DM advice for a newbie

[ThrobbingEgo]

I want to run a game sometime in the future, never run a game before. Never played a pen & paper game. I bought the nWoD sourcebook and a copy of Mage: The Awakening, because I like the concept, and I want to do something different than Tolkenesque goblins, dwarves and orcs.

Anyway, I'm still reading the books - and I'm forming ideas on how to run a game. I'll probably start with a vanilla WoD campaign, since the rules are simpler, and introduce Mage elements as I wrap my brain around the whole storytelling medium. I'm thinking I'll center a story around an evil tricker mage, who I will keep in the background - I'll just drop hints about him.

Anyway, has anyone played a nWoD game (Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, etc) who can give me some advice. I have no experience, aside from reading webcomics, listening to Penny Arcade's DnD podcasts, and being a nerd in general - which, really, isn't much experience at all. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Falconknight06]

Actually, I've only played the old world of darkness games, but the system is still pretty similar to the other d10 systems. I could help you if you want but I'll tell you the problem I see. The problem will always be dice rolls. Figure that out and you're golden.

 

[Yog Sothoth]

I've played a good deal of WoD games, up through 3rd Ed. Mage... I would highly recommend that you play at least a few sessions as a player character before you take up the task of Storyteller duties...

You're also welcome to PM me with any specific questions you might have if you like...

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

I've played a good deal of WoD games, up through 3rd Ed. Mage... I would highly recommend that you play at least a few sessions as a player character before you take up the task of Storyteller duties...

You're also welcome to PM me with any specific questions you might have if you like...

Eh, the only way I'll be able to play a game is if I introduce it to my friends. I'm thinking we'll all learn as we go along.

 

[Alex_P]

Check out "How to Run Roleplaying Games" and "How to Play Roleplaying Games" on this page [http://www.gregstolze.com/downloads.html]. Short and sweet and simple.

-- Alex

 

[Undeed]

You might want to try playing before you DM. I've never played a WoD game, I think this a a good rule to follow anyway. It allows you to familliarize yourself with the game and get a taste for what a good or bad DM is, depending on who's running your game. When you are comfortable with the rules and you have a good idea of the kind of game you want to run rhen go for it.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

Check out "How to Run Roleplaying Games" and "How to Play Roleplaying Games" on this page [http://www.gregstolze.com/downloads.html]. Short and sweet and simple.

-- Alex

Nice find. Thanks.

 

[About To Crash]

I've been a DM for D&D for five years, but I've never played any WoD games. However, I like to believe that the philosophy behind DMing remains similar, if not the same.

What I've really found is important is the realization that people play tabletop RPGs because in them, you can do anything. You will reap the penalties and benefits appropriately, so I suppose I should say you can try anything. The big thing you have to do as a DM is prepare for possibilities. If you give players a problem to solve, they may try tonnes of foolish methods to solve said problem. You need to think of as many ways around a problem. That means a problem like how to get a door open, or the main problem of the campaign. It's really difficult, but try to give them a sense that there are choices for them to make. If they're given the opportunities of either going along with the all-powerful ally or abandoning him, and you think that either would be fine, then don't make it seem as if they would be screwed without that ally.

You could check out Rich Burlew's gaming section of Giant In The Playground Games, as he's written some good info for RPGs in general, as a player and a DM.

 

[McClaud]

I, too, have only played the old Mage.

Having actually played nWoD Hunter, I can tell you that the biggest obstacle you may have as the DM is figuring out what is a good balance between "too hard" and "too easy" for the characters. The DM's job is to set the number of successes needed, and depending on the character's skills and attributes, you may have to adjust accordingly.

Oh, realize that the examples of proper difficulties for actions in the WoD core book is if all the players are playing characters that are highly specialized. If you have a bunch of characters that are similar or broad in abilities, those difficulty settings given by the book are not helpful.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

Yeah, the manual really recommends that the characters specialize. I think I'm going to suggest that they do.

 

[Alex_P]

Copying from a previous post of mine [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.89249#1394168]:

Don't plan ahead too much.

Be a "bass player" -- build the foundation for everyone else's contributions. Try to use your scene-framing ability to keep the game going forward. Watch who gets how much spotlight time and throw bones to players who are behind the curve.

Don't put off your best ideas. I am so bad about this. I have a tendency to try to "bake" the setup with a bunch of pointless mundane stuff in an attempt to somehow save my good idea for a thrilling climax. Then by the time I get to it, my idea is boring to me and I can't do it well anyway. So, if you think of something cool that you want to use, use it soon. If you spend a lot of time making up the ending you'll only play 20 sessions from now, your games today are likely to suffer. If you do your good idea now, you'll be free to think of the next good idea. And fun stuff will be happening -- all the time!

Here's the super-secret pen-and-paper-RPG-playing special sauce that will make you a member of the pen-and-paper-RPG-playing elite:

Be boring!

Seriously: be boring! Do what seems obvious. When you try to be clever all the time, you end up with inscrutable bullshit that goes nowhere. When you just kinda kick back and go with the flow and do the simple thing, you'll find that you're still quite clever sometimes but the overall story still flows naturally and makes sense. Oh, and you'll be far more relaxed during play. (This is especially vital in any kind of mystery- or intrigue- oriented game. If the secret is just a bunch of inscrutable twists at every turn, the PCs are never going to actually decipher it anyway.)

...

And here's another bit of super-special secret sauce that wasn't in the previous post, but is equally simple and awesome:

Reincorporate!

That just means "bring back details from before". Ever seen Kung-Fu Panda? Notice the way the movie uses the acupuncture scene and the Wuxi Finger Hold? That's reincorporation. Done well, this kind of thing makes the fictional world seem deeper and more consistent (stuff doesn't just enter the scene and then exist forever; it comes back when it matters) and it makes the story tighter, simpler, cleaner, too. You don't have to plan this out in advance -- just be on the look-out for opportunities and do it when it feels right. When you're nearing a climax, use reincorporation to bring out a particular story theme. When you're about to invent a an explanation for something or pull in a shocking new plot twist out of the blue, use reincorporation to preserve a feeling of continuity. When the game bogs down and you need to get it moving again, use reincorporation to re-introduce an element that already has established interest and emotional significance for the players.

-- Alex