Suggestions for a NOOB

[Kalibarr]

Hi folks

I just recently was exposed to the Star Wars d6 universe. I have never played any dice roleplaying games before, but am a casual fan of the movies and enjoyed my first session playing the game with some laid back friends.

But now I want to try running a game myself. I have gone through the Star Wars 2nd Edition Revised Edition (whatever it's called) and have some basic grasp of how the game works. And I have planned out my storyline well enough that I should be able to run it if the characters follow the path I set out.

The thing I am worried about though - is that I really don't know enough about the Star Wars Universe to "make it up" if the characters diverge from my storyline. So my question is - in your experience - is it ok to have a fairly linear storyline that the characters pretty much have to follow? And if so - any tips on how to make it look more open-ended then it is? Or - if I don't know enough to be able to handle "twists" very well - does that mean I am not ready to GM?

Thanks

PS - my storyline is basically - characters are attacked by a bounty hunter (mistakenly) - they kill the bounty hunter - jabba the hutt has them brought in (because they killed one of his bounty hunters) and tells them they now have to fulfill the bounty on the person the dead bounty hunter confused them as - this takes them to Hoth where the target has brought some supplies to an archaelogical dig outpost looking for some ancient city - when the characters get there, they are attacked from above by Imperials who are investigating this "non-sanctioned" dig, and below they find that the dig mistakenly broke into a wampa cave so the site is infested with wampas - after some imperial vs wampa vs characters fighting - the finale comes with the characters finding the dead target (have to take his hand back to jabba) and fighting a "boss" of an Icecor (my own creation - think of a smaller rancor with white fur)

[PsiberDragon]

Welcome to the game.

My couple of suggestions: (for pretty much any person starting DM'ing)

1) Keep your group small - 3-4 players aside from yourself.
2) Know the basic rules, and tell your players that you're going to make mistakes, so be patient.
3) Know where you want your players to go, but don't make it seem like you're forcing them that direction.
4) Don't let your players run ragged over you, and by extension, don't play favorites.
5) Have fun. It's a game.


That being said, I'd say that if you feel you can handle running the game, then you're ready. If, after the first game you feel like you can't, then see if someone else is willing to run it while you get more experience playing - there's no shame in admitting you're not ready. Better that than continue with a bad game, in my opinion.

As for how to get it to feel more open ended and/or avoid the player's "twists"... think like a player. What would they do if confronted with (whatever)? There's what you WANT them to do, and generally what they're going to do ANYWAY. I generally have a rough idea for any eventuality that comes up. NOTE: This is not a completely planned out thought... just more along the lines of "well, if they try to do 'x', then I'll need to do 'y' to get them back on course..."

Your storyline sounds pretty good... sounds like a game that I might want to play in, myself.

Hope this helps a bit... I'm a bit rusty and have retired from running games, myself... but, like many people on here, I've got 20+ years of playing and/or GM'ing... so, if we can help, just say the word...

Oh... and watch out for Fluffy...
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"Love like you will die tomorrow. Hate like you will live forever." - Unknown

[Kalibarr]

Cool - thanks! I will give it a try and see how it goes. I think there will only be two players + me so hopefully I can keep them under control

Fluffy? Is that a term for Wampas that I'm not aware of? Ora suggestion for the name of my furry rancor hehe?

[PsiberDragon]

Nah... Fluffy is the Rancor.

From what I understand, Fluffy is a pretty common rancor name... like Robert in English Societies.

Someone even said something one time about him being a Jedi, but I'm not quite sure I believe that...
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"Love like you will die tomorrow. Hate like you will live forever." - Unknown

[Gry Sarth]

Fluffy's the real Chosen One. Forget about all this Skywalker nonsense...


An, Kalibarr, it seems to me you're pretty much ready to GM. I like your storyline very much. It might be straightforward, but not in an obvious fashion. There are many fifferent things happening, which is good for a colorful adventure.

Players usually have to be somewhat "railroaded" if you want the adventure to follow your plans. The secret is making this a natural reilroading, not a GM's imposition. You just have to take care that the path you want them to follow is the obvious, logical, better and sometimes, only path. As Dragon said, think as a player. Imagine what unwanted alternatives they might think of for a given obstacle and make sure these alternatives are not viable. Say, they decide they don't want to go bounty hunting for Jabba and want to attack him instead. You just have to make a good preemptive show of force by Jabba's goons to discourage such a course of action, or something like that. Make it clear for them that fighting their way out of this is NOT an option. This way THEY will decide to do Jabba's bidding, you won't be imposing it on them. Technically......
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"He's Gry Sarth, of course he has the stats for them."

[Kalibarr]

Thanks Gry. That makes sense to me. I basically need to tailor my scene description to try to clue the players in to what they should try and what they shouldn't. And - if they try to attack Jabba and get wasted - they can't say I didn't warn them right?

I guess my problem is, as I read these forums and so on, there seem to be alot of complexities to how most of you play the game. So many modifiers, so many things that adjust/affect die rolls. I am a bit worried that my players will run into situations and I just won't know what to do. I will have the Star Wars 2nd Edition Revised sitting with me - I guess it's ok to flip through that if I need some help on how to handle something?

Also - do you recommend having players roll against preset number difficulties - or to roll against opposed rolls that I make for NPC's?

[Gry Sarth]

When you're starting to use a system, it's ok and expected to flip through the Rulebook a lot during gaming. However, if you're in the middle of an exciting scene and don't want to let the excitement die by opening the book, just use the Rule of Thumb, it really does work: Look at the task at hand, assign a difficulty, have the players roll against it. If it's easy, say 7, if it's very difficult, say 27.

As for rolling against a difficulty or making opposed rolls, that depends on the situation. If it's a confrontational action (blaster/dodge, bargain, brawling/parry, con, etc) make opposed rolls, if it's an internal action or one against the environment (pretty much all Knowledge rolls, running, jumping, piloting, etc) then it's against a set difficulty.
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"He's Gry Sarth, of course he has the stats for them."

[Jedi Skyler]

The biggest thing you're going to need to remember is that players NEVER go where you want them to. NEVER.

Oh sure, they might eventually reach the final destination you had planned for them, but they are ALWAYS going to find some alternative that you hadn't considered or planned for.

Knowing this, you as the GM need to be FLEXIBLE. Don't take it personally, because if I personally were running a game where the players simply went wherever I led them, I'd think they were all on Prozac. Players who take you here and there, outside the lines you've so carefully drawn, are creative players. They're ingenious. They're also a load of fun to game with, because they're gonna make you laugh at some of the stuff they come up with, cry at other ideas they cook up, and will stretch you as a GM, if you'll let them.

Having said all that, don't be intimidated by the prospect. It is perfectly acceptable for you to shepherd them through your adventure; heck, it's your job. You just need to have some contingency plans in place, and for those places where you don't have a clue as to how to let them get THAT far off course while still getting back on target, you are within your rights to take steps to keep them from trying some of those cockamaime schemes... but be prepared- either with very good reasons why they can't do this or that (by very good, I mean plausible reasons that don't sound like you're just being petulant or reaching for straws. If you rationally explain to a character WHY throwing the thermal detonator into the heart of that fusion reactor is a very, very, VERY bad idea, and in terms they can understand, they're going to be a lot more receptive to whatever plans you're trying to steer them toward.)

It is ALWAYS acceptable (if not required!) to have your source materials by your side- especially if you have players who know the SW universe, and perhaps the game as well (or at least THINK they know the game) so you can look rules up and either support or refute their claims.

Gry is right, and succinctly said what I'm taking a novel to say. You as the GM have to make the "right" alternative appear to be the BEST one, rather than simply telling them, "No, you HAVE to do this." It'll go a LONG way toward making the whole experience more fun, more seamless, and faster-paced because you'll spend more time playing and less time arguing over WHY.

[Camero]

My 2 cents

All the previous advice has been GOLD so go with that

I recently ran a game where no-one had every played an RPG before - it was a little bumpy in places but they had a great time and all want to play again. I found that if I did a bit of story telling - added funny or unnecessary details in my descriptions of things - it really helped them be into it and enjoy it.

Yeah, Gry is right, just remember that if things get bogged down in details just simplify things (pick a difficulty rather than flipping through the book looking for the correct one) and enjoy the experience.

If you don't have a GameMaster Screen book then it can be helpful to copy down or Xerox important pages with difficulty info (damage chart, difficulty chart, etc) and have that next to you to prevent flipping

Good Luck - it'll be a blast
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"What a wonderful smell you've discovered"

[Kalibarr]

Ok cool - thanks folks - I will just try to keep it simple enough that we get though it and go from there. I suppose the more I do it the more I will be able to be "accurate" with more and more details.

I don't have a GM Sheet or whatever you called it - but if I was going to make one - I guess I should have chracter sheets for the main NPCs(like the Bounty Hunter they face early), and stats for stormtroopers and Wampas, as well as the Icecor. When I played the game at my buddies house - he had maps made on what looked like graph paper of settlements, ships, etc. Is there a place online I can find these types of maps to download? Or am I better off drawing them myself in advance (keep in mind I suck at drawing lol)?

Thanks again for the advice and help. Really makes me feel better about trying this.

[PsiberDragon]

Pictures are always good... I generally gave players extra experience/character points for good pix or background. If you like to draw, I'd definitely recommend it... (my stick figures just aren't that impressive ) Otherwise, find something like Hero Machine online and use that...

as for maps... Gotta love graph paper. Having a "complete" map for yourself is always good... then, give the players a watered down version, and let THEM fill in the details...

A GM sheet pretty much has just your basic tables on it... if you wanted, you could probably find a player made GM sheet online or emule or the like...
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"Love like you will die tomorrow. Hate like you will live forever." - Unknown

[masque]

A GM sheet with basic rules is very handy to have if you don't have a Screen, just for quick reference. Another trick I like to use is having access to a bunch of character templates. If I need an NPC on the fly, I just find a template that comes close to what I'm looking for, and then fudge up some skills really quick.
If you go to the Fanmade Sourcebook thread in the Tools section, you can download the Template collection. It collects what I believe is ALL the various templates published in WEG Star Wars books. Very handy, saves a lot of time for the GM.
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Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.

[Cool McCool]

[Cool McCool]

Non-Linear Adventure

[Gry Sarth]

You make some good points McCool, but I don't agree with some of it.

I agree with you on the whole creating the NPCs motivations, some settings and some main events and letting things roll. But I don't see what you're proposing to be really non-linear. It seems to me that the linear part of the adventure is the evolution from bounty hunter encounter to Jabba's court, to going bounty hunting, to arriving on Hoth and doing your stuff there. In your "non-linear" adventure all these events still take place in their linear fashion, even more linear, since these events are not roleplayed. I, for one, wouldn't like to play an adventure that starts wit the GM telling me "Ok, so what happened is you had an encounter with a dangerous bounty hunter, killed him, got captured by Jabba's goons, sent to his palace to face the Hutt's wrath, he forced you to take on that bounty hunter's job, you accepted, you took a ship to Hoth, arrived there and trekked through the ice up to a cave's entrance. ACTION!" I don't want to have these things told to me, I want to roleplay them, add my own twist to them. The storyline might still flow the same way, but maybe I can convince Jabba to lend us a couple of security droids, or something.
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"He's Gry Sarth, of course he has the stats for them."