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For questions about the practical arts and methods applied to gamemastering (GMing).

5 votes

Third-Person Limited Narration or Third-Person Omniscient Narration?

I tried Omniscient for a while and the players found it annoying so I stopped. Definitely worth checking with your players. At the start of some game sessions I have used "News Report" where I read o …
Dr Rob Lang's user avatar
  • 4,730
2 votes

How do you maintain a balance between mystery and offering clues?

They way I do it is to keep back many of the clues and then when the player team starts to get stuck, I feed them a little bit more to keep the game going. Alternatively, I always offer the players l …
Dr Rob Lang's user avatar
  • 4,730
1 vote

How to make my session Faster

Before you use the techniques below, you need to explain to the players that you would like to speed things up a bit and that it is OK if they don't always get the best possible strategy in a situatio …
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  • 4,730
24 votes
5 answers
2k views

When planning a campaign, should I know what the ending is before we start?

I am planning the next campaign while the current one comes to a close. Our group favours sandbox play and I facilitate that with Icar's event driven system. While writing down the list of events need …
Dr Rob Lang's user avatar
  • 4,730
17 votes
7 answers
999 views

As an experienced GM, what pitfalls should I watch out for? [closed]

I've been GMing for 20 years and have recently started to question if I need a GM-makeover. We are still having fun but could the game be more fun if I shed some bad, and well ingrained habits? I cann …
Dr Rob Lang's user avatar
  • 4,730
4 votes

How to handle a rules-lawyer player?

Do one of the following: State categorically at the start of the campaign that some of the statistics of monster will be changed to make it more interesting. Thank the rules lawyer and just go with …
Dr Rob Lang's user avatar
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0 votes

How to introduce item descriptions

There are two parts to an items description, the game affects and the narrative effects. Game effects are best dealt with using handouts as suggested above. Narrative description will give the player …
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  • 4,730
0 votes

How to Handle a Powergamer / Munchkin

If, having talked to your power gamer, you find that it's part of playing that they like and you don't want them to leave then you need to cope with it. Is it a problem to have one character a little …
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  • 4,730
6 votes
4 answers
473 views

In a Sci Fi game, how do I keep the team together when one is "netrunning"? [duplicate]

I have a science fiction campaign where one of the characters is a "netrunning" hacker who's skills are based in a virtual world. The rest of the characters are in the real world. I want them to feel …
Dr Rob Lang's user avatar
  • 4,730
11 votes
6 answers
549 views

What are the pitfalls when swapping characters between players?

I have a plot hook that I want to use where the entire player character team gets gassed and wake up feeling "different". I want to simulate that by swapping characters between the players for one eve …
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18 votes
5 answers
470 views

Is there a method for sliding seamlessly from one system into another during a campaign?

Has anyone changed system/setting/genre but kept the characters during a campaign? Players can become very attached to their characters, even when the campaign/setting/genre or system is getting tired …
Dr Rob Lang's user avatar
  • 4,730
31 votes
14 answers
897 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 …
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  • 4,730
20 votes

How do I make weather an important part of the game?

I would add mechanic bonuses as others have mentioned but I would also makes changes to the other things that are in your control as a GM. The three that spring to mind are NPC, Monsters and the Envir …
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49 votes
10 answers
3k 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 …
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  • 4,730