mouth.

Mythus, however, was a different story.  For me, a setting based on Earth with fantastic elements was pretty new and I loved that its "underdark" was a reflection of the Earth's exterior.  I truly lament never picking up that setting or the Necropolis book Necromancer Games published for 3.X.

I was, thankfully, smart enough to pick up the Castle Zagyg book the Trolls published, and while I haven't looked at it in a few years, it rests with a place on honor on my shelf.

Recently, I've been picking up many of the classic modules Gary wrote and have a much better appreciation for them than I would have a few years ago.  Thank you DnDClassics.com

Cheers to you Gary!

And Cheers to all Game Masters out there!!

On Being A Game Master: My Realms

I've found myself, at times, being being overly critical about the direction Wizards of the Coast has taken with the Forgotten Realms.

Even during the announcement of Princes of Apocalypse, a part of me felt that the Temple of Elemental Evil and any form of sequel should be set in Greyhawk.

But, I'm starting to have a change of heart.  You see, the current 5E game I'm running is very player driven and essentially a sandbox.  It started out set in the Dalelands, Derbydale (my own creation) to be exact.  The players could have moved on to the Keep on the Borderlands (of Sembia, Cormyr, and the Dalelands) or north to Phlan.

The players chose Phlan and I ran one of the DnD Adventurer's League adventures set there.  Currently the players are north east of Phlan in a dwarven mining post named Shadowrock (my own creation), and I'm thoroughly enjoying cobbling together inspiration from everywhere and creating my own Forgotten Realms.  I understand the popularity of metaplot and even enjoy the current slate of Realms' novels, but the point of all of this source material and, especially, adventures is for us to tell our own stories with them.

And I think its easy to lose track of that.  I know I did.

Sure, the Silver Marches might currently be dealing with the Darkening in Bob Salvatore's novels and the Cult of the Dragon is trying to raise Tiamat in the table top RPG  and MMORPG, and maybe I'll reference that.  Or maybe I won't.

But meanwhile I have five editions of DnD to draw material from and numerous third party products. And while Elminster and Drizzt are there stomping around, my game is about the growing legends of my players.  Maybe they might cross path someday.  Maybe.

My point is, I'll probably do something with Princes of the Apocalypse (I'm writing up material about it, after all).  And I might even run the Temple of Elemental Evil in a similar span of time.  And maybe it will be set on the Moonsea or maybe it will be in Greyhawk or even outside the city of Jarlsburg.

That's the beauty of this hobby, its up to each group and is all designed simply to be played.

On Being a Game Master: Gamer A.D.D.

Through most of my time in this hobby, I've suffered heavily from Gamer Attention Deficit Disorder or "I can't pick a game and stick with it".  Back in the day, my group called me Nolan Ryan, because I always had a pitch (for a new game) ready.  It is a real problem (at the gaming table).

You might have noticed that the subtitle of this blog has been "or how I learned to love DnD".  That was as much devoting myself (mostly) to a single system.  And lately it's been hard.

I've been running DnD (Next, Pathfinder, 13th Age) for well over a year and I'm not sure a break isn't forthcoming.  But the problem is that I've begun to look at another game to run, that old A.D.D. has reared it's ugly head.

I spent last week looking at BareBones Fantasy, Rotted Capes, Conspiracy X, BRP, and Adventurer, Conqueror, King. 

I tend to be a system guy first and a setting guy second.  The way I overcame the A.D.D. was to focus on the setting, but in looking at each of those games, I made the old mistake of prioritizing system and the old itch came back.  Hard. 

I think I've stepped back enough to force it down, but obviously it's a problem that doesn't go away forever.  While I love learning new games, I enjoy the hobby more when I don't have the stress that the A.D.D. brings with it.  I'd much rather be content with one game than trying to juggle how to persuade a group to change games on a weekly basis (yeah, it's been that bad before).

The key, for me is simply stop worrying about the "system experience" and just start rolling characters and having fun.  A good solution to most problems, really.

On Being a Game Master: Letting it Roll

A few weeks ago, I posted about feeling like I ran a very poor session of Dragon Age for John W.'s group.

I'm happy to report that, while it took several weeks for, the next session (our third), I felt it went much, much better.

Stranded in the Fade, I had a book that Nathan's character find simply be used to conjure the rest of the party.

Then the players began to experiment with the Fade and shaping it.  Seemed fair enough.

Next was their encounter with Battle Beasts allied with K-Thu-Lu.  Why not?

I was surprised that Matt W.'s character decide to take K-Thu-Lu's shape.  Yes.  Yes, he did.

Two characters died horrible deaths in the ensuing firestorm, but they decided to make Battle Beasts for the next session.  So, I think it went pretty well.

Something I did a little differently was that I embraced my gonzo.

Most of my sessions have at least a dollop for good measure, but I just let it roll.  And I let the player's drive it.

They did good.

See you on the flip side!

Matt W. wants to be this guy.

Dave wants to be this guy.

On Being a Game Master: Getting it out of my head...

Tonight was essentially a disaster for me as GM.  Everything was off and very little went right.  I haven't felt like this in years.  

But I'm posting about it to get it out of my head.  

I won't lie, I think of myself as a pretty good Game Master.  I like action, I like letting the players take the spotlight, I like seeing them succeed.  I like all of us laughing and having fun.

But tonight wasn't good.

Last week's session was my first running Dragon Age for the Friday Group and it wasn't my strongest.  But I chalked it up to seeing a player off as he headed to Naval Basic Training.  And we had a huge number of people at the table.  But it was off.  I won't lie to myself about it this week, like I did this past week.

Tonight everything just flew apart.  I tried getting some of it back in line, but I simply succeeded in splitting the party up in four separate directions.

I've had two other spectacularly terrible sessions as a GM.

The first was at a small Con an old friend put on for all us.  I was still a student and had gotten in trouble with my parents and I shat forth a terrible session.  I was voted worst GM at the Con.  Worst.  G.  M.

You know I think I had actually blocked that?  I think I had buried that one very, very deep.

The second was stranger.  In many ways it was the night I found my voice as a GM.  I ran a high octane and slightly gonzo game of Mekton Z that I thought was awesome.  I had a blast.  I thought my players had a blast.  All of us were laughing.  But of the two players, one apparently hated it and when I arrived for the next week's session at his house, he informed me I wouldn't be continuing, that he hated my Mekton Z adventure more than what I'd run at the Con.  You know where I was literally the worst GM?  That one.

Both times hurt to hear.  This time does too.  But it's me who's saying I sucked, now.

I apologize for sounding like a smug prick, but it will get better.  I'll do better and my players will help me do better.

Now back to the party being split.  I'll figure it out.  Or the players will help me figure out.  It will get better and I'll still aim for great campaign.  I wanted to push myself with this game, after all.  But pushing yourself hurts.  I firmly believe this is merely growing pains.  I believe that because I'm pissed at myself and I'll fix this.

On Being a Gamemaster: Player Bickering

Last Friday, I played in John W.'s amazing Kansas City by Gaslight (powered by the Iron Kingdom RPG).  John's group has been playing together for several years.  They're an imaginative sort and have lots and lots of ideas.  He normally runs with no less than 8 players.

Part of the reason I don't play every week is that I know how tough it is to manage that many players.  But his game is so awesome that it's hard for me to sit out for too long.

His group, like so many, sometimes need some organization and I took that role upon myself about half way into the session.  I asked if anyone minded and no one seemed to.

As we were about to hit a complex combat that involved storming a heavily armed house and trying not to get potential hostages killed, I became the de facto field commander.

As an aside, one of the players, a teenager I'll call Brody often "wanders off" in an encounter.  Its not cowardice or poor planning, he just views his role in a battle...differently, I don't think he sees the need for teamwork and places his survival high on the list of goals.  Its not a bad choice, but with so many players, encounters can be very dangerous and John W. is a very SMART GM.

John W. is the type of GM who lets you earn great rewards after overcoming greater risks.  In my experiences he understands the player's resources and challenges them to use them.  So as a group, we were keen on utilizing all of our resources to not only survive the battle but free the hostages with no harm done to them.

As Brody's turn came up, I explained that another player with a lower initiative had a "knock out bomb" and he needed to hold his action and not go into the room to attack so the bomb didn't affect him, as well.  He not only didn't hold his action, but the way he answered me when I questioned him about it felt like he was disrespecting me.

Later, as we moved to the second level, instead of joining us he decided to aid a fallen player who was in no real danger.

Now, I sharply chastised him for this decision and then foolishly wounded an innocent, due to brash (fueled by my frustration) decision making.  (Thankfully, John W. allowed me to use a Feat point to change that I hit the victim with the "flat of blade".

However, we were victorious.  But I was pissed.  I moved away from the table as we broke for the night, not out of anger toward Brody now, but at myself.  My emotions were causing conflict at the table.  What's worse, the person I was conflicted with was a 17 year old kid.  Even if he was "disrespectful" to me, what would my "righteousness" achieve?  I'm 40, its my job to show maturity and lead by example.  Not argue with people about the "right way to play".

I quietly waited apart from the others and calmed myself down and then Brody approached me.  We communicated about what happened and I apologized for my behavior.  I calmly explained that in a fight, John W. accounted for all of our resources and I need his in that fight.  I explained my point of view and honestly explained that I got defensive because I felt he disrespected me.  He explained that wasn't his intention at all and we both learned something about each other that night.

Mostly though, I remembered that a game, a mission, or a PC isn't worth battling a player, who I should be using positive messages to share from my longer experience as a gamer.  And it's ok if he's got different ideas.  The worst that would have happened is that my character died.

I also took some moments to explain that my role as an organizer wasn't an attempt to "be the boss" and was happy to find out that the whole group didn't mind my tactical input.

On Being a Game Master: Sometimes you need a break

Most of my history as a gamer and game master  was spent with essentially one group for almost 16 years.  But eventually, I needed a brake, and went on sabbatical for nearly 3 years.  In that 3 years, I probably played 6 sessions and didn't run a game at all.  I reached a point where I didn't miss role playing and the time away allowed me to appreciate my recent return to gaming a great deal more.

My growth as a gamer came largely due to 3 things: the sabbatical itself, the maturity of my own expectations from gaming and the exploration of the OSR.

The sabbatical wasn't completely my decision but rather a reaction to many, many years of one drama after another.  It was the best thing that happened to me, and helped me face a fear that had been gnawing at me.  For years I wondered what I would do if I didn't have a gaming group and didn't get to game.  It made me make negative decisions and associate with people who had a negative effect on me.

However, the time off let me realize that life went on and I even found some new hobbies, notably a great love for the NFL.  It especially gave me more time with my family and helped me reaffirm what was most important to me.

I had assumed I would return to gaming if my kids showed an interest but life some times throws unexpected turns at you.  Though, I'm a manager at a Comics & Games store, I hadn't run games at the store for over a decade and hadn't played due to lack of interest on my own part.  Yes, that's right, a few months into my sabbatical I turned down invitations to game, it just wasn't the right time for my return.  I actually savored the break from it.

The right time finally came in january of this year.  I tentatively stepped back into role playing as a player and within a few months started this blog and began running 3 games a week.  2 of my kids are even players.

My Maturity was the revelation that I was at least 50% of any conflict within my old gaming group that and the ensuing drama that followed. It was a sobering fact, that regardless of my intentions in those situations, the result was unhealthy for me and them.  I'm not saying that I never saw my faults or realized my mistakes, but the truth that a hobby should be fun became clearer the longer I was away from it.  I could justify my decisions that led to the conflicts, but it didn't make the problem less real or take a way my own personal responsibility.

This was compounded by the realization that even though I thought the people in my gaming group were my friends, many were in fact, merely acquaintances.  Many of our conflicts were rooted in this misunderstanding on my part.  I won't lie, the ideal situation is for me to game with my friends, but I better understand that some people just want to role play and who they play with is mostly unimportant to them.

I will say that it was very, very hard discovering that if I wasn't a part of a gaming group with them, people I'd spent my weekends with for close to 16 years had no interest in returning an e-mail or phone call.  I learned that my "friendship" with them was an assumption I had made and it wasn't appropriate to the reality of the situation. While it did hurt my feelings, I understand the situation, and hold no hard feelings to them.  I have focused on being better aware of who it is I role play with and what their expectations are.

My Exploration of the OSR allowed me to focus on one aspect of gaming (even if it is spread over may variations of the same game).  It allowed me to accept that no one will run DnD like I do and that was OK.  It also allowed me to realize that I could channel my interest in game design into building adventures and challenges into one game without having to design it from the ground up.  World design and Adventure design began to take priority over mechanical design and my "quest for the perfect system".

Swords and Wizardry, in particular, helped me clarify what I was looking for in DnD.  While, it's not my game of choice, it holds a special place in my heart.

Something to understand is that I had rarely played DnD before this.  Wether it was ADnD 2E, DnD Rules Cylcopedia, or DnD 3.X.  I had never found any of their "systems" satisfying and always overlooked their core tenant:  have fun, make stuff up, play the game.  I had spent quite a bit of time with 4E and like much of it, but I simply had no history of gaming with a grid and don't really care for it.  It's just not the way I prefer to run or play games.

So the OSR's revelations about DnD and where it came from and what it could do was like a light being turned on inside me.  It was the only area of gaming I got real excitement from.  I think the grass roots focus was part of it's inspiration.  DnD belonged to all of us, but none of us owned it.  If I had played DnD when I was 11, I think that's how it would have felt.

While I'm glad to be back, I keep in mind that fear and misunderstands have no place at my table or in my hobby.  I understand that many things might come up and a break might come with any of them.  Until then I've learned to savor the time I have and just enjoy the game.  And I hope all of you get to do that too.

On being a Game Master: 100th Post!

So, in the last 30 days I've run 14 game sessions and I won't lie, I'm very tired.  But in a good way...mostly.

I will say however, that even after 20 years of GMing I still get butterflies before each session.  It's not as bad as it was, say 5 years ago, but I have to fight the urge to dominate the evening with small talk or just play a board game.  Essentially, I still have stage fright after 20 years!

I've begun to look at that anxiety as a strength, however.  It reminds me that this game...this shared story...is something important to me and something I share with my players.  It's my responsibility to the session and the players all that I have as a GM, every session.  To strive to be better...to be the best GM, I can be.

You see, I took the stage as a GM, 20 years ago, because I honestly thought I could do it better.  I don't mean to sound harsh, but in my first gaming group we had one overworked and underslept GM who did his best, but who's style seemed to be focused on beating us down.  Hard.  Now, I've grown to understand that he felt that the only way to savor victory was to earn it the hard way, trudging knee deep in a river of defeat and "no, you can't do that."

However, I had grown up reading comics and enjoying action blockbusters and to me, being a hero was about valiant deeds and defeating armies and carving your character's name upon the world.  It wasn't about getting help from NPC's or not having the right magic weapon or not being high enough level.  And since I'd played Champions 4E before AD&D 2E my vocabulary was dominated by "Sure, you can do that, let's build it."


Now, was he wrong?  Nope.


As an aside, I'm sure part of this is because the only "fantasy" I'd read was Thomas and Buscema's Conan the Barbarian, Thomas and Colon's Arak, Son of Thunder, and Mike Grell's The Walord.  I had no experience with Burroughs, Howard, Tolkien or Moorcock.  Yet.

And I appreciate his games far more today than I did then, but I'm still not that kind of GM.  Yes, there are things I need to be prepared to say "no" to, but I feel like a failure if I make a player's goals and ambitions secondary to the rules. To me, my role at the table is to provide stimulus for the player's imaginations and a fuel to make that imagination burn brighter and hotter.  There is very little in the world to me like that moment when you and your group are all plugged into the same mindscape that you've painted for their mind's eyes.  Sure, those moments may be few and far between, but they define me as a GM.  They are what I strive for.  In fact, they are why I have so much problem using minis and DnD 4E, in particular.  Minis and the grid  pull me out of immersion immediately.

And let me clarify, I can have a great time simply playing with my friends and not let immersion even be a factor.  But when I'm a GM, it's what I live for.  Last week, when Draco's player came to me and was so connected to his character and had such a strong story arc in mind, it was like Christmas morning coming early.  Those are the moments that make me fight through my butterflies.  They're the reason I say "yes", so much.

I can't thank my players enough because I wouldn't have a game...or 3 of them, without them.

It's almost ludicrous that six months ago, I hadn't played more than 2 times a year in close to 4 years.  And hadn't run a game even longer.

I'd also like to take a moment to complement John Wolfe, a player in the Gatherers (Jacob the Rooster) and the mastermind behind a group that meets in my store every friday for several years, now.  I deeply admire his ability to mentor and nurture his players in a way that has amazed me.  He molded disparate strangers into a very healthy, very happy gaming group and has the courage to let it mold itself, something I, as a recovering control freak, deeply admire even though it scares the hell out of me.  His group loves him and he's earned that love 1000 times over.  Oh, and he's a damn fine GM, by the way.

And finally, this is my 100th post.  I'm very happy to see my followers grow and can't begin to tell you how much you mean to me.  Thank you for reading about my journeys.

And if you have any thoughts or questions about GameMastering, please feel free to post them!