Topic: Being a Better GM

[naphta23]

Do not forget that you are the gamemaster. You know the score, you know the campaign, the adventure, everything behind the curtains. Your players do not - it should be your goal to be their eyes and ears. Make sure they see the situation as you do or want them to do. Most of the time they are walking around in darkness, perceiving almost nothing and it would be a great help if you enlighten them as much as possible, as long as you do not reveal too much.

Have some surprises. Most of my players tend to realize some pattern in my gamemastering, so I try to change the pattern sometimes. Not completely, but try to be a bit unpredictable with your NPC and your adventures.

Always have some alternate option. My players and I hate nothing more than a dead end or a situation with only one possible solution.

Make sure the PC can die. Do not go out and kill them, but make them realize that they are not invincible. Most of the times, this makes players care a lot more about their PC, in my opinion. It creates drama. If a PC wants to do something quite stupid which can or would kill him, give him a hint. I always look a bit surprised and ask the player if he is sure that he wants his PC to do that. This is a pseudo-subtle hint which never was ignored, as far as I can remember.
Remember: perhaps they do not perceive the situation as you do. Their characters would realize a dangerous situation, their players might not realize it.

P.S.:

Be fair. If a player has a problem, do not make fun of him. (This is important: respect your players. But do not waste your time with players that do not respect you. (Unless you yourself are responsible for that. Then it is your duty to set things straight.)) Listen to him, try to solve the problem.

Listen to your players. Most if the time, they tell you indirectly and unconsciously, what they want and what they like - or do not like.

Some players are very spotlight-greedy - they try to have the attention most of the time. Not every player will tolerate it, not every player will stand up against those so-called attention-wh*res. In my opinion, it is the job of the gamemaster to give every player their spotlight-time. If nothing else helps, it is their duty to get rid of the attention-wh*re, if you ask me.

[RandalThor]

naphata23, your post made me think of a quote from the margin of Paranoia:

'Acceptable' behavior?! Who authorized that?

(Because your post sounds just way too reasonable.  )

[intothatdarkness]

Challenge your players and create adventures that play into their characters' backgrounds and ambitions. This can be tough sometimes (especially if your players aren't that good at doing character background), but it can also create a situation where the players feel that THEY are driving the action and that it's leading to something that will change their characters and possibly the campaign environment.

As one poster mentioned before, shake things up. I had a group once that had been roaming the wilderness sacking old tombs and burial mounds, only to find that their next adventure took place in a mid-sized city and they had to use a totally different set of skills. I came into RPGs through Top Secret and Boot Hill, so I like taking my fantasy groups and throwing them into more gritty and mentally challenging situations (without the Gary Gygax "Tomb of Endless Unsurvivable Traps" passing for a mental challenge).

Watch for munchkins. Learn how to handle them.

I also have a thing for a good setting. I really think you need a deep, believable environment for your adventures. If you can provide that, it makes it easier for players to "buy into" their roles and start developing ambitions and goals for their characters. It takes work, but at the end of the day I think it's worth it.

[GrumpyOldFart]

Practice looking innocent. 

More importantly, practice looking like someone who's trying to look innocent and failing.

 

If you master that look, your party members' own paranoia will do half your work for you.

 

[intothatdarkness]

Practice looking innocent. 

More importantly, practice looking like someone who's trying to look innocent and failing.

 

If you master that look, your party members' own paranoia will do half your work for you.

 

Don't forget to constantly roll dice and make assorted noises while looking at the results.

[GrumpyOldFart]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words....

To me, the image below says better than words ever could what a good GM is supposed to be like.

[rdanhenry]

So a GM is pure evil... plus a nuclear explosion?

[GrumpyOldFart]

A GM is the essence of tact.

Tact: The ability to tell someone to "Go to Hell" in such a nice way that they actually look forward to the trip.

Or, in terms of the picture above, someone who can nuke the party in such a way that afterward the players are saying, "Okay THAT was fun."

[Zhaleskra]

If a player asks about something that isn't important to the plot, the answer is above his/her clearance level. ;-)

[providence13]

Being able to admit mistakes. This might be sacrilegious among many here, but it can be entertaining.

I have a tendency to allow the party's magic items to slip through the cracks. From my point of view, if you didn't write down the exact words I told you, then your loss. I got very tired of hearing "Hey, that belt I found on the ogre mage.. we detected Power and I thought you told us what it was, but..." Or even better, "We need a 'something or other'. Oh (another player says), didn't we find one of those a while back?"
My answer is always, "Well you can't find it now!" If you don't write it down, I'm not going to keep track of what you loot. I do normally keep track, but I'm not the party scribe.

So when the Mage asked "OK, I've studied the books we recently found on Herb Lore and finally look in the Acorn of Herb Preservation that I've been holding for 3 lvls. What do I find?"
I say to myself, "I've already told them exactly what is in that box of Herbs; like months ago and they didn't write it down... again!"
"The Herbs are all dry and rotten", I say. "But it's an Acorn of Herb Preservation??" says the Mage.
I look in my notes and the party has been carrying this thing for about 1 1/2 years of real time and they've never actually had the know how to ID the Herbs...
I was mad for no good reason and they guys were playing by the rules, spending time and gaining skill that would help them solve the problem. We all had a pretty good laugh at my stonewall stubbornness. I did throw them a few Herb descriptions, 3 out of 4 they could ID. 
 

[GrumpyOldFart]

I was mad for no good reason and they guys were playing by the rules...

I disagree with this statement.

They were ignoring the long standing "rule" that the GM is

not the party scribe.

... again!

Personally, I consider that a good reason.

[Thom @ ICE]

If I am reading the post correctly, he actually never did tell them what was in the box, because they had no way of knowing what it was - therefore in this case he was penalizing them for his inaccurate memory.  In that case you simply say, "Oops! You're right." You roll the checks to see what they can identify and tell them, though there is no guarantee of accuracy in what they think they found.   

Just because a scout can identify poison ivy leaves and mint leaves doesn't mean that occasionally they might not get the two confused and start chewing on something that will leave them with a mouthful of sores and blisters.

[intothatdarkness]

I read it the same way, Thom. I tend to keep pretty good track of magic items and the like. My pet peeve is equipment lists (a carry-over from my TS playing days, I guess). I expect my players to have pretty precise lists of what they're carrying and where they're carrying it, and if they don't update their lists they may end up losing something or having something needed immediately buried in the bottom of a mule's pack or someplace equally inconvenient. I can also get a little fussy with armor (no, really...you think your character sleeps in AT 20?).

[GrumpyOldFart]

(no, really...you think your character sleeps in AT 20?).

My answer for that is to say if you sleep in your armor, you are at - the AT you slept in to all actions (physical or mental) for the next 24 hours.

[intothatdarkness]

(no, really...you think your character sleeps in AT 20?).

My answer for that is to say if you sleep in your armor, you are at - the AT you slept in to all actions (physical or mental) for the next 24 hours.

You're nicer than I am. I made it a base -50, doubled for AT 19-20.

[GrumpyOldFart]

You don't have to be all that mean if you apply it to absolutely every single roll they make for anything at all for the next game day.

 

[rdanhenry]

It depends on the weather. If it is cold, the armor might be the most comfortable thing you've got to sleep in. As a matter of hygiene, full armor all the time isn't recommended. You need to take it off to clean it and yourself, for one thing. But sleeping in a breast plate... I don't think that'd be problematic. And game-balance-wise... armor-users need all the breaks they can get.

[intothatdarkness]

It depends on the weather. If it is cold, the armor might be the most comfortable thing you've got to sleep in. As a matter of hygiene, full armor all the time isn't recommended. You need to take it off to clean it and yourself, for one thing. But sleeping in a breast plate... I don't think that'd be problematic. And game-balance-wise... armor-users need all the breaks they can get.

If your players are standing proper watches, armor wear isn't a huge problem IMO. Also, I tended to allow characters to don "reduced" armor (as in the breastplate from AT 20, Chain shirt from AT 16, and so on) if they had a round or two to act.

[naphta23]

naphata23, your post made me think of a quote from the margin of Paranoia:

'Acceptable' behavior?! Who authorized that?

(Because your post sounds just way too reasonable.  )

Guilty as charged. You are right, my post is way too reasonable. 
But I thought it would be better to share a constructive, solution-oriented opinion, as rational and sober as possible. Even if it sounds cheesy and I look like a smart arse. 

It depends on the weather. If it is cold, the armor might be the most comfortable thing you've got to sleep in. As a matter of hygiene, full armor all the time isn't recommended. You need to take it off to clean it and yourself, for one thing. But sleeping in a breast plate... I don't think that'd be problematic. And game-balance-wise... armor-users need all the breaks they can get.

As far as I know it depends on the material the armor is made of. If it is mostly metal armor, it could be a real pain in the lower back to sleep in one should the temperatures fall below far below room temperature - say, about 4° C, or something like that.

In my experience it also depends on the type of armor you are wearing - some LARPers told me that it would be a really bad idea to take off a chain mail for sleeping, since the joints and the body overall would swell and it would be next to impossible to don the chainmail the next day. But I have to admit that I do not know how much this statement is worth. 

[Usdrothek]

What rubbish. I've done a three day LARP and worn chainmail all day (and into the night) each day.
 
Although I'm weary from the weight, especially the shoulders, no swollen joints.