GM Lounge - Bartenders Answer All Your Questions

[Chrystal]

Okay, Thuf, I think you just volunteered yourself as Glyph's co-gm!

Oh and if that is how it goes down, seriously, I'm IN! Send me a link when you get the interest thread up! Hell, I don't even care if it isn't LGBT friendly - I'll make a male character if I have to!

[TheGlyphstone]

If Thuf is willing, I'm all for it.

I do intend to be as LBGT-friendly as I can make it, though smut will generally take second stage to suspense.

[Chrystal]

Sounds right up my street!

I'm just sorry I can't help you run it.

[TheGlyphstone]

No worries. I hope you'll be able to play if it gets off the ground; last I recall, your availability meant very infrequent posting in group games, and I'd imagine this sort of thing moving relatively briskly to maintain the atmosphere.

[Chrystal]

Oddball: [looking at aerial pics of the a remaining bridge] Beautiful.
Moriarty: suppose the bridge ain't there?
Oddball: [groans] Don't hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning. Think the bridge will be there and it will be there. It's a mother, beautiful bridge, and it's gonna be there. Ok?

Oddball: [Later: Oddball is looking through binoculars at the bridge] Still up!
Oddball: [planes fly and bomb the bridge] ... No it ain't. See what sending out them negative waves did, Moriarty?
Moriarty: That ain't my fault, Oddball, I've done nothing but have good thoughts about that damn bridge ever since we left!

In Other words, let's cross that bridge when we get there...!

[Thufir Hawat]

Okay, Thuf, I think you just volunteered yourself as Glyph's co-gm!

Oh and if that is how it goes down, seriously, I'm IN! Send me a link when you get the interest thread up! Hell, I don't even care if it isn't LGBT friendly - I'll make a male character if I have to!

Did I, really?
No, I don't think I did :P. First, I'm a terrible Co-GM for people that have a vision and want to get there, and it seems to me that's TG's approach.
Second and more important, my time availability means I can't really take another game even as a player. (And we're not even going to get in system questions, the time issue is the main one). Summer just means less free time in my book.
If not for that, I might have volunteered indeed, but then, if not for that, I was actually considering running a LotW game over here.
OTOH, I can give my thoughts to TheGlyphstone, since he asked. That's just how I'd run it, but he can use any idea he finds useful. That's what the GM board is for, isn't it?
It was also a way to showcase the mentat rule on questions, so it's almost perfect! Yeah, I can be a show-off at times ;D!
But still, glad you liked the idea, Chrystal. And TG, hope the game would go well, and gets into Completed tales ;)!

[Chrystal]

Did I, really?
No, I don't think I did :P. First, I'm a terrible Co-GM for people that have a vision and want to get there, and it seems to me that's TG's approach.
Second and more important, my time availability means I can't really take another game even as a player. (And we're not even going to get in system questions, the time issue is the main one). Summer just means less free time in my book.
If not for that, I might have volunteered indeed, but then, if not for that, I was actually considering running a LotW game over here.
OTOH, I can give my thoughts to TheGlyphstone, since he asked. That's just how I'd run it, but he can use any idea he finds useful. That's what the GM board is for, isn't it?
It was also a way to showcase the mentat rule on questions, so it's almost perfect! Yeah, I can be a show-off at times ;D!
But still, glad you liked the idea, Chrystal. And TG, hope the game would go well, and gets into Completed tales ;)!

*chuckles*

Mentats have very little by way of sense of humour it seems?

Just kidding, babe. And I said that, totally tongue-in-cheek about you being the Co-GM, it was just that you had such a great take on how to run the thing.

As you say,m though, that is precisely what this thread in particular and this board in general is for. I didn't mean to "god mode" you in any way, it was intended as light hearted banter.

[Thufir Hawat]

*chuckles*

Mentats have very little by way of sense of humour it seems?

Just kidding, babe. And I said that, totally tongue-in-cheek about you being the Co-GM, it was just that you had such a great take on how to run the thing.

As you say,m though, that is precisely what this thread in particular and this board in general is for. I didn't mean to "god mode" you in any way, it was intended as light hearted banter.

One of the mentats' tricks is to answer seriously humorous questions, and to joke with serious questions. Humour is just another tool :P!
Well, that and I was considering it for a while.

[Vanetias]

Hello there, Vanetias here.

Questions:

I have a plot idea(with a basic rule system) for a group game. However, while I've participated in group games before, I never GM'ed(or act as a GM) before for a group game...


Is there tips on becoming a good GM for a group game?(and also making sure that the group game runs smoothly.)

[Thufir Hawat]

I've got a few links for sandbox GMs, so I'm going to PM you the links after I get to my desktop.

[Blinkin]

Desktop? I thought that I was the only one left in the world who still used something bigger than magazine or I-whatever these days. ;)

[Thufir Hawat]

That's what I call everything with a keyboard >:).

[scribus1000]

I've got a few links for sandbox GMs, so I'm going to PM you the links after I get to my desktop.

I could make use of those too, as I'm thinking of how to go in that direction eventually. Could you PM those to me as well?

[Thufir Hawat]

I could make use of those too, as I'm thinking of how to go in that direction eventually. Could you PM those to me as well?

Sure, but at this point, I could as well post it here.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

The following links explain how to run a sandbox game with a plot and with a minimum of effort, just in case you need them (mostly, because these are links to forum discussions where people more experienced than me explain how they run sandbox games).

Now, first of all, remember that running a sandbox is anything but hard. If 9-years-old kids can do it, and they can, so can you. An important part of the tricks is about minimising the amount of work you need to do! That's why the first three are links to what the authors had called "Lazy Game Mastering", lazy here is "not doing work you don't want to do".

And here are the links explaining some tricks of the sandboxing trade ;D!
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?525689-Lazy-GMing
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?580891-Lazily-GMing-a-sandbox-campaign
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?517294-The-Lazy-Man-s-Guide-to-Gamemastering
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?714533-Fantasy-Creating-a-sandbox
http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/dynamic-sandboxes/

Also, check the GMing advice (and only that-it's independent of whether you use the same system, or any system at all) in those three systems. While not the best explanation on how to run a sandbox game, they're the best free ones.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/115280/Turbo-Dice
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/124052/SciFi-Dice
In these two, pay attention to the requirements to the GMs and the players... the latter are worth posting in your Opening post as "expected from players".
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/70124/Atomic-Highway--Post-Apocalyptic-Roleplaying
In this one, stuff for organising the session.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/86467/Stars-Without-Number-Free-Edition
This one is very old-style and might not be altogether helpful, but skip to the GMing section and it should have a nice system with tags you can adapt for your own notes.

Also remember the GMing advice from "Beyond the Wall" (young adults fantasy).

1. Keep things moving
2. Make it personal
3. Avoid illusionism
Illusionism is a term used to describe a particular problem with seat-of-the-pants GMing in roleplaying games. Illusionism happens when a gamemaster makes sure that every choice the characters make is the right choice (or vice versa). For instance, the characters enter a small cave and come to a junction. One way leads to the end of their quest, the other to something else. The GM waits for the characters to say which way they are going, and then immediately places the end of the quest
in that direction.
This is certainly not necessarily the worst thing in the world, but it can make some players feel that their choices do not matter at all, and they would be right.
If the evil wizard will be down the right hand path if I choose it, but down the left if I choose that way instead, then why did I choose at all? Why didn’t the gamemas-ter just make a single hallway taking me straight to the destination he had in mind?
You can avoid Illusionism fairly easily, even while running things on the fly. If there are two ways to go, simply decide which way leads to the evil wizard, even if you only make that decision five minutes -- or five seconds -- beforehand.
Let the players fail, because those failures will make their successes all the sweeter. It’s okay if they stumble off the track, or reach a wrong conclusion. And if they succeed a little too quickly and easily, let them! Sometimes they deserve it.
(Let me make this clear: I'm very much one of those players. If I'm playing a sandbox game, it's about the freedom to do anything and get both the best and the worst consequences of what I did. But they're the consequences of what I did, not of someone's idea of what I'd enjoy, nor of anyone's ideas for story pacing (which are also easily disproven by many successful movies and books - TH).
4. Keep the tone suitable for the genre

Hope this all helps! Anyone should feel free to PM me if you've got any questions on this!

[Vanetias]

I've now planned out the idea, but I am not sure if I should go out in freeform, or with a system(Simple one to make game management easier)?

[Thufir Hawat]

*Shrug*
Whichever makes sense to you. Either one will attract different people, while repulsing others, and I don't assume being a more valuable potential player than Chrystal would make.

[Ebb]

Am I imagining something, or was there a big discussion on this sub-board about playing Pathfinder without using a map? I thought I made a pretty big post to that, but I can't find it now. Did the thread get accidentally deleted?

[Blinkin]

It was my thread, and I think I did accidently delete it. Since the site was changed, I keep hitting buttons that I'm not intending to.

[Ebb]

Oh, okay. Well, I hope you got some of the answers you were looking for. I don't know whether the Staff can undelete threads or not.

[Blinkin]

I got some answers, yes. I'm reluctant to bother the mods as I got chewed out the last time for deleting some post in an OOC thread.

[AndyZ]

Hey, it's not your fault you're blind.  That's like moving furniture.

[Blinkin]

hey, I move furniture... I'm always tripping over the pile in the middle of the floor afterward, but I move it... and call my brothers to put it back... it's a fun game actually. ;)

Anyway, I got the answers that I was expecting and some helpful advice, so it's all good in that regard. Being blind didn't help the chewing last time and as I don't see too many blind GM's needing the information....

Anyway, where's my long slow screw on the beach bartender? lol

[Chrystal]

*Shrug*
Whichever makes sense to you. Either one will attract different people, while repulsing others, and I don't assume being a more valuable potential player than Chrystal would make.

I could have sworn I replied to this. Maybe my reply got too complex and I didn't post it.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for the rather off the wall complement, and the same back at you... I have tried system games now and maybe it's just that the system would work better with an actual gm who knows how to work it, but, honestly I still prefer freeform.

Oh and put some Southern Comfort in Blinkin's drink, we wouldn't want him to have a long slow uncomfortable screw against a wall now would we...?

Edit to add; if what you want is a sex on the beach, you have to follow it with a sand in your crack. (And yes that is s real drink, probably invented by s barmaid who got sick of guys asking for sex on the beach)

[Thufir Hawat]

I could have sworn I replied to this. Maybe my reply got too complex and I didn't post it.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for the rather off the wall complement, and the same back at you...

It wasn't even meant as a compliment.

I have tried system games now and maybe it's just that the system would work better with an actual gm who knows how to work it, but, honestly I still prefer freeform.

I can't comment on that without knowing where you tried it and what it looked like.

Oh and put some Southern Comfort in Blinkin's drink, we wouldn't want him to have a long slow uncomfortable screw against a wall now would we...?

Does he want to have a slow screw against the wall ;D?

[Chrystal]

*Edited this post to remove something that was actually against the rules*

This relates a little to the discussion a while ago regarding how much freedom players have to "world build", but I think really it is a separate issue. Let us assume that players have the freedom to fill in the small details. How much do you, as GM, insist upon absolute continuity?

Personally I think it depends upon the circumstances. If the game is story led, then obviously stricter continuity needs to be maintained, and anything that could affect the story needs to be kept under control - like for example the location of a particular building. However in a sandbox, there is a lot less need to keep that sort of tight rein on things. If someone says a building is on the left hand side of the street and actually it's on the right... So the guy was facing the other way, so what?

That is not a genuine example, it is hypothetical, by the way.

What do people think?

*apologies to everyone for that*