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Tips for GMing?

Blizzard

Inactive Member
So, I just started my own plot for the most part. I've roleplayed a lot over the years, but this is my first time as a dedicated GM. As a GM, I want to keep my plot exciting and fun for my players, but I'm completely lost on how to make sure everyone's character gets their chance to shine, and how to pace my plot ("Flight of the Dove" in the USO subforum).

Any tips from you experienced GMs?
 
Don't be discouraged if you lose people. Everyone can be replaced. Dig-It suffered massive roster loss but kept chugging and it paid off.

That's general advice. Best way to give everyone a moment to shine is to work the situation into a list and ask how your players are doing as often as you can.
 
What I do when things succeed is I write out what will happen throughout the mission and leave subtle but important openings for one or two members to really shine, but I don't plan on which players or characters that will be. I leave those openings for the players that are up to the challenge that I've set up.

What I do when things fail is I let the players control too much and don't stick to a plan. When I fail is when I didn't come up with the mission and let someone else take the reins. When I fail is also when I haven't written out what is going to happen and how it is going to happen. I would recommend taking down notes before missions.

188604 is also in dire need of some character building time and I recommended to Zack that he do some of what Aashi did with your pilot. She would fly people around doing simple errands and, because flying off of the planet and to other ones takes quite a while because of 188604's position on the map, it gave those on board an opportunity to fraternize. Some really good RP came from that.

I still have a lot to learn, though! Have fun with it!!
 
What I do when things succeed is I write out what will happen throughout the mission and leave subtle but important openings for one or two members to really shine, but I don't plan on which players or characters that will be. I leave those openings for the players that are up to the challenge that I've set up.

What I do when things fail is I let the players control too much and don't stick to a plan. When I fail is when I didn't come up with the mission and let someone else take the reins. When I fail is also when I haven't written out what is going to happen and how it is going to happen. I would recommend taking down notes before missions.

188604 is also in dire need of some character building time and I recommended to Zack that he do some of what Aashi did with your pilot. She would fly people around doing simple errands and, because flying off of the planet and to other ones takes quite a while because of 188604's position on the map, it gave those on board an opportunity to fraternize. Some really good RP came from that.

I still have a lot to learn, though! Have fun with it!!
Everything she said I said in my post. But she's okay at explaining it. 9/10.
 
Another important thing is to make yourself comfortable. Keeping the players happy is important, but the only way a plot will succeed is if the GM is happy as well. So don't push yourself too hard trying to impress people. Find a pacing and style you enjoy and the players that'll enjoy that will show up. That's how a plot goes well.
 
The advice I always give for GMing is, when you're not sure what to do next, whether it's how to incorporate all the PCs, how to solve a problem you didn't plan for, or how to fill time/compensate for an adventure going off the rails etc. is to just...shut up and let the players solve the problem for you.

Great example I was given was a group who were after some NPC that double crossed them. They finally corner him and try to enact their plan to capture him, but the GM needed him alive for something later. So he just said that their spells failed, their attacks fail, and when they ask why, he just smiled at them and said 'by now, you should all know why'. He sits back, stays quiet, and watches them consult notes and talk to each other...before coming back a few minutes later with a perfectly reasonable explanation for why the NPC could survive their attacks, seeing as how he was secretly a were-rat all along and was using a magic item the party had mysteriously lost a few episodes back. He just nodded and agreed with them, praised them for figuring it out, then wrote all of this down and had a new were-rat villain with a magic item to use. Next session they all want to go get silver weapons, etc.

What the players will come up with will usually be what they want to do or see, so just roll with it and you'll usually have a better time than if you always stick to the plan or worry about how things are going. If you can just give them the first 10% as a prompt, most RPers are happy to dream up the next 90% for you, since creating characters and scenes is what everyone wants to do anyways.

Edit: This is actually pretty close to what Ame said, with a slight deviation in the middle. Nice.
 
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