Behind the Screen Dork
By Cape Rust
Sorry, the title was a little misleading. I meant to say behind the Green Door… wait, never mind. Most game systems I’ve play have some kind of screen that separates the GM, DM, Storyteller, or any title you can come up for that guy or girl doing mysterious and possibly naughty things behind a few laminated cardboard sheets that seem more daunting than the great wall of China. Last week we discussed how to be a better player so let’s peek behind that screen and give the hardest working folks in gaming a few tips that might make their lives easier. I know you will be surprised to hear me say I am not the first person to tackle this subject, and I won’t be the last. This is an important subject for gamers everywhere. The person running the game can make or break a player’s entire view of gaming and game systems.
Everyone has a different reason why they got into running RPGs. For some, they were the person who owns the game books, others got tired of dealing with tyrants and said I can do a better job than the Napoleon like person who has turned that GM screen into a throne of oppression. Whatever motivated you to step up to the plate, you have taken up one of the most thankless and worst paying jobs out there. Most people who game have a passion for some aspect of the game. It could be the ability to escape from their daily hum-drum lives or it could just be the one time a week when you have no stress interaction with actual air breathing people. Whatever drives you to the table, it is the Game Masters job to keep you coming back for another fix.
So let’s get into some tips. The first and one of the most important rules is to have fun! Gaming is a hobby and a fun one at that. If you are not having fun, you need to check yourself before you wreck yourself. I have seen way too many folks who took running a game so seriously that when the players did what they always do, which is exactly the wrong thing, they lost it. They freaked. They got angry, frustrated or worse, vengeful.
For many GMs, running a game is like writing a novel or directing an epic movie – the game and the world in which it takes place are expressions of their ideas and talents. The problem is, we all get so caught up in the rules and canon we forget the F word. The definition of hobby in this computer’s dictionary is this: An activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure. So in case you missed it, the words leisure and pleasure were both used. I happen to like the sound of both of those! Running a game is a bit of a contradiction because it is a part of the hobby that does take quite a bit of work; however, it should be a labor of love. When running a game stops being fun, stop running that game. Don’t let it get to the point where evil thoughts set in. Remember, when you are running the game, you are an ambassador for the system you are running and for people who are running games everywhere.
As much as we as storytellers want to tell a story, we have to remember that the game is about the players. If I am having fun telling my story but my players are bored out of their gourd, what is the point? If that is the case I’d be better off writing, gulp… fan fiction! Think about that real hard. I had a GM that loved to tell stories. His biggest problem was he was so busy telling a great story he didn’t always look to see if the players were enjoying what was going on. He has grown by leaps and bounds and realizes that the game is a wonderful way to tell great stories. Now he has embraced a much more collaborative style, and I know his current group is enjoying the fruits of his labor.
In the next few weeks, we are going to look at a few aspects of this massive topic. If you are getting ready to run your first game or you have been running games for the last twenty years, you can always learn something. Like most things in life, please read these articles and take the information you need from them. There is no silver bullet to running a game. Every game is different and every group is unique. As we go through this process, remember to have fun and roll well.
