The practical arts and methods applied to gamemastering.
73
votes
16answers
4k views
How to deal with players who like to use the local authorities to solve their problems
Preface
I apologize beforehand if this question has been asked before, I was not able to find one, except this, which may be related: Dealing with players who try to run from everything?. Also I'd ...
62
votes
19answers
2k views
How do you help players not focus on the rules?
Background - My Group's Gaming Style
When I GM, I run games loosely from a rules standpoint, and do not feel bound to adhere to what the rulebook says when it doesn't make sense in a given situation. ...
52
votes
15answers
2k views
Total Party Kill - What do I do as a GM?
Your party has had a streak of bad luck and/or made a poor choice and are now staring down death. The rules were followed to the letter and loss is assured. How do you handle this as a GM?
Does ...
50
votes
21answers
1k views
What approaches are there to lessen or eliminate reliance upon dice in an RPG?
Is it necessary to use dice all the time in a dice-based RPG system? In other words, are there occasions or means by which you speed up gameplay by either reducing the number of rolls or removing the ...
44
votes
7answers
910 views
How can I make my game more “noir” as a GM?
I ran a couple of Shadowrun games at Dexcon, my first time GMing at a con. It's not my first time running Shadowrun; I based the games off of a couple jobs my players did in a then-ongoing campaign. ...
43
votes
22answers
1k views
How can a GM quickly create interesting, engaging NPCs?
What techniques do people have for coming up with interesting personalities and histories for non-player characters? I'm mostly interested in the GM side of things. I don't want to do a ton of prep. I ...
43
votes
14answers
1k views
How can I help my PCs remember clues that they found?
I'm a new DM running my first adventure (it's D&D 4.0 but that's not relevant to my question). I've heard of the "three clue rule", that there should be at least three independent pointers to any ...
42
votes
10answers
1k views
Is it fair to press the players for decisions during combat?
My group tends to over-analyse during combat, which slows everything down.
I press upon my players to make their decision and roll the dice quickly. My players are all experienced in the system and I ...
40
votes
12answers
724 views
How do I make weather an important part of the game?
We're starting up a dark ages fantasy game, using some homebrew rules similar to D&D.
As the GM, how can I make weather an important part of the game?
To be clear, I'm not trying to just toss in ...
39
votes
14answers
1k views
How do I get the PCs to stop focusing on a red herring?
Okay, I'll cop to it -- this is totally my fault. I get a little excited at the slightest opportunity to expound upon the setting, and in this case I added a small mausoleum to an otherwise boring ...
39
votes
11answers
942 views
How do I deal with GM burnout?
There are groups that share the role of GM/DM/Storyteller/Ref, and there are those that don't. In either type there is always the threat of burnout - too much responsibility is put into the hands of a ...
39
votes
7answers
686 views
How can I quickly get a player back into a session after their character dies?
As a GM, what kind of techniques could I use to help a player re-join the gaming session after their character dies? I want to avoid any major interruptions to the flow of the adventure. I would also ...
38
votes
9answers
978 views
Running games for a constantly unreliable group
My RP club has been going on for many years, which has the unfortunate effect of us getting older. Many members of my club have started to acquire something called a 'real life'. I'm not entirely sure ...
36
votes
8answers
2k views
How do I deal with PCs who use kidnap and torture as an investigative technique?
I'm running a game in a modern setting with emphasis on the paranormal (Conspiracy X). The player characters are part of a secret government organization and are tasked with investigating & ...
36
votes
13answers
758 views
How to communicate to the players that an encounter can be solved also through diplomacy?
When you play D&D, you are not supposed to chat with the enemy during encounters. The system is made for fighting. However, in some circumstances, it would be nice to make the players conscious ...
36
votes
6answers
907 views
Preventing saturation in a horror campaign
I am currently designing my first horror campaign and what I've come up with so far is pretty dark and gruesome. I worry that if it is gut wrenching the whole way through, eventually the players will ...
35
votes
14answers
1k views
How to get out of a story deadlock
As with most of my questions, this is more of a general "how to handle a special situation" and not a plea to solve an existing problem.
What is the best way to handle story deadlocks (as in: The ...
35
votes
11answers
1k views
How should GM deal with 'standing orders'?
I once got this scenario. This is what the player says as he infiltrates an enemy NPC's mansion.
I am always checking for trap wherever I go. Assume that I am always looking around me wary and ...
34
votes
15answers
1k views
How can I make my PCs flee?
My players never run away or avoid conflict. Ever. I throw them ridiculous encounters, they will stay and fight. If I tell them, "You know you're not gonna make it, just run," they stay and fight and ...
34
votes
6answers
825 views
GMing a setting when your players are more familiar with it than you
My players often ask me to GM games in specific settings we all like. Most of the time, they know FAR more than me about that setting. They will object to events I have happen or how I play an NPC, ...
33
votes
13answers
2k views
How do I stop my PCs from acting like insomniac monkeys on crack?
An issue came up in the last session of my Pathfinder campaign - that of chronic PC impatience.
It happens especially when they go to cities and between major adventures. They go into a frenzy of ...
33
votes
6answers
739 views
What is a good way to become a better NPC/monster actor?
One of the biggest problems I have as Game Master, (going on 30+yrs) is in portraying NPC and Monsters in any RPG. Is there a good resource for becoming a better 'actor'?
Instead of just saying... ...
32
votes
10answers
561 views
Helping new players learn a setting on the go
I started a new Eberron campaign last night, and I quickly ran into the problem of my players not knowing much of anything about the campaign setting.
What is the Mournland?
Where is the Eldeen ...
32
votes
9answers
1k views
What is 'railroading', and is it a bad thing?
What is 'railroading', and when is it generally considered to be something negative?
32
votes
14answers
995 views
How can GMs make their game worlds more inclusive?
Many published roleplaying settings reflect our own cultural biases, for example, by putting white people in the "core" of the setting with "exotic" (i.e., not white) cultures around the less-detailed ...
32
votes
3answers
429 views
How do I build a sense of wonder in my games?
I guess this is part three of a series of questions, with part I being on building tension, and part II being on building comedy.
Greg Stafford has talked of his primary motivation as a gamemaster ...
31
votes
8answers
2k views
How To Divide Up Loot?
I've been GMing a very successful (Pathfinder) campaign for quite a few months now, but we've developed a bit of a problem I'm not sure how to resolve: loot distribution.
None of my players are ...
31
votes
13answers
939 views
As a GM, how does one deal with all of the players playing nearly identical characters?
I'm running a Deadlands campaign with players who come entirely from D&D and have never played Savage Worlds before. All five people in the group have made nearly identical characters ...
30
votes
15answers
1k views
How do I keep NPCs from just sounding the alarm?
When I design adventures, I often come up with situations where the NPCs could realistically thwart the PCs quickly by sounding an alarm. This is especially common in science fiction settings, where ...
30
votes
7answers
933 views
How do I avoid clichés while improvising?
Tropes are not bad, but clichés usually are. Sadly, when I need to come up with something on the fly it's much easier and faster to use clichés: if I suddenly need a barkeep, he's probably fat with a ...
30
votes
12answers
578 views
How do I allow player agency in situations with predetermined outcomes?
One of the current members of our group joined a little later than everyone else. His character's history wasn't developed too well, so I am running a one-off session so that the group can play out ...
30
votes
9answers
683 views
How can I cut short a doomed fight?
Occasionally one of my PC's wanders off and gets himself into a battle he simply cannot win. I know the player wants to play out the battle to see if they can somehow pull it out, but it's boring for ...
29
votes
10answers
1k views
How can I prevent a TPK without obvious Deus Ex Machina?
I've gotten into a situation in my Pathfinder game where I will certainly kill my entire party (perhaps excepting one or two who can flee quickly) if I let the situation play out. We arrived in this ...
29
votes
8answers
818 views
What are the essential features of a successful evil campaign?
Until this point, I have demanded that my players not build characters with evil alignments, as I am familiar with how to design campaigns and adventures around "good" or "redemption" themes. ...
29
votes
6answers
553 views
How to maximize the opportunities of roleplaying military rank in a PC group, while minimizing the limitations on the players
Some games come with a predisposition toward the characters having military rank. This is typically an element of the setting material, and is intended to aid immersion, and produce interesting social ...
29
votes
7answers
779 views
How can DMs effectively telegraph specific dangers in D&D?
There are some play-styles of D&D in which the spectre of player-character death is considered a feature of the game rather than a bug. For my own reasons (which aren't the point of the question), ...
29
votes
4answers
351 views
Resources for Complex Puzzle-Traps
I'm looking for resources for designing complex challenges - something that's not quite a puzzle and not quite a trap, but somewhere in between. There are tons of resources for really complex or ...
28
votes
16answers
979 views
How do I get the PCs to visit scary places at night?
Sometimes when I design scenarios, I realize that my mental image of the adventure is only exciting because it takes place at night. When the players actually play through the adventure, they might ...
28
votes
9answers
736 views
How can I more effectively use darkness in a dungeon?
In more than one of my D&D campaigns, I've found myself feeling disappointed at my inability to make the darkness of the dungeon matter.
Everyone has enough torches, and I'm not likely to be able ...
27
votes
6answers
668 views
How can I check whether an extremely adult/mature plot idea would be accepted by players without revealing any details of the idea itself?
I am running a post-apocalyptic zombie game with a dark and mature story, exploring a number of adult themes. I have complete buy-in from the players; some of them have stated it is their favourite ...
27
votes
14answers
328 views
How do I retain momentum in an irregular game?
For years I have had a regular weekly evening group but as we've all aged, it has become more difficult to meet. I tend to get the same players but we do not play every week. Long gaps mean that it is ...
27
votes
4answers
484 views
How do I keep a long-range plot cohesive and coherent?
I enjoy GMing but I much prefer to to have some sort of long running plot (or meta-plot) rather than having a series of unconnected unfortunate events afflict my PCs.
For example, I would love to ...
26
votes
26answers
1k views
Biggest GM pitfalls for new GMs? [closed]
What are the biggest/most common GM pitfalls (or mistakes) for new GMs?
One pitfall per answer, please!
26
votes
12answers
2k views
“Punishing” characters for stupid actions
I'm currently running a 6 person World of Darkness campaign, which is heavily social based. 5 of the players I am happy with, but one of them keeps doing stupid things, such as pushing himself to the ...
26
votes
8answers
808 views
Can party betrayal be done successfully?
After reading How much experience should a PC be worth? I was wondering if and how party betrayal can be done successfully, especially since it's a real possibility in my campaign.
Criteria for ...
26
votes
9answers
908 views
Introducing new players to GURPS
So, I have a group of players who have played a variety of other systems - D&D 3.5, D&D 4th, Shadowrun, White Wolf, etc. Some have played GURPS in the past and had some less than ideal ...
25
votes
16answers
3k views
+50
In D&D, A PC became king. How do I keep him in check?
I'm running a D&D 4e campaign. There, a player has worked very hard and somehow tricked me into becoming a king of an evil kingdom. Good for him; he deserves it. However, how do I keep him from:
...
25
votes
9answers
1k views
How can I replace a player character with an impostor without alerting the group?
I recently picked up a book of example NPCs (the Pathfinder NPC Codex, incidentally) and came across an entry for a "master spy". In the flavor text, it describes how his "secret identities have ...
25
votes
9answers
654 views
How can GMs evoke the tone of danger in an RPG?
Forked from this question which focuses more on exploring signals of specific danger.
Here, my question is: how can a GM evoke the feeling of danger during a game? How can they create tension that ...
24
votes
14answers
628 views
Story Arc vs. Player Creativity
I want to put the players in a challenging spot by putting them in a no win situation and having them captured and stripped of their equipment (assuming they might get it back as they make their ...
