First off, we need to get a few things out of the way. Number one, I suspect this thread belongs in Gaming, but I decided to play it safe and put it here. If I'm mistaken, move it at will, mods. Second, do not take what I'm saying in this post to be The Law, because it's not - every RPG, party and system is a little different. These are just guidelines to how to set up, play or GM (Game Master) a campaign.
That said, I have been a pen-and-paper addict for about ten years now. My first game was called Rifts, by Palladium Games, and it's a really amazing world. After that, I was hooked, and tried Dungeons and Dragons, Army of Darkness, a little home-made D20 zombie game, all sorts of stuff like that. GMing, playing, watching... I've done it all. I want to share my advice with you, fellow Escapists - maybe you've been interested to dip your toes but never knew what was up? Looking for tips on how to better GM? Just overall want to know what it's all about?
Read on, gentle friends and neighbours.
To start, let's deal with Choosing the Right Game.
There are literally hundreds of games out there, from the ubiquitous D&D to the more obscure. When deciding what game to play, remember to do your homework! Google for reviews of any game that tickles your fancy, be it fantasy, sci-fi, or psychological thriller. Try to choose something that appeals to your interests, because trust me, there is always something out there that will. Once you've chosen a game, don't go balls-out and decide to get everything started right away. Buy some dice, the book's core rules (or even download a PDF, but please buy the book if you decide you like it) which can always be found as the "core sourcebook", and read up on the system. Make sure you have at least a basic knowledge of how the game works, how the rolls go, etc - when I start a new game, I prefer to practice solo and roll a character, try some combat, etc. It's always more fun when a game can progress based on what you know, not how well you've tabbed your sourcebook so you can keep flipping.
Alright, so, book in hand, you think you're ready to play. Let's go over a few basic ideas of rolling a character and Playing in a Party.
First, make sure your party is a group of people who are fun to play with. A good rule of thumb is simply asking yourself "Would I hang out with this person?". If the answer is no, then don't play with them! You're going to be spending a lot of time at the table with these guys and girls, so be sure they're people you're comfortable around.
Choosing a venue isn't terribly complicated - if you or any of your partymates have a table that can seat at least four, you're golden. That really is the limit of what you need, but you may want more things at hand - more space, tools, a whiteboard, whatever.
Make sure to check with your GM (the person in charge of the campaign) before you roll a character. The GM writes the story of your campaign, and sometimes there are character classes or alignments that simply won't fit the story (a Jedi working for the Galactic Empire, for example). When you do roll a character, and this is very important, roll a balanced character. I have played a lot of games, and I always find that people new to RPGing will roll a character who is a god of combat, but a failure at everything else. Personally, I did this too, and it really hurt our games - really, who wants a teammate who can kill any enemy, but can't read or write? I know I don't. Alls I'm saying is that yes, your weapon skills are important, but so are some other skills. Try to roll a character who is really close to a human - excellently skilled with rifles, perhaps, but also very interested in needlework? The choice is yours...
So your character is rolled and you're ready to play. Please STOP
COLLABORATE and
LISTEN
There are a few things you should do.
1: Do not be a rules lawyer!
Nothing, and I mean nothing, is a bigger boner-killer for the rest of the party than someone who keeps fighting with the GM, commonly called a Rules Lawyer. Let's say, for instance, you're taking aim with your crossbow at a moving target who is running for cover. You roll your die to see if you hit, and roll a sixteen. The GM says that you miss. "Why?" you ask, your hackles rising. "I have plus three to hit, and I'm crouched, and he's in the open, and blah blah blah if you check page one seventeen blah blah!".
This fucking sucks for everyone else. Instead of getting frustrated in this sort of situation, think about the circumstances. Yes, you were crouched, and yes, your target was in the open, but he's also running as fast as he can! Maybe he was a dancer at a young age and can dodge your attacks, maybe he's smaller than your average human... the list of possibilities for why you missed is endless, and unless you've taken time to study your target (or maybe even gotten to know him, for you assassin types) there is an excellent chance that there are several things you do not know about this enemy. But I promise you, you did not miss because the GM doesn't know the rules.
2: Turn your cell-phone off
Pretty self-explanatory. I try to avoid taking my games too seriously, but it's hard to have fun if every five seconds you hear the Beverly Hills Cop theme and your rogue needs a time-out to text his brother. Try to set aside a dedicated chunk of time to play your game, and devote that time to your game.
3: Be excellent to each other:
Even if your character is at odds with another player, there is no excuse for being a dick at the gaming table. Maybe your frontline soldier teammate made some trouble with the police and now you're fleeing the city. You're pissed off because you're almost out of poison for your dagger, your character's slightly hurt, and you had a job to complete here. Don't get angry! This is fun! This is what RPGs are all about! Evolving games, stories that move with the characters!
4: Have fun
Sounds pretty self-explanatory, but let's be honest - some people get way, way too into their games, and start treating them like a job that needs to be done rather than fun downtime. Just relax, hang out, swap jokes, roll dice, and have a great time.
5. u]Be reliable[/u]
This is another really big one. Most parties consist of 2-5 players and one GM, and if (like my current party) everyone works, lining up everyone's schedule is excessively difficult. Make sure that you're available on the days you've told the GM (commonly the person who sets up gaming sessions), and if you're not available, let him or her know in advance. Few things are more of a piss-off than calling three or four people, setting up a game, then twenty minutes before it's time to play one of your players decides they'd rather not. Set aside a block of time and be reliable about it!
Mastering your Game: The Key Elements to a Great Campaign
Being a Game Master is my favourite position. I can write out a great, long story, I can plan some truly nasty ambushes, I can watch the story and the party evolve, and, most of all, I get to play God.
I wasn't going to lie to you, I love it.
I have played some truly horrific campaigns, and I want to share a couple pieces of advice I always use that make my games pretty fun. At least according to my party.
1: Write it out
You may have a terrific memory, but do yourself a favour and type out your story, at least the first little bit of it. I always used to "ad-lib" campaigns until I got a laptop, and now I write out each two-hour gaming session on there, and you know what? It's great. It allows you to write out very particular details (secrets available to the party if they take the time to look, for example), set up and plan encounters, and is your cheat sheet in general. I also find that a written-out campaign moves smoother, there is less hanging on little details ("what was that Twi'Lek's name again?") and the ability to focus on more important things than trying to remember if the party parked their truck at the abandoned Wal-Mart or if the truck was demolished in combat.
2: Do not be a jerk
Yes, the GM always has the final word. But don't abuse your power! Maybe one of your players is a bit of a Rules Lawyer, so in their next encounter he is eaten by a Dire Bear. That is no fun, and is a real jackass move. Just remember that as much as you're pitting enemies against your party, you're trying to work with them to see them do great things.
3: Do not be afraid to cheat
You're the GM, so it isn't technically cheating, for starters. It is entirely within your bounds and is recommended and endorsed by yours truly to fudge your rolls, make things up, etc. Don't take that the wrong way - "that critical headshot with your sniper rifle didn't actually kill him" is a weak way to fudge the rules. What I am saying is that maybe the entire party is incapacitated, and the one surviving member, barely clinging to life, aims one last shot at his similarly-battered foe. He rolls a ten. There are tons of rules you need to bounce around in your head - he's lying on the ground, so that's minus one, he's hurt and probably can't see straight, minus three, the enemy isn't moving, plus two, his enemy has an armour class of twelve so this and that and whatever. Technically, that'd probably be a miss, but chances are good that the enemy, on his turn, will deliver the coup de grace to your party and the adventure is over. What do you do?
I am a kind GM - I would simply say it's a hit, your enemy is dead, you're a hero and the party survives to another adventure. Provided you can make the proper Treat Injury check. (I kid.)
Lastly: Be Creative
So your Assassin has snuck up behind his target in a crowded bar, his tiny pistol is out, and it's time to seal the deal. He rolls the die, and it comes up... one. The lowest number on the die (typically 1) is a critical failure, whereas the highest number is always a critical success.
Critical failures and successes are my favourite part of running a campaign. On one end of the spectrum, perhaps your mechanic is attempting to repair the engines of your starship, and she rolls a natural twenty (natural twenty = the die comes up twenty before any bonuses are applied). The opportunities for you to add little bits and pieces of fun are endless, truly - in the mechanic's case, perhaps she not only repaired your engines, but also accidentally crossed two wires leading to the shields, boosting the amount of damage your rust bucket can soak up.
In the assassin's case, try to think of something that constitutes going horribly awry, but leads to more gaming opportunities. You could, by rights, say that his pistol exploded, his hand takes 2d6 damage, etc etc etc. Or, you could say that the bullet was a dud, making a loud noise but the projectile simply plunks out of the barrel onto the floor. The target is alerted, and so are his big tough buddies in the back, and now you've got a bar fight on your hands. See? Be creative.
This doesn't just apply to the game, either. Be creative in all aspects of your campaign! In my current Star Wars campaign, there is a Bounty Hunter in the party. During their travels, I slipped him a note that said "Private message delivered over comlink. New bounty on Coruscant, reward 5000 credits alive". Then their name, basic location and such. The player then said to the rest of the party "Um, let's swing around Coruscant, because... I need to get the ship upgraded".
Boom. Perfect. The Bounty Hunter doesn't want to share the bounty, obviously, because he's a greedy prick. With one simple note I have created an entirely new chapter in the adventure, and who knows? Maybe I'll think of something during the hunt, and that bounty will turn out to be a pirate leader whose fleet declares war on the Bounty Hunter and his friends. That is fun, my friends.
Also, your presentation is important too. It really adds to the scene! As an example, while detailing an assault on a Rebel base, I pulled out an old overhead projector, set up a map, and delivered blow-by-blow briefings of what's going on. This adds tremendously to the overall fun level of the game, and leaves very very little wiggle room for things to go wrong, or loose ends to come back and bite you.
That's about it for my advice. Go forth, my friends, have a lot of fun, and welcome to playing RPGs!
Now, if you managed to wade through that word-swamp, feel free to use this thread as a place to swap RPG stories, ask questions (I'll be here another two hours), make fun of me, whatever. Have fun!
EDIT - added the Criticals paragraph. Because criticals are incredibly awesome.
EDIT 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO - added "be reliable".
That said, I have been a pen-and-paper addict for about ten years now. My first game was called Rifts, by Palladium Games, and it's a really amazing world. After that, I was hooked, and tried Dungeons and Dragons, Army of Darkness, a little home-made D20 zombie game, all sorts of stuff like that. GMing, playing, watching... I've done it all. I want to share my advice with you, fellow Escapists - maybe you've been interested to dip your toes but never knew what was up? Looking for tips on how to better GM? Just overall want to know what it's all about?
Read on, gentle friends and neighbours.
To start, let's deal with Choosing the Right Game.
There are literally hundreds of games out there, from the ubiquitous D&D to the more obscure. When deciding what game to play, remember to do your homework! Google for reviews of any game that tickles your fancy, be it fantasy, sci-fi, or psychological thriller. Try to choose something that appeals to your interests, because trust me, there is always something out there that will. Once you've chosen a game, don't go balls-out and decide to get everything started right away. Buy some dice, the book's core rules (or even download a PDF, but please buy the book if you decide you like it) which can always be found as the "core sourcebook", and read up on the system. Make sure you have at least a basic knowledge of how the game works, how the rolls go, etc - when I start a new game, I prefer to practice solo and roll a character, try some combat, etc. It's always more fun when a game can progress based on what you know, not how well you've tabbed your sourcebook so you can keep flipping.
Alright, so, book in hand, you think you're ready to play. Let's go over a few basic ideas of rolling a character and Playing in a Party.
First, make sure your party is a group of people who are fun to play with. A good rule of thumb is simply asking yourself "Would I hang out with this person?". If the answer is no, then don't play with them! You're going to be spending a lot of time at the table with these guys and girls, so be sure they're people you're comfortable around.
Choosing a venue isn't terribly complicated - if you or any of your partymates have a table that can seat at least four, you're golden. That really is the limit of what you need, but you may want more things at hand - more space, tools, a whiteboard, whatever.
Make sure to check with your GM (the person in charge of the campaign) before you roll a character. The GM writes the story of your campaign, and sometimes there are character classes or alignments that simply won't fit the story (a Jedi working for the Galactic Empire, for example). When you do roll a character, and this is very important, roll a balanced character. I have played a lot of games, and I always find that people new to RPGing will roll a character who is a god of combat, but a failure at everything else. Personally, I did this too, and it really hurt our games - really, who wants a teammate who can kill any enemy, but can't read or write? I know I don't. Alls I'm saying is that yes, your weapon skills are important, but so are some other skills. Try to roll a character who is really close to a human - excellently skilled with rifles, perhaps, but also very interested in needlework? The choice is yours...
So your character is rolled and you're ready to play. Please STOP
COLLABORATE and
LISTEN
There are a few things you should do.
1: Do not be a rules lawyer!
Nothing, and I mean nothing, is a bigger boner-killer for the rest of the party than someone who keeps fighting with the GM, commonly called a Rules Lawyer. Let's say, for instance, you're taking aim with your crossbow at a moving target who is running for cover. You roll your die to see if you hit, and roll a sixteen. The GM says that you miss. "Why?" you ask, your hackles rising. "I have plus three to hit, and I'm crouched, and he's in the open, and blah blah blah if you check page one seventeen blah blah!".
This fucking sucks for everyone else. Instead of getting frustrated in this sort of situation, think about the circumstances. Yes, you were crouched, and yes, your target was in the open, but he's also running as fast as he can! Maybe he was a dancer at a young age and can dodge your attacks, maybe he's smaller than your average human... the list of possibilities for why you missed is endless, and unless you've taken time to study your target (or maybe even gotten to know him, for you assassin types) there is an excellent chance that there are several things you do not know about this enemy. But I promise you, you did not miss because the GM doesn't know the rules.
2: Turn your cell-phone off
Pretty self-explanatory. I try to avoid taking my games too seriously, but it's hard to have fun if every five seconds you hear the Beverly Hills Cop theme and your rogue needs a time-out to text his brother. Try to set aside a dedicated chunk of time to play your game, and devote that time to your game.
3: Be excellent to each other:
Even if your character is at odds with another player, there is no excuse for being a dick at the gaming table. Maybe your frontline soldier teammate made some trouble with the police and now you're fleeing the city. You're pissed off because you're almost out of poison for your dagger, your character's slightly hurt, and you had a job to complete here. Don't get angry! This is fun! This is what RPGs are all about! Evolving games, stories that move with the characters!
4: Have fun
Sounds pretty self-explanatory, but let's be honest - some people get way, way too into their games, and start treating them like a job that needs to be done rather than fun downtime. Just relax, hang out, swap jokes, roll dice, and have a great time.
5. u]Be reliable[/u]
This is another really big one. Most parties consist of 2-5 players and one GM, and if (like my current party) everyone works, lining up everyone's schedule is excessively difficult. Make sure that you're available on the days you've told the GM (commonly the person who sets up gaming sessions), and if you're not available, let him or her know in advance. Few things are more of a piss-off than calling three or four people, setting up a game, then twenty minutes before it's time to play one of your players decides they'd rather not. Set aside a block of time and be reliable about it!
Mastering your Game: The Key Elements to a Great Campaign
Being a Game Master is my favourite position. I can write out a great, long story, I can plan some truly nasty ambushes, I can watch the story and the party evolve, and, most of all, I get to play God.
I wasn't going to lie to you, I love it.
I have played some truly horrific campaigns, and I want to share a couple pieces of advice I always use that make my games pretty fun. At least according to my party.
1: Write it out
You may have a terrific memory, but do yourself a favour and type out your story, at least the first little bit of it. I always used to "ad-lib" campaigns until I got a laptop, and now I write out each two-hour gaming session on there, and you know what? It's great. It allows you to write out very particular details (secrets available to the party if they take the time to look, for example), set up and plan encounters, and is your cheat sheet in general. I also find that a written-out campaign moves smoother, there is less hanging on little details ("what was that Twi'Lek's name again?") and the ability to focus on more important things than trying to remember if the party parked their truck at the abandoned Wal-Mart or if the truck was demolished in combat.
2: Do not be a jerk
Yes, the GM always has the final word. But don't abuse your power! Maybe one of your players is a bit of a Rules Lawyer, so in their next encounter he is eaten by a Dire Bear. That is no fun, and is a real jackass move. Just remember that as much as you're pitting enemies against your party, you're trying to work with them to see them do great things.
3: Do not be afraid to cheat
You're the GM, so it isn't technically cheating, for starters. It is entirely within your bounds and is recommended and endorsed by yours truly to fudge your rolls, make things up, etc. Don't take that the wrong way - "that critical headshot with your sniper rifle didn't actually kill him" is a weak way to fudge the rules. What I am saying is that maybe the entire party is incapacitated, and the one surviving member, barely clinging to life, aims one last shot at his similarly-battered foe. He rolls a ten. There are tons of rules you need to bounce around in your head - he's lying on the ground, so that's minus one, he's hurt and probably can't see straight, minus three, the enemy isn't moving, plus two, his enemy has an armour class of twelve so this and that and whatever. Technically, that'd probably be a miss, but chances are good that the enemy, on his turn, will deliver the coup de grace to your party and the adventure is over. What do you do?
I am a kind GM - I would simply say it's a hit, your enemy is dead, you're a hero and the party survives to another adventure. Provided you can make the proper Treat Injury check. (I kid.)
Lastly: Be Creative
So your Assassin has snuck up behind his target in a crowded bar, his tiny pistol is out, and it's time to seal the deal. He rolls the die, and it comes up... one. The lowest number on the die (typically 1) is a critical failure, whereas the highest number is always a critical success.
Critical failures and successes are my favourite part of running a campaign. On one end of the spectrum, perhaps your mechanic is attempting to repair the engines of your starship, and she rolls a natural twenty (natural twenty = the die comes up twenty before any bonuses are applied). The opportunities for you to add little bits and pieces of fun are endless, truly - in the mechanic's case, perhaps she not only repaired your engines, but also accidentally crossed two wires leading to the shields, boosting the amount of damage your rust bucket can soak up.
In the assassin's case, try to think of something that constitutes going horribly awry, but leads to more gaming opportunities. You could, by rights, say that his pistol exploded, his hand takes 2d6 damage, etc etc etc. Or, you could say that the bullet was a dud, making a loud noise but the projectile simply plunks out of the barrel onto the floor. The target is alerted, and so are his big tough buddies in the back, and now you've got a bar fight on your hands. See? Be creative.
This doesn't just apply to the game, either. Be creative in all aspects of your campaign! In my current Star Wars campaign, there is a Bounty Hunter in the party. During their travels, I slipped him a note that said "Private message delivered over comlink. New bounty on Coruscant, reward 5000 credits alive". Then their name, basic location and such. The player then said to the rest of the party "Um, let's swing around Coruscant, because... I need to get the ship upgraded".
Boom. Perfect. The Bounty Hunter doesn't want to share the bounty, obviously, because he's a greedy prick. With one simple note I have created an entirely new chapter in the adventure, and who knows? Maybe I'll think of something during the hunt, and that bounty will turn out to be a pirate leader whose fleet declares war on the Bounty Hunter and his friends. That is fun, my friends.
Also, your presentation is important too. It really adds to the scene! As an example, while detailing an assault on a Rebel base, I pulled out an old overhead projector, set up a map, and delivered blow-by-blow briefings of what's going on. This adds tremendously to the overall fun level of the game, and leaves very very little wiggle room for things to go wrong, or loose ends to come back and bite you.
That's about it for my advice. Go forth, my friends, have a lot of fun, and welcome to playing RPGs!
Now, if you managed to wade through that word-swamp, feel free to use this thread as a place to swap RPG stories, ask questions (I'll be here another two hours), make fun of me, whatever. Have fun!
EDIT - added the Criticals paragraph. Because criticals are incredibly awesome.
EDIT 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO - added "be reliable".
