I have a few things/sayings/mantras/rules that I follow as a GM. First on the list. Say Yes. I learned this from the Happy Jacks podcast (links for everything at the bottom). I’ve heard a lot of podcasts interpret this as Yes, and… or Yes, but…I prefer just Yes and then explain more. Favorite part of saying Yes – the way too often surprised look on players faces. It works best in a Con game where you probably only have a little less than four hours to make something awesome. But it can work just as well in an ongoing home campaign as you try and build something with input from all your players. Yes is infectious, it leads to more Yes, which leads to more fun.
Next rule is from Dungeon World (and lots of other places I’m sure), be a Fan of the Players. You (the GM) get to have the fun of starting the story, thinking up a broad outline of actions, what’s going on in the world right now. What will happen if the PCs don’t do anything. What the continents look like. How the deities created the cosmos or how and why the city in the middle of the desert got there and why it’s important. All this stuff is cool and you better have fun now because as soon as the PCs get hold of it it becomes everyone’s story. So if it’s everyone’s story, you need to be a fan of what the PCs do because they are going to make it better. Wait, that city is there because it holds a secret underground spring that cures the skin wasting disease of the royal family – awesome. The deities didn’t create the cosmos, they found it inhabited by dead gods floating between the newborn suns – double awesome. Now your players want to search for the link between the buried spring and the dead gods – hell yeah – bring it.
Your story is cool. Everyone’s story, made together by riffing off the world that you started – better. Be a fan of better.
Last rule is something for players and GMs. if you don’t know what to do, do something cool. Turn the character sheet over, don’t look at the stat block, forget the spells and points. Do something cool. Now look up and see Yes and Be a Fan. Who cares if it takes a little more time, who cares if it breaks a couple rules (you’re the GM and every GM guide I’ve ever taken the time to read says rule number one is if you don’t like a rule – break it). So the kicker for this one is that you need to put your players into situations where they do crazy stupid awesome stuff like this. Start simple with a chandelier, drapes and a staircase. I’ve played in groups that could spend four hours with just that and two orcs. And, I’ve played in groups that opened the book and stopped in their tracks when there were no rules for chandeliers (sigh…).
OK, so what have you got. What did I miss in my (almost) late night caffeine infused ramblings while I wait for my son to get done with play practice?
Right – links
Podcasts
Games
More Cleric Domains later – check out the Products page for what’s done.