Quote from: tuypo1;804688well not 30 seconds ago i got an artist hes not interested in playing but he wants to do some drawings of the world i am building does that count as weird

No, thats perfectly normal

Quote from: RPGPundit;800532Is there anything you do as GMing practice, be it related to how you handle the mechanics, gameplay, setting, or any other detail of GMing, that you've come to realize hardly anyone else does (or doesn't do it in your particular way)?

I have no notes.  I usually... often anyway, have not the faintest inkling of a plan, and if I do have a plan, I've done absolutely none of the prep work. In fact, the few times I have done prep work for a game, it has always gone miserably, if at all.

Also: I never, or almost never, use modules or pregenerated adventures. When I do things tend to go somewhat less smoothly than when I have nothing at all in front of me.

Also? I pretty much never use a GM screen, despite owning several very lovely and useful ones for various games.

And yet: most of my games go swimmingly, and my players shower me with gold and maidens in equal measure... or so I've heard.


Naturally: Every time I've sat down with another GM... ANY other GM, I am simultaineously appalled and guilt ridden to realize how much work they put into sessions.

Thus: I have signed myself up to GM a Shadowrun 5e game, despite having had the book for less than a week, and I plan to subtly?!? merge some of the creepy gnostic stuff from Kult into the game from day one. So... prep work!

It should fail spectacularly, if history is any indicator. Because I am actually attempting to do said prep work.

Quote from: TristramEvans;804652That sounds cool. Is it something that could be translated into chart form do you think?

You don't really need a chart. Rolling 3d6 will approximate the curve, and you can get a value of 3-18 for whichever of the big 5 characteristics you want.

If you want more weirdness use 2d8 or 10, or even a d20.  The important thing is the distribution, not the range.

Quote from: Kashirigi;804715You don't really need a chart. Rolling 3d6 will approximate the curve, and you can get a value of 3-18 for whichever of the big 5 characteristics you want.

If you want more weirdness use 2d8 or 10, or even a d20.  The important thing is the distribution, not the range.

oh, so you just go by the percentages. I was picturing having adjectives attached to the percentages, so someone with an OCEAN score of say 88-69-1-13-13 would generate "Intellectual, Reliable, Antisocial, Argumentative, and Willfull"

Quote from: TristramEvans;804719oh, so you just go by the percentages. I was picturing having adjectives attached to the percentages, so someone with an OCEAN score of say 88-69-1-13-13 would generate "Intellectual, Reliable, Antisocial, Argumentative, and Willfull"

I've been playing a lot of Traveller, so the OCEAN is a 5 digit hex code adjunct to the UPP. The great advantage of numbers vs adjectives is that it's easier to make the distinction between "not really a dick" and "kind of an asshole". Plus then I don't need to think up a bunch of descriptors.

I like the adjective idea in theory, but it's one more table lookup that reduces detail, unless you like having only 5 or so values.

Quote from: Spike;804714I have no notes.  I usually... often anyway, have not the faintest inkling of a plan, and if I do have a plan, I've done absolutely none of the prep work. In fact, the few times I have done prep work for a game, it has always gone miserably, if at all.

Also: I never, or almost never, use modules or pregenerated adventures. When I do things tend to go somewhat less smoothly than when I have nothing at all in front of me.

Also? I pretty much never use a GM screen, despite owning several very lovely and useful ones for various games.

And yet: most of my games go swimmingly, and my players shower me with gold and maidens in equal measure... or so I've heard.


Naturally: Every time I've sat down with another GM... ANY other GM, I am simultaineously appalled and guilt ridden to realize how much work they put into sessions.

Thus: I have signed myself up to GM a Shadowrun 5e game, despite having had the book for less than a week, and I plan to subtly?!? merge some of the creepy gnostic stuff from Kult into the game from day one. So... prep work!

It should fail spectacularly, if history is any indicator. Because I am actually attempting to do said prep work.

Well you cant possibly do it subtly now you posted your plans on a public forum on the internet.

Quote from: tuypo1;804729Well you cant possibly do it subtly now you posted your plans on a public forum on the internet.

Noone actually reads anything that Spike posts on here anyway

I'm very aligned with Spike in that I don't prepare much, the best I might have are some notes about interesting things that are said around the table in terms of what might be the worst case scenarios.  I found in my longest running game that NOTHING I could come up with as a GM could possibly hold a candle to some of the ideas that the group would come up with in speculation, so sometimes I just go with what they THINK might be happening because it's so much more exciting and entertaining.

Quote from: tuypo1;804688well not 30 seconds ago i got an artist hes not interested in playing but he wants to do some drawings of the world i am building does that count as weird

it will be good for both of us to he is still a training artist so he gets practise i get art

Quote from: Panzerkraken;804731Noone actually reads anything that Spike posts on here anyway

Which is why I only communicate in Smilies now.

Quote from: Spike;804714I have no notes.  I usually... often anyway, have not the faintest inkling of a plan, and if I do have a plan, I've done absolutely none of the prep work. In fact, the few times I have done prep work for a game, it has always gone miserably, if at all.

Also: I never, or almost never, use modules or pregenerated adventures. When I do things tend to go somewhat less smoothly than when I have nothing at all in front of me.

Also? I pretty much never use a GM screen, despite owning several very lovely and useful ones for various games.

And yet: most of my games go swimmingly, and my players shower me with gold and maidens in equal measure... or so I've heard.


Naturally: Every time I've sat down with another GM... ANY other GM, I am simultaineously appalled and guilt ridden to realize how much work they put into sessions.

Thus: I have signed myself up to GM a Shadowrun 5e game, despite having had the book for less than a week, and I plan to subtly?!? merge some of the creepy gnostic stuff from Kult into the game from day one. So... prep work!

It should fail spectacularly, if history is any indicator. Because I am actually attempting to do said prep work.

Yeah I am exactly the same except I have never owned or used a GM screen. What is there to hide after all

Quote from: jibbajibba;804858Yeah I am exactly the same except I have never owned or used a GM screen. What is there to hide after all

I own a couple of GM screens but I always put them flat down on the table as a reference, not to hide anything behind.

I'll use a DM screen to hide a dungeon map I've prepped and combat stats for monsters who are taking damage (and I don't want roving eyes to see my notes there). The rest of the time, it gets in the way.

Otherwise, I like to smoke cannabis. Which isn't really weird, but some people get weird about it.

Quote from: jibbajibba;804858Yeah I am exactly the same except I have never owned or used a GM screen. What is there to hide after all

PLENTY!!!  

I roll all combat rolls out in the open -just say no to fudging. I let the players see their fate rolled before their very eyes. Also it's fun doing an Ivan Drago impression when a character drops

If he dies, he dies.

There is still stuff I keep hidden:

General game notes
Hit point totals

Rolls for wandering monsters.

Rolls made for absolutely no reason whatsoever just to keep players guessing as to what I might be rolling for.

Sometimes these rolls DO mean something. Did the monster notice the sneaking thief? Did the monsters way over yonder actually hear that Thunderwave spell when it went off?

Things are always happening, and the players are not always aware of what those things might be at times. Thus the screen.