New GM - help needed

[austinmonster]

I've been waiting to get my books for two weeks, and now that they currently resonate in my hot little hands, I'm planning on running a game!

The catch - I've never really done this before.

I'm anticipating running into a lot of resistance from the FATE system, and i'm ready to roll with that, but what I need all of your advice with, is how DO you run a game?

I mean, I've read the chapters on running the game, I've tried my hand at it a few times in the past (which ended so-so).  What I want to know, is what things have helped you all in the past?  What tricks did you use to make things run smoothly?  What wisdom have you uncovered as a GM that you wish you knew when you started running?

I come before you prostrate (without a black bag on my head, thank you) seeking your wisdom and sage-like advice.

PS - the posts over at http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,17305.0.html  and http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=517766&page=2 seem immensely useful.

[Deadmanwalking]

For me, I think the key has always been the following principles:

When the players ask for something reasonable, give it to them (whether that's someone asking if they can do a particular Maneuver, or an arms dealer asking if they can get an SMG). Not necessarily without strings attached, mind you, but give it to them nonetheless. If that screws up your current plot, adapt the plot. This inludes them pursuing lines of investigation you didn't expect (which should be seen as a request for information).

When the players ask for something unreasonable, laugh, and tell them no. Stick to it.

When you are in doubt about whether something asked for is reasonable, think about it for a moment, but err on the side of reasonable but with a whole lot of strings attached.


Try to have logical reasons for everything that occurs. That way when players complain it's not fair, you can explain why it happened, and they'll likely be less upset.


Remember that the villains make plans, and should be reasonably competent at carrying them out and be prepared for a certain degree of opposition, but that they aren't omniscient. In other words, when the PCs do something predictable, the villains should likely have plans in place to deal with it, but when they do something surprising, let the villains be surprised.




And finally one specifically for FATE: Whenever a PC gets screwed over by circumstance, they should get a Fate Point. This is a large part of what Compels are for, and it makes the PCs feel a lot less bad about being screwed over for the sake of the plot.

[CMEast]

Try some of these articles - http://www.gnomestew.com/top-30-game-mastering-articles

Also if you want to run a long campaign, come up with a few 'mini' adventures that can be run in a single session. That way if a player hasn't been able to make it, or if the party goes in the wrong direction, you can give them a satisfying adventure without affecting the main campaign or forcing them to behave in a certain way.

For instance, a they could discover a werewolf mugger red-handed as they travel through the city, or a party member gets taken down to the station and the others have to bail him out etc.

Also, nice advice from DMW there.

[Ravangames]

Try to be thematic.... Try to be as descriptive as possible when describing the scene and the situation...

I like to plot out 2-3 different story lines and toss out a hooks to see which one the PCs are interested in ...

Flesh out major NPCs to make them more hated by the PCs... 

Personally, I like to try to setup the scene and then ask what the PCs are doing and move on from what they want.  Sometimes I have NPCs villians act out their plans on a time line if the PCs are not doing anything to interfere.

DMW has a lot of good points.

#1 Rule, make it fun for all parties.

[dannylilly2000]

I find looking at the characters aspects and connecting them to why they care for the plot I'm putting in front of them to be the most useful.  I don't immediately point it out to the players, but having it in my pocket helps me move the story along and makes it easier to roll with curveballs the players are throwing my way. 

DMW's first two points are my favorites and I use both.

Also be liberal with the compels, it makes the story fun and gives the players much needed resources.

[Saedar]

For games that I run, I like wrapping a lot of intrigue and deviousness and moral dilemmas. My players seem to dig on that kind of thing but some people don't. Find out the kinds of stories your players like and see if you can find a common thread.

[austinmonster]

For games that I run, I like wrapping a lot of intrigue and deviousness and moral dilemmas. My players seem to dig on that kind of thing but some people don't. Find out the kinds of stories your players like and see if you can find a common thread.

I love this sort of game, and I know many of my players would as well.  The problem is, I'm just not sure that I have the sort of skill to be able to weave that stuff in on the fly.  I mean, for one character, maybe; but for a whole party?  unlikely.

I'm pretty sure I won't have a problem saying "no" to these guys.  I've seen them take reasonable requests and turn them into good old fashion clusterf#$*s.

I've already done a little bit of work on the city of Seattle (nothing major, just potential threats and the like)   I'm thinking about one plotline centering around "manny" the king of the hobos.  In reality, he's possessed by a ant-spirit (mandible) and the local homeless community has taken on a sort of subconscious hive-mind.  That's just one idea though.

[Dreamofpeace]

Here's just a few random thoughts:

(1) Ask your players in advance what they'd like to see in the next session: more action-oriented, more mystery/investigation, etc.  If they don't have a strong preference then just do what'll be most fun for you.  Make sure whatever it is that you'll enjoy it as well. 

(2) Realize that the players will do things that you haven't anticipated and haven't planned for, especially with a system like FATE where players can add story elements on the fly. So plan to roll with this rather than forcing everyone onto a specific track. Plan an event/encounter or two that you can throw in anytime to keep things interesting (the old, "if you don't know what to do, have two guys with guns burst into the room and start shooting").

(3) To make combat more interesting, have it take place in an interesting location or terrain, where people can make use of the surroundings in multiple ways. Secondly, have a secondary objective. For example, the bad guys are after a child that you have to protect in the middle of combat, or escape with in a chase; one of the thirty pieces of silver is in a box which a baddie is trying to escape with, while minions are trying to keep the PCs from reaching him; a bomb is ticking down and the PCs have to reach it in time to prevent innocents from being killed, but the baddies are trying to delay the heroes, etc. 

(4) Try to have a sufficient variety of scenes so that each player feels their character has been useful or had a chance to contribute something worthwhile. 

[Nomad]

On the mechanichal side, try to get a few practical yet not common things ready before the game,
An A4 or A3 listing the stats / skills / conditions of you pcs arranged in side by side columns. Preferably in a plastic jacket so you can magic marker it.
Copies of Players' sheets and some reference cards for your important NPCs (for the session)
A GM's handbook or screen where you can easyly access rules and the like
A big, plastic covered sheet to draw maps and the like on the fly
Some props to represent positions in combat


If you want to go all the way, try getting a plastic covered city map of decent resolution. It really feels good.

[TheMouse]

I try to be as lazy as possible. There's a lovely post over at rpg.net that sums up how to do this very well:

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=517294

[DesertCoyote]

and now that they currently resonate in my hot little hands, I'm planning on running a game!

Lucky *******.

* DesertCoyote checks to see if his order has shipped yet.

****!

I mean, I've read the chapters on running the game, I've tried my hand at it a few times in the past (which ended so-so).  What I want to know, is what things have helped you all in the past?  What tricks did you use to make things run smoothly?  What wisdom have you uncovered as a GM that you wish you knew when you started running?

No matter what I do, my players always end up taking the story in an unexpected, but plausible direction.  When this happens, generally they aren't asking me stuff and are talking amongst themselves.  I use these points to think up a plausible way to get the story back on track (I hate forcing things).  Pretty much any time the story has gone in an unplanned direction, stop talking to the players and listen to what they're telling each other and build ideas/scenes from that.  I don't know about your players, but mine are usually good to sit and chit chat with one another about the story for 5-10 minutes without any input from me.

[Mindflayer94]

I definitely concur with my predecessors as to the "Say Yes" rule, because it gives the players a stronger sense that they are in control of their own game, and adds more drama. I usually start my games with a point of high action, for example in the adventure I'm running next, the PCs are immediately attacked by a bunch of ectoplasmic entities created by a powerful dark wizard. Finally I like to list a bunch of elements I want to use in the arc I'm about to start, and find relationships, then build adventures around those relationships.

Example: For this arc I want to introduce the players (most of whom are new to the Dresden Files) to the world, so I want to include many of the larger elements, both: monsters like the fallen, vampires, and the fae, and conflicts like the war with the reds, and the lack of white council control in our city. So the elements I choose are:

• vampires
• wizards
• fae
• demons
• angels
• knights of the cross
• mob
• outsiders

Then I relate them to each other, and use those to create adventures (at this point I make tentative titles as well)

Perfect Storm

• Wizards
• Vampires

Cold Snap

• Fae
• Mob

Storm's Eye

• Angels
• Demons
• Knights of the Cross
• Outsiders

Finally, I make it into a flow chart, to show how the adventure comes together. So that's how I do things, I hope it helps.

[CableRouter]

I've been waiting to get my books for two weeks, and now that they currently resonate in my hot little hands, I'm planning on running a game!

The catch - I've never really done this before.

I'm anticipating running into a lot of resistance from the FATE system, and i'm ready to roll with that, but what I need all of your advice with, is how DO you run a game?

Don't over prepare, rules heavy games tend to encourage this behavior because everything needs stats, dynamic encounter areas, ect.  Give the bad guys a plan and break it up into several separate stages.  For example: 1) Big Evil Bad Guy's minions steal a magic mcguffin for the evil ritual.  2) BEBG makes a deal with some critters for protection during said ritual. 3) BEBG prepares his sacrificial victims. 4) BEBG gets everything in place and casts the ritual.  Then look at each stage and see what the BEBG would do if one of those stages fails, just flesh out a bit of a backup plan.  At that point, just draw the players into the plot and let them cause whatever chaos they're going to.  You know what the opposition will do if a part of the plan fails, if the players don't stop them, they just carry on.  No matter what avenue the players pursue, let them have their fun and it to draw them closer to the plan.  In the example above, they might find out from one of the minions that the boss is getting some heavy hitters to watch him over the next couple of days.  If the players stop the BEBG from hiring the critters, he goes to plan B, if not; well, at least the players should have a little time to research and prepare to fight whatever they are.  No matter what happens, they know they tried and either way, they should feel better about the outcome because of advance knowledge or knowing they are facing the backup team.

About the only set piece fight I'd bother putting more than a couple of minutes work into would be the initial scene and the finale, where the players show up at the last minute to stop the ritual and save the day.  Too much work on other scenes is likely to be wasted as players find an alternate way through a particular encounter or a way to skip it entirely.  Avoid investing too much of your time in these middle scenes and you'll reduce your temptation to railroad your players into them as a "reward" for your hard work.

[Archmage_Cowl]

This might seem odd to say but if there is one thing i've learned from being a gm it's this...

Think Like A Bad Guy

That is majorly helpful to do because, in possibly the truest sense of the word, you are "playing" the bad guy's. Honestly i consider the gm to be one of the players because they have to act as the bad guys in nearly all situations, and thus are a player in and of themselves.

That being said dont take it to far. If your bad guy is always a genius and perfect planner and prepares for everything they loose a sense of truth to them and become boring or worse annoying. So another tip on the bad guy note is to very the bad guys greatly. Also its fun to make once allies (or even life long friends) into bad guys because it's so much more emotional when it happens.

On a game note, it is smart at the begining to get a few words from each player about where they want to go with their character. It's their character and they will have a much more fun game if you start off catering to some of there likes and dislikes. Also dont take this the wrong way but dont plan to much (seriously though planning is good just not to much) because there is always a chance they will throw your well planned schemes to the side and do their own thing. Which is kinda awesome in its own way.

Welp thats all i can think of right now. And of course Just remember the basics as well Be Fair, Have Fun, and When In Doubt Ask if you do those your game will be a success.

[Crion]

Most of the good points have already been mentioned, but to reiterate and twist things around:

My personal preference is to toss some hooks out and go from there. I tend to write down themes/concepts (outside of those of the city/locations) and have it on tap, just in case. You would not believe how many times my "well prepared" game was tossed to the wayside (and believe you me, throwing out eight pages of notes is NEVER fun) and I would need something on the fly. Therefore, I just pull from my theme list.

For example, my current list has "Newb Wardens Over Their Heads" somewhere on it. A simple theme when you consider it, but it could be enough to pull party members in, especially if you tie it with "Blampire Scourge Causing Kidnappings" or "Red Court Drug Cartel." Suddenly you take two things that you just have noted and have a game session, or even a novella worth of a story.

It may not work for you, but always have a Plan B (or up to Plan Q) just in case the players throw a curveball in your well thought out plans.


Beyond that, there is one other word of advice: remember that you aren't the only one at the table. See what the party wants to see, find out what they enjoy, and work with that. If you railroad the players into only what you want, it could get boring and bland. Let them act out their roles, their complications, and see where it goes. If they want to be railroaded, have your options ready, a story in place, and give it to them. Work with your players enough to make things enjoyable on all sides, but work against them enough to make the games memorable.

I think I'll stop rambling and get more coffee as to be a bit more coherent for the next round of posts ^^;