30 Days of GameMastering--Day 10!

All righty...today is Day 10 of Lindevi's "30 Days of GameMastering" challenge and we've reached the last of the "prep" questions.  Starting tomorrow, we'll start on what to do while at the table, but for now...

What are your tips for running a low or no-prep game?

The older I get, the less I find that I want to prepare for games.  Between the responsibilities of writing professionally, working a full-time job (well, hopefully shortly), and maintaining a house, the idea of running a high-prep, high maintenance game simply no longer appeals.  It's why I do most of GMing extemporaneously, using some of the utilities I mentioned earlier.

But, if you're going to skip on your campaign prep, there are numerous ways to make your life easier.  Firstly--and I can't stress this one enough--pick a system that emphasizes light prep and that you know particularly well.  Systems like Savage Worlds and ICONS work well for me, as NPCs can primarily be made up on the fly.  Is he a big, burly fighter?  Give him a d8 or a d10 in Fighting and you're good to go.  While modern game design has emphasized unified mathematical systems (which typically feature, at least, verisimilitude), a system like d20 or Pathfinder simply doesn't have that flexibility, with its emphasis on numerous bonuses and fiddly modifiers.  If you're comfortable with a mechanical system, you'll start finding those patterns in the numbers that will let you make up an NPC's stats without even writing a thing down.

Let 'em play in the sandbox for a while!

Next, set your players free.  Allowing your players free reign over a sandbox encourages both you and your players to play things "off-the-cuff", allowing players to pursue their own goals and for them to move into a more reactive role, rather than forcibly driving the story.  While a sandbox game does rely on having motivated, active players, ensuring that your players have a great background--perhaps through the aforementioned Dramatic Interludes or through a background sheet such the Journeyman GM's Quick and Easy Character Background.

Lastly, get used to saying "Yes".  While it's easy for a GM to shut down ideas or offer penalties, it's often in that same GM's interest to instead let the players come up with creative ideas on their own, then simply going with the flow on those players' ideas.  Let your players surprise you--their creativity is just as valid as your own!

30 Days of GameMastering--Day 8!

You got it:  Day 8, Lindevi's challenge, GameMastery go!  Today's question:

How do you prep for each session?

So, once you have a solid campaign outline, your session prep becomes a ton easier.  Your first step for any individual session is to reference that document and start identifying beats of conflict.

Let me diverge momentarily.  When I studied abroad in Liverpool, my Chaucer professor taught me one singular element which drives how I game, how I write, and how I design.  He said:

"Conflict is at the root of all literature.  After all, what would King Lear be like if everyone just sat around saying, "Pass the cornflakes,"?

Most traditional rpgs revolve around conflict--whether armed or diplomatic--as the players attempt to find a solution for that conflict.  In a fantasy game, that solution usually centers on axes going into orcs and bugbears being scorched with fireballs.  In a sci-fi game, blasters are drawn and lightsabers go whoosh.  In a horror game, conflict becomes more subtle, centering on investigation and a slow reveal of clues towards a horrific end.  The pace slows, the conflict goes from a raging bonfire to a slow burn, but it still remains.

Your task as a GM is to facilitate that conflict:  to ensure that it has a steady, enthralling pace and challenges your players without overpowering them.  By identifying potential "beats" of conflict, you can then hone in on the minutia that you need to make that conflict work:  stat blocks, maps, environmental hazards, and the like.  While you can't possibly anticipate every move by your players, try to hypothesize typical scenarios that your players might take.  Are your fantasy players seeking an aquatic treasure?  Pull a few stat blocks for Deep Ones or krakenfolk, then ready a map that builds upon that conflict.

Conflict!  Conflict!  Conflict!

You can then use those beats of conflict to structure your story.  When you've figured out what the proverbial "highs" are, it becomes easier to figure out how to get to those highs, letting the PCs themselves actively seek out what comes next, budgeting their downtime and investigative inquiries as they need.

Lastly, start building in those NPCs (particularly the villains) that you painstakingly built earlier.  Use a light touch and find ways to include those NPCs into your PCs' path.  Using the above example, if your heroes are seeking an aquatic treasure, consider providing a foil for a ranger PC by including a rival relic hunter who has an edge after that treasure.  If you give that relic hunter a chance to one-up the PCs, you can drive the action from a normal dungeon delve into a race against time.  And, if the PCs lose, they have another adventure ready and waiting for them:  track down that dastardly relic hunter!

One of the best things to have on hand for this sort of GMing, I find, is a good NPC database.  A simple Google search brings up massive databases for most major systems:  Savage Worlds, Pathfinder, d20 and more.  Having these guys in hand makes your life so much easier, as the databases are largely searchable and easy to navigate!

In Which The Warlock Totally Called It...

A few posts ago, you may recall The Journeyman GM and I making some predictions as per the potential of an upcoming edition of Dungeons and Dragons.

Well, lo and behold:  it looks like we were right.  In the latest "Legends and Lore" column, Mike Mearls officially outed the current development of a new edition of D&D.

As you can imagine, I'm not particularly surprised.  When Monte Cook came back on board and the 4e release schedule slowed to a crawl--much as it had at the end of 3.5e's run--it was fairly easy to tell that something was amiss over in Seattle.  When word started creeping in by other industry insiders, such as Margaret Weis, it's hard to deny that something isn't going on.

Honestly, I'm sort of looking forward to a new edition.  While I love many things about 4e--the rise of the non-caster character, archetypes such as the warlord getting their due, and the entire ritual system--I almost can't bring myself to play the game anymore.  The reliance on minis-based combat, the similar-feeling powers, and the labyrinthine character sheets (particularly in Paragon tier and beyond) just got to be too much.  When a character sheet hits 8 pages, there's simply too much to go through!

My biggest worry, however, is summed up best here:  in an article for the New York Times by Ethan Gilsdorf.

When 4e came out, the gamer market fractioned.  For over a year, Paizo's Pathfinder has either matched or outsold D&D, as disgruntled fans sought their fix elsewhere.  I've been a devoted D&D player since 7th grade, and I haven't touched the game since this past Origins.  Before that?  Almost six months prior.  Other games--which tend to have a longer shelf life, simpler rules, and faster play around the table--have attracted my attention.  I don't see that changing, to be honest.

It's been stated over and over in the few days since the new edition's announcement that the hope is for a "reunification" of the fractured gamer community.  I can only hope that this is going to be the case...

In Which The Warlock Returns from the Void...

Apologies for the extended absence, amices.  Both the PlatinumChick and I got sick last week and are just now starting to get over it!  Between the hacking and coughing out here, we haven't had a chance much to game, though I've been working on my Hell on Earth one-off during the downtime at work.

Old school gaming meets
the technological age!

What's new, though, is my technological edge!  Through some means that I'm not privy to discussing (don't worry, they're legal means!), I found myself in possession of a brand-spankin'-new iPad 2! 

While I'm obligated to use this iPad at work as part of a new initiative, the iPad is unequivocably mine and can be used for pretty much anything I see fit....including gaming!  Obviously, my massive amount of PDFs will go into GoodReads and iBooks, but beyond that, I'm a little stumped.

I'm already familiar with a few 4e D&D and Pathfinder apps that exist, but I'm already on the lookout for more.  While TheJourneymanGM's secret senior thesis isn't quite done yet--though I'll be sure to download it when it is!--I need some more!

So tell me, gamer nation--what should I have on my new device?  What's proved useful, and how?