GM Lounge - Bartenders Answer All Your Questions

[Thufir Hawat]

Err you guys touched upon it earlier but I don't think you went over it extensively... What do you do when you want to keep the timeline moving in your game and not run into the 6 months= 1 day scenarios. Yet still allow for character interaction to take place and have relationships develop?

It's indeed one of the hardest things in forum games IMO.
And my answer is, most of my systems suggest you cut the action in scenes anyway. After a scene is over, I ask the players for the PCs short-term and long-term goals and how they intend to go about them. Then I fast-forward until we get to a place where these goals can be affected meaningfully.
Like, if he wants to seduce a princess, maybe not even because of the sex but because of the social status, I'll fast-forward until she gets back from a trip in the countryside, or until he meets her maid who could possibly say a couple good words on his behalf, or smuggle a letter. I think you get the idea.
After all, books don't tell us how the characters slept, until something happens during said sleep. Same idea, just applied more generally.
Mind you, if anyone's got a better idea, I'd be more than willing to consider it ;D!

I must be odd ....I rather enjoy it when the story line moves in a direction I was not anticipating .

If you're odd, I'm odd as well. Which probably shows in that monsterwalloftext post above ;D!

Sometimes a little outside the box thinking is good . A little improvisational side story tossed in so be it , if the whole group is into it anyways . Sometimes you have a split ...maybe only a few go to explore the caves and others stay to camp out for the night .  Well this is fun now two things can happen .

Why stop at just a little of it >:)?
I'm serious here, BTW.

To me allowing players to add to game is rewarding sometimes to the GM , frustrating sometimes ....but overcoming it is rather fun to me . If it is as stated above one individual that just don't seem to get the just of what is going on or just seems to like to toss monkey wrenches every time you turn around . I would suggest going to a pm to get a better understanding of his methods or reasoning . Most of the time one can work with others , sometimes though that is just the game a player likes to play . Disruptions should be tolerated to an extent anyways in my mind and expected sooner or later .

Totally this, the players that genuinely enjoy disrupting things for the sake of disruption are, IME, few and far between. I've only met a couple or so in, well, over a decade of playing online and offline 8-)!

I think each case ends up with its own set of circumstances . One time I asked the player would you like to make this a branched off solo story instead of continuing with the group . He accepted that offer and actually became one of my favorite people to play with in the end . Go figure that one out .

Had this happen to me as well.

[BraveEarth]

I've done it a few ways...

1. I give a note that the day will be changing in 1 week and everything needs to be wrapped up.
2. We have prescribed time periods of "day" and "night" and they shift every week to keep things going.
3. The idea of "fuzzy time." I don't like this one, but some RPs use it - they don't put on time constraints and you have to clearly note the time period in your post.

I've read some games with the third option and I share your dislike. Too often certain players time would skip ahead and leave some sort of temporal disturbance where some people were interacting in the future and some in the present and that gap never would quite close in a timely fashion.

[Chrystal]

And on your question, that's where terms like railroading come into being! Is the adventure moving on rails, and the GM knows where it's going, but nobody else can change the direction? In that case, they can only decide how long to stop at any given place, maybe get off the train for a while to examine the surroundings, but not for too long.
Whether the group believes that's giving enough importance to their "authorial contribution to the story", or not, is another matter. Like, some people will enjoy this style, for others that's reason enough to drop your game, with or without explanation.
In short, that's an OOC issue, and trying to solve it via IC action is counterproductive. Bring it up OOC, definitely!
:
:
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion,
By the juice of sapho the thoughts acquire speed,
The lips acquire stains,
The stains become a warning,
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
:
:
At least, that's my approach. It's strongly character-focused, and the plot just follows the characters. There are other approaches as well, but they lack the main advantage I see here.
Namely, whatever the story ends up being like, it will fit the characters, and they wouldn't feel like someone forced them to take part in this adventure.

Interesting text wall there. Thanks. You've made some good points and I shall try to take them on board next time I try and run a group game!

[Thufir Hawat]

Interesting text wall there. Thanks. You've made some good points and I shall try to take them on board next time I try and run a group game!

Interesting red text, where do I know this from :P?
I must point out that these aren't just my ideas, a lot of both old-school and "ultramodern" GMs I've talked with adopt similar ideas, and they're included in quite a few games.
Anyway, I'd be glad if it helped ;D!

[Chrystal]

It is the Mentat's Mantra from the film version of Dune.

I was using it as a sort of complement to the amount of info you gave in that post.

I realise they are not necessarily your ideas, but you are the one expressing them in a form I can relate to. In all honesty I would not be asking the question if I knew the answer, and I think your advice is the best I've seen so far.

As for the other topic under discussion, I find fuzzy time to be okay, as long as everyone remembers where everyone is and when. It has the advantage that a player can move from room A to room B without disrupting the sequence of events taking place in room B because she is not there at the time the events are taking place.

But it can be very confusing if the time lines overlap.

Personally I prefer to use linear time and jump the sequence ahead when I feel it is appropriate.

[Thufir Hawat]

It is the Mentat's Mantra from the film version of Dune.

I know ;).

I was using it as a sort of complement to the amount of info you gave in that post.

I realise they are not necessarily your ideas, but you are the one expressing them in a form I can relate to. In all honesty I would not be asking the question if I knew the answer, and I think your advice is the best I've seen so far.

Yes, I was just giving credit where it's due.
And as I said, I'm glad it was helpful! I could point you to columns and the like with more GM advice on this topic. But since we don't want to hijack the thread for this one question, you (or anyone interested) can just PM me for the links.

As for the other topic under discussion, I find fuzzy time to be okay, as long as everyone remembers where everyone is and when. It has the advantage that a player can move from room A to room B without disrupting the sequence of events taking place in room B because she is not there at the time the events are taking place.

But it can be very confusing if the time lines overlap.

Personally I prefer to use linear time and jump the sequence ahead when I feel it is appropriate.

In my last game, I kept a page with the names of the three PCs, and a rough timeline that I updated per scene. It showed where and when they were. If someone tried to enter a place before they could, like during a conversation that had already taken place, I was ready to deal with this OOC. "It's already established you weren't there, pick something else".
If someone tried to enter a place, but other people would logically have more time, he or she would have to wait to reach to that moment in the timeline.
Note, this doesn't solve the problem itself, but it helps tracking what's going on easier. Well, unless you lose the sheet, which I also managed to do ;D!

[Chrystal]

Keep it on excel, on the computer... I do that with complex plots for my one-on-ones.

The thing is, it works with small groups, but if you've got 20 or so players, that's a lot of leg work just to keep the time-line straight...

I think under those circumstances (and I've done this before) I'd say "Screw the time line, let's just go surreal!" *chuckles*

[TheGlyphstone]

If you're playing Continuum, it's even more fun. Nothing stops your players from retroactively inserting them into a conversation/scene they weren't in before, as long as they remember to patch up the paradoxes afterward/beforehand.

[Chrystal]

Ah, yes...

Or of course there is the ultimate in god-moding, where your character has supernatural powers and is capable of changing history!

[HairyHeretic]

A little something I found this morning and wanted to share

[Sasha]

nice one ..... I had to do a double take of that pic as the bold word hit my brain this morning faster than the image did it seems .  A great find indeed .

If you're playing Continuum, it's even more fun. Nothing stops your players from retroactively inserting them into a conversation/scene they weren't in before, as long as they remember to patch up the paradoxes afterward/beforehand.

Not sure to what degree this works on the forum in a setting that is moving forward in time at a declared pace. Though I do see the merit in it ...as with other games played using dice ....battles were broken down into sections and then pieced together . Thus also allowing threads for social interaction as well . Giving players the ability to then move and create their own timeline in the story .

I thought on it a bit ...and that might make things a little easier as sometimes in a group game one set of players are say still on an afternoon adventure ....while others are moving into evening hours . So I decided to try an experiment and mark the time of the thread down . See if that helps matters any or not . So if you have stalled out say at 3pm and the rest of the group has moved to 8pm ...you can input your character then up into the higher time frame .

Hopefully it helps those who find there character stopped due to a slower posting rate ...or let's the GM move a character to a scene that is needed.

[TheGlyphstone]

nice one ..... I had to do a double take of that pic as the bold word hit my brain this morning faster than the image did it seems .  A great find indeed .



Not sure to what degree this works on the forum in a setting that is moving forward in time at a declared pace. Though I do see the merit in it ...as with other games played using dice ....battles were broken down into sections and then pieced together . Thus also allowing threads for social interaction as well . Giving players the ability to then move and create their own timeline in the story .

I thought on it a bit ...and that might make things a little easier as sometimes in a group game one set of players are say still on an afternoon adventure ....while others are moving into evening hours . So I decided to try an experiment and mark the time of the thread down . See if that helps matters any or not . So if you have stalled out say at 3pm and the rest of the group has moved to 8pm ...you can input your character then up into the higher time frame .

Hopefully it helps those who find there character stopped due to a slower posting rate ...or let's the GM move a character to a scene that is needed.

If you've never heard of Continuum, you should - "the best RPG you'll never get to play". It's a game based around time travel, with endless exhaustive rules for paradoxes, resolving paradoxes, and what happens if you don't (fragging yourself, it's called). Amusingly, a forum-based game with the ability to edit posts retroactively would probably support Continuum very well, if you could find a group with enough PhDs between them to understand what the heck was going on.

[Sasha]

If you've never heard of Continuum, you should - "the best RPG you'll never get to play". It's a game based around time travel, with endless exhaustive rules for paradoxes, resolving paradoxes, and what happens if you don't (fragging yourself, it's called). Amusingly, a forum-based game with the ability to edit posts retroactively would probably support Continuum very well, if you could find a group with enough PhDs between them to understand what the heck was going on.

Interesting ....though not sure one would agree to loose the initial played out experience put down in writing . So you might need to make the thread the time setting .  Thus starting at Stage 1 the past , jumping to "back" to the future Stage 3 ...heading back to fix the wrong Replay Stage 1 ....back to the future , need to fix different time Stage 2 enters ...then back to the future .  Not that I have a PHD or anything ....just my thoughts of how it might be able to work .

Stage 1 - < May 1960>
Replay Stage 1 - <May 1960 >

Stage 2  - <October 1970 >

Stage 3 - < Present time >
Replay w/ replay Stage 1 - < Present Time >
Replay w/ Stage 2 - <Present Time >


Fragging yourself does not sound good anyways . I have heard of paradoxes though in relation to mages. Not quite managed to excite myself to read  into that set of books from the World of Darkness but the concept of a consequence, I enjoyed .

Goes off to Google ...Continuum

[TheGlyphstone]

TvTropes is a better place to learn about it than Google. It is crazy complicated, though - but then, it has rules for stuff like pre-emptive retroactive time travel, Bill And Ted style. For example, if you're being chased by bad guys, you can unilaterally decide that there just happens to be an unlocked, fueled-up car with the keys in it right around the corner. The trick is then that you have to, when you later have time, travel back in time and arrange for that car to be there when it was supposed to be, otherwise you generate a temporal paradox and can "frag" yourself out of existence. There's a whole section on Time Combat where you can fight someone by retroactively making them cease to exist while foiling/cancelling their attempts to do the same to you. On the other hand, Gemini Incidents (where you meet your future or past self) are a very common occurrence, to the point where specialized lingo exists to describe how many copies of yourself are there at one time (One Gemini = you and your future/past self, Two Gemini = three of you, etc.).

[Jag]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'm looking for someone interested in Co-GMing a game with me. Would I post the idea in this thread or create my own? Or should I just post it in the Group Games request board?

*feels a little out of place for some reason*

[HockeyGod]

Hmmm...what if we created another thread in this Board for people looking for co-GMs? I'm not sure if they should also go in the group game thread.

Harry...do you have an idea?

[HairyHeretic]

I always have ideas  ;)

I think it might be better to have a wants thread separate from our general chatter. We could maybe use it for people wanting GMs or players, with links to existing games or to want threads.

Single post per person, no discussions .. PM the post author with questions .. keep it fairly small.

Something like that?

[Ellipsis]

Hi, everyone! So I’ve been scouring these boards, hoping to find a thread that might explain the workings of Group Roleplays, but I figured it might be easier to ask specific questions I have regarding their creation.

I’m looking to form some type of group roleplay that is mythology based and I would start by making an interest thread (right, I hope?). I’d outline the world, history, plot, character sheet, etc. in that interest thread. Once I have enough people, I’d begin making respective threads in the corresponding board, correct?

What I’m mainly confused about is the use of system games. I suppose I want more of the group roleplay to be freeform, so is it necessary to include system type elements if there isn’t going to be such a stress on action, battles, etc.? I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew for my first attempt at creating something like this.

Lastly, are there any words of wisdom that you wonderful lot of GMs have for someone looking to start their first group roleplay?

[Jag]

Hmmm...what if we created another thread in this Board for people looking for co-GMs? I'm not sure if they should also go in the group game thread.

Harry...do you have an idea?

I always have ideas  ;)

I think it might be better to have a wants thread separate from our general chatter. We could maybe use it for people wanting GMs or players, with links to existing games or to want threads.

Single post per person, no discussions .. PM the post author with questions .. keep it fairly small.

Something like that?

So....I should make a thread in the GM Corner looking for a Co-GM then?

[HockeyGod]

I’m looking to form some type of group roleplay that is mythology based and I would start by making an interest thread (right, I hope?). I’d outline the world, history, plot, character sheet, etc. in that interest thread. Once I have enough people, I’d begin making respective threads in the corresponding board, correct?

Howdy! Yes, you would start a thread in the Group Roleplays Board giving details and how you want potential players to respond to you (most do it in the thread and follow up with PM exchanges, often there is a character sheet provided for people to complete). Once you have the game started you can create your Boards as needed. Most of the threads created are:

1. OOC
2. Characters
3. Various settings

Be sure you review the helpful links thread in this Board, it gives you lots of tips and links to other threads where rules are clarified (such as how many threads your game can have, etc.).

I’m looking to form some type of group roleplay that is mythology based and I would start by making an interest thread (right, I hope?).
What I’m mainly confused about is the use of system games. I suppose I want more of the group roleplay to be freeform, so is it necessary to include system type elements if there isn’t going to be such a stress on action, battles, etc.? I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew for my first attempt at creating something like this.

Lastly, are there any words of wisdom that you wonderful lot of GMs have for someone looking to start their first group roleplay?

So....I should make a thread in the GM Corner looking for a Co-GM then?

How about trying it out here: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=132072.0

Let's see if it works :)

[Jag]

*thumbs up*

Will do!

[DarkWorld0BrightHope]

Escape the Room adventure games have always held a place in my heart, games like the infamous forum based game RubyQuest are known for their high interactivity and absurd antics, which make them ideal for me to create a simple but effective storytelling medium for the individual player character as well as for a much larger group game.
While it has its obvious limits, it is fairly easy to execute while remaining entertaining(though decent storycrafting ability is a must).

So my purpose for bringing it up here is to more or less see how you would personally incoporate such a game into your GM style-if at all-and how well you feel it would go over on a place such as Elliquiy.
I've been considering doing just this as the place I rather do it has... more or less depleted its stock of players due to general forum inactivity(that and it would allow me more room to explore the less than pg-13 friendly nature of the villain character, to truly show off how... vile she is).

Any thoughts or opinions on the style?

[HockeyGod]

Hmmm...I unfortunately do not have any experience with that format/genre. Anyone else have suggestions?

[Chrystal]

It might help, Dark, if you described exactly what an "escape the room" roleplay is, for those of us who have not encountered such a thing, or at least have never heard it referred to as such?

If I guess right, we are talking about a group of people trapped in a situation and trying to find a way out, that involves fulfilling some unusual conditions?

This actually sounds fun and if you feel like starting one, I'd certainly consider giving it a go, depending on the premise involved.

[undisclosedtoyou]

When you say, escape the room games, are you referring to those games, where you click on objects, combine them, and use them to escape a locked room?  Like the 'white room,' 'Red room,' games?

If so, I could easily see that being incorporated into a game, although it would require constant GM attention, since they would be the one who would tell the players if their characters come across things.