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My GM observations, or tips...if you will.
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Jedi Skyler
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Heck one gm was so bad at it, that the party realised it within 3 games and started to just walk into the midst of the enemy with nothing but thermal detonators on them, knowing they would not die...


I agree with you. This isn't a good GM. This is a GM who doesn't understand just what's involved in suspension of disbelief. This is a GM who's more interested in keeping these people "happy" by never allowing them even the chance of having their characters in any real danger, so he's basically deprived them of the meat and potatoes of the game. This is a dangerous universe; it's filled with all kinds of creatures who have no compunctions about whipping out a blaster and blowing your head off. If your characters never have that near-experience (picture Luke in Chalmuns' cantina) then they go through their lives completely oblivious of what's out there- both the danger and the thrills.
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Demona
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Failure doesn't always lead to death....

That is a big thing Vanion always tries to push on people we game with. If we are losing a fight he has said many times that we should have surrendured rather then dying in a scene of blazing blasters.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good point, and one i feel a lot of players don't get. Heck of thsoe i game with at gencon/origins, i think i have only had 3 or so, who DID opt to surrender rather than risk dying in a hail of blaster fire... EVEN when they knew the enemy would treat them right (like pirates out to make money)...
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scott2978
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can say for certain that getting invested in your player's characters will go a long way to improve the quality of your games. In the last campaign I ran, I focused on each character in the group one after the other. But don't misunderstand me when I say "focused". The stories didn't focus on the PC, it was that the background elements were most familiar to that PC. For instance, in one series of adventures the group was in a part of space one of the PC was from. That PC would run into people that knew him, like as the group was on a shuttle from planet-to-planet within the system, an old lady would ask him if he was related to someone, and it would turn out that the old lady knew the PC's grandfather or something. That gave us as a group a way to tell the character's stories as well as the group's story. In another part of the campaign, the group needed to lay low for a while so one PC entered a swoop race that just happened to be taking place on one of the PC's homeworlds. The story of the characters became intertwined with the story of the group, and everyone became much more intimately familiar with all the characters of the group, not just their own character. For me "investing in the characters" doesn't mean cutting them more slack, it means getting the character really involved in the story, making their background and their history PART OF the story. Those kinds of things really make the immersion factor run high in a game. Investing in the characters and cutting them slack for botched actions or dumb decisions are two completely seperate things for me.

And a note for all you military GM's out there. Don't run your game like it's a field problem. They won't have as much fun. Take it from a combat vet who is also a GM, some of the worst GM's I've ever seen are military types that can't leave their rank at the door.

And as for GM's making poor players, I guess it's essentially true. If you GM most of the time, you will get so stuck on "your way" that you will disagree with any other. To be a good player takes moxy just like being a good GM, but it's not the same game when played from the other end of the table. When playing, try to remember what it's like to be the GM, and act like you would want your players to act.

Most of all, the whole point of playing an RPG is to have fun. If your GM style feels too strict, or if you let the PC's die too often, or if you make the game feel like the PC's are invulnerable, the game will not be fun.

Demona: I really hate making PC's surrender. It's difficult to explain how the PC's can be captured and then escape more than once or twice before the Empire or whoever starts getting wise to their tricks. It's far, far better from a GM standpoint to always let them have a way out. Though, that doesn't mean they get out scott free... Maybe someone will have to stay behind, or maybe they will have to dash through a crossfire to get to an escape pod or a door (leaving the possibility for being seriously wounded) or maybe they will have to break some bones to fit through a small opening, or take a nasty fall over being captured. There are a lot more ways to allow the PC's to run than to explain how they escaped captivity for the 12th time.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 11:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Demona: I really hate making PC's surrender. It's difficult to explain how the PC's can be captured and then escape more than once or twice before the Empire or whoever starts getting wise to their tricks. It's far, far better from a GM standpoint to always let them have a way out. Though, that doesn't mean they get out scott free... Maybe someone will have to stay behind, or maybe they will have to dash through a crossfire to get to an escape pod or a door (leaving the possibility for being seriously wounded) or maybe they will have to break some bones to fit through a small opening, or take a nasty fall over being captured. There are a lot more ways to allow the PC's to run than to explain how they escaped captivity for the 12th time.


That is a very valid point, though many times i have seen the out given, but either A) not noticed, or B) noticed but not taken as they thought it was a trap...
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Jedi Skyler
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

garhkal wrote:
That is a very valid point, though many times i have seen the out given, but either A) not noticed, or B) noticed but not taken as they thought it was a trap...


Wouldn't that then be a good opportunity to give a Perception roll or something? I mean yes, there will be times when your players just aren't going to pick up on something. But that's where we have to distinguish between character vs. player knowledge. The player might think it's a trap, but just as he needs to limit himself to stuff his character knows, so also should a player be allowed the opportunity to be freed by his character's knowledge. If there's any shot at all that a character would see the 'out' and recognize it, give him a Perception roll or some other chance to see past his player's lack of knowledge. That allows you as GM to offer an out while not fudging dice- you go with what was rolled. Then if someone's maimed or killed, it was done fairly. If the players squabble about it, you can (or not, at your discretion) explained exactly how you gave them every opportunity for survival.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Point taken....
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Jedi Skyler
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 11:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey, bro! This isn't a contest- especially between a Vet and a serviceman. This is a collaboration, where everyone comes out the winner! 8)
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KageRyu
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellant overall post Trusty. Here's a few of mine:
• Don't have a character die from a simple bad dice roll.
• Actions have repercussions
• NPCs should serve their own goals, even if they are allies of the Player Characters.
• Be dynamic.
• Be flexible.
• Be reasonable.
• Be understanding.
• Allow the players to shape your campaign through their actions.
• NPCs should be memorable.
• Do not kill a character if their is no reason for him to die.
• Give the players reason to trust you and know you are fair.
I had a bunch more, but my mind drew a blank when I hit the reply button.

On garhkal's post, there is much I disagree with, and much I could offer counter points too, but it has been well said by Grimace. Instead I will focus on this:
garhkal wrote:
TO me, the only people in the game who should have it, are the main npcs (for continuity sake, eg vader for starwars... or Kelben blackstaff for forgotten realms ad&d)...

Allowing Script Immunity of ANY sort for NPCs while openly advocating against it for PCs is partial, biased, and no different than fudging, cheating, or holding a grudge. When these techniques are applied evenly to the Odd PC or NPC and used sparingly, there is nothing wrong with them, but to unilateraly deny them to one while applying them to another is one sided.
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KageRyu
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jedi Skyler wrote:
Wouldn't that then be a good opportunity to give a Perception roll or something? I mean yes, there will be times when your players just aren't going to pick up on something. But that's where we have to distinguish between character vs. player knowledge. The player might think it's a trap, but just as he needs to limit himself to stuff his character knows, so also should a player be allowed the opportunity to be freed by his character's knowledge. If there's any shot at all that a character would see the 'out' and recognize it, give him a Perception roll or some other chance to see past his player's lack of knowledge. That allows you as GM to offer an out while not fudging dice- you go with what was rolled. Then if someone's maimed or killed, it was done fairly. If the players squabble about it, you can (or not, at your discretion) explained exactly how you gave them every opportunity for survival.

Excellent point, and one that is all too often overlooked even by experienced GMs. That is one of the ways I often use skills, as ways to impart clues to players who are, otherwise, clueless of a situation. I still prefer to have players role play it out, but in a not-so perfect world... *shrugs*
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