The best games you can run as a GM are those where you have no idea what's about to happen in the adventure.
#dnd       #ttrpg   #osr 

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I agree with your overall philosophy of GMing.  I describe it like giving kids a box of Lego, why would I want to force them to only build what's on the box?

Quote from: BadApple on July 07, 2023, 05:58:32 AM
I agree with your overall philosophy of GMing.  I describe it like giving kids a box of Lego, why would I want to force them to only build what's on the box?

An apt analogy.

Quote from: RPGPundit on July 06, 2023, 11:53:26 PM
The best games you can run as a GM are those where you have no idea what's about to happen in the adventure.
#dnd       #ttrpg   #osr 

Absolutely. I always cringe at GMs who have pages upon pages of notes. It makes them rigid. Like I'm being dragged through the fantasy novel they made. Similar to the Dragonlance campaigns. These kinds of GMs crumble the moment someone goes "I want to do this instead.". I think a lot of it comes from GMs treating Tabletop RPG design like a Video game. When players treat Tabletop games and video games very differently because they understand Video games are limited by what has been put in front of you versus the more free form and reactive design of Tabletop RPGs.

Basically you need to be able to be spontaneous and creative or you just aren't equipped to be a GM.

Quote from: RPGPundit on July 07, 2023, 09:02:26 AM

Quote from: BadApple on July 07, 2023, 05:58:32 AM
I agree with your overall philosophy of GMing.  I describe it like giving kids a box of Lego, why would I want to force them to only build what's on the box?

An apt analogy.

To extend the analogy, this is also why game mechanics (and their flexibility) are so important.  Give a kid a box of identical Lego pieces and, while the kid may be able to make a broad approximation of whatever he envisions, the limits of the Lego shape and size will greatly alter what can be built (i.e. rigid unified mechanics...).  Give the kid a huge supply of widely varied Legos and what he can reflect in his product is greatly increased, but it requires way more time and effort to find the right pieces and assemble them effectively (look at you, generic systems [cough]Gurps[/cough]).  This is the one foundational advantage that the OSR (and older editions of D&D, pre-2e splats) has over other RPG design philosophies.  The OSR leaves a large amount of adjudication at the table in the moment.  It's like giving the kid a near instantaneous 3D printer for Legos: he can make the part he needs right then and there, without being restricted by shape or size and without needing to search through the box for it.  So, while I certainly play and run "non-OSR" games as well (and enjoy many), the OSR does have an advantage that other design styles really don't, and the best OSR and Old School Clones are the ones that take advantage of that...

Hey, nice video. You got some good advice and ideas.

I really enjoy sandbox campaigns. Having few loose plans and lots of random tools also make GMing more fun because you get to be surprised, too.

What really helps me when I run sandbox games is: Introduce long-term* NPCs as early as possible. That way you have cast of NPCs at your disposal, and you're not stuck introducing the new NPC of the week. Your players may even remember old NPCs and seek them out for various reasons. It is really useful to have a villain introduced early, so the players always have a go-to action if they start to drift rudderless: go find the villain you lazy bastards!

*Plan for the NPCs to be long-term, but your players may have other ideas. In one adventure, the players abandoned an old retainer (great guy, super helpful, willing to look the other way) when they had to flee suddenly. The retainer eventually tracked them down for reasons only known to him (revenge!), and the players of course orchestrated to have him killed because he "knew too much."

Quote from: King Tyranno on July 07, 2023, 10:24:50 AM

Quote from: RPGPundit on July 06, 2023, 11:53:26 PM
The best games you can run as a GM are those where you have no idea what's about to happen in the adventure.
#dnd       #ttrpg   #osr 

Absolutely. I always cringe at GMs who have pages upon pages of notes. It makes them rigid. Like I'm being dragged through the fantasy novel they made. Similar to the Dragonlance campaigns. These kinds of GMs crumble the moment someone goes "I want to do this instead.". I think a lot of it comes from GMs treating Tabletop RPG design like a Video game. When players treat Tabletop games and video games very differently because they understand Video games are limited by what has been put in front of you versus the more free form and reactive design of Tabletop RPGs.

Basically you need to be able to be spontaneous and creative or you just aren't equipped to be a GM.

Eh. It's all about moderation and/or knowing how to improv.

I run a mega campaign which due to the nature of the politics of it and the players interest in said politics I've had to keep plenty of detailed notes. Even before the players interest in the nobility of the game I had a slew of notes for each major character, important cities and nations. For me that's half the fun of being a GM. Making a world and letting my players explore it.

Does that mean I write down every single village and town and have them all pre made? No. That'll be a fools errand. I do however, write down the places my players go, the people they interact with and their actions.  So if the players ever interact with those people or places again I'm not just pulling shit out from my ass.

Besides my methods, it's foolish to say someone pre planning out major plot points or having notes for events that they want to occur in the game world is a mark of a bad GM. Such events are how you can create tension, experience different stories and more. That mindset is akin to saying a GM who only improvs is lazy and terrible as a GM.

Quote from: King Tyranno on July 07, 2023, 10:24:50 AM


Absolutely. I always cringe at GMs who have pages upon pages of notes. It makes them rigid. Like I'm being dragged through the fantasy novel they made. Similar to the Dragonlance campaigns. These kinds of GMs crumble the moment someone goes "I want to do this instead.". I think a lot of it comes from GMs treating Tabletop RPG design like a Video game. When players treat Tabletop games and video games very differently because they understand Video games are limited by what has been put in front of you versus the more free form and reactive design of Tabletop RPGs.

Basically you need to be able to be spontaneous and creative or you just aren't equipped to be a GM.

There is nothing wrong with pages of notes as long as those notes are not some kind of script. Having multiple tables and pages of npc and monster statistics at the ready isn't a bad thing so long as they are not organized in a linear order. I like to have more material prepared than I think will be needed in a session because I don't know which parts the players will choose to engage with in a given session.

Disagree strongly.
 
Why?
 
Because not everyone can DM on the fly like some of us can. I can. But I know one DM who can not. And one who struggles with it.
 
Every DM is different and there is no "one true way".
 
Also one DMs style of on the fly DMing might be completely worthless to another. I personally really do not like "wandering wizard tower" style of freeform DMing where no matter where the PCs go that wizards tower WILL be on the path they took because "muh story!"

Quote from: King Tyranno on July 07, 2023, 10:24:50 AM

Quote from: RPGPundit on July 06, 2023, 11:53:26 PM
The best games you can run as a GM are those where you have no idea what's about to happen in the adventure.
#dnd       #ttrpg   #osr 

Absolutely. I always cringe at GMs who have pages upon pages of notes. It makes them rigid. Like I'm being dragged through the fantasy novel they made. Similar to the Dragonlance campaigns. These kinds of GMs crumble the moment someone goes "I want to do this instead.". I think a lot of it comes from GMs treating Tabletop RPG design like a Video game. When players treat Tabletop games and video games very differently because they understand Video games are limited by what has been put in front of you versus the more free form and reactive design of Tabletop RPGs.

Basically you need to be able to be spontaneous and creative or you just aren't equipped to be a GM.

A video game, or a TV show.

Quote from: Omega on July 07, 2023, 08:01:42 PM
Disagree strongly.
 
Why?
 
Because not everyone can DM on the fly like some of us can. I can. But I know one DM who can not. And one who struggles with it.
 
Every DM is different and there is no "one true way".
 
Also one DMs style of on the fly DMing might be completely worthless to another. I personally really do not like "wandering wizard tower" style of freeform DMing where no matter where the PCs go that wizards tower WILL be on the path they took because "muh story!"

Like  many other things, learning how to effectively DM is a skill set. It takes time and practice. You get better at it the more you do it.

Now, could there be some people who are just not capable of the kind of learning required? In theory, yes, but then those people are probably more suited to run games that involve very little setting; to work in a limited sandbox, like dungeons.

Quote from: Omega on July 07, 2023, 08:01:42 PM
Disagree strongly.
 
Why?
 
Because not everyone can DM on the fly like some of us can. I can. But I know one DM who can not. And one who struggles with it.
 
Every DM is different and there is no "one true way".
 
Also one DMs style of on the fly DMing might be completely worthless to another. I personally really do not like "wandering wizard tower" style of freeform DMing where no matter where the PCs go that wizards tower WILL be on the path they took because "muh story!"

GMs should prep as much material as makes them comfortable with GMing. But also, Don't Prep Plots.

There was a guy who would occasionally GM for my group, and required several months of prep per adventure, and would lay out every possible course of PC action.

Of course I would do something unexpected 5 minutes in to the game...

Quote from: BadApple on July 07, 2023, 05:58:32 AM
I agree with your overall philosophy of GMing.  I describe it like giving kids a box of Lego, why would I want to force them to only build what's on the box?

I've just started a Heavy Gear RPG campaign (d20 conversion), using the newly digitised re-releases. The world/setting is great, but the constant urgings not to do anything that might disrupt The Story (ie the Metaplot) are very silly/annoying/wearying. Yes I damn will disrupt your story, oh mighty games designers!