My Best GMing Advice
I thought I would give my thoughts and advice on GMing, I don't want to claim to be all knowing or anything like that. This is just in my personal experiences what I think will help those who might be struggling or just looking for advice on how to run their first session.
1) My first piece of advice I think has to be: Know your players and their play style. I didn't realize how important it is to know your group. I didn't know my two starter groups and I as a result I had high expectations that were dashed by unreliability and a high level play style that I couldn't handle. Knowing your group also plays into my next two pieces of advice:
2) Always be ready for Hoshi's Wild Ride. Let me explain what that means:
Hoshi's Wild Ride: You painstakingly handcraft a campaign for your friends to play and they immediately attack friendly characters, steal their stuff and proceed to do all sorts of rad messing around that furthers the story in a different direction that is ultimately not what you planned but still can be fun.
3) Next I feel more importantly for beginners, and less mentally stable, more story oriented GMs like me. Be ready for Tor's Tedious Trek:
Tor's Tedious Trek: You painstakingly handcraft a campaign for your friends to play and they, at snail speed, dissect every option you give them and won't continue the story in anyway negative or positive because they get stalled on minor details. Ultimately what you planned but in a much more infuriating manner than you expected. It is important to be prepared in both your campaign and mental readiness for both of these situations. Knowing your group can help you plan for these contingencies.
4) I recommend starting on a campaign you haven't painstakingly made, if it is your first time start with maybe a ready made campaign or throw together one you think will be a good starting point for yourself to get to know how you GM.
5) Always ask your players after each session how you did. Ask what they liked, what they think you can do better and all that mess. You shouldn't rely only on their output though because each player is different and they will each likely want different things out of you, so try to become the GM you want to be and heed their words as guidance stones to get there.
6) And lastly, take it easy. Don't get stressed out about the small things and while you should take the bigger ones into account and work on them so you can get to where you want to be you don't need to obsess about them either. Thinking to much about your own GMing, will more likely than not make you never want to GM again. At least it did for me, but I am getting out there again tonight and hoping I can use my own advice.
Today I weighed: 209 lbs
Yesterday I ate:
> A cup of Wisconsin Cauliflower soup from cafe Zupas
> A California protein Cobb from Cafe Zupas
> Two bowls of pumpkin spice Frosted Flakes
> A bowl of ramen
Yesterday I drank: 56 oz of water
Giving advice is much easier than taking it even if it is your own, but I think I can at least come out on top of the session tonight. Given that it actually happens. Just in case I don't tonight, in my stead please:
Stay cool.
1) My first piece of advice I think has to be: Know your players and their play style. I didn't realize how important it is to know your group. I didn't know my two starter groups and I as a result I had high expectations that were dashed by unreliability and a high level play style that I couldn't handle. Knowing your group also plays into my next two pieces of advice:
2) Always be ready for Hoshi's Wild Ride. Let me explain what that means:
Hoshi's Wild Ride: You painstakingly handcraft a campaign for your friends to play and they immediately attack friendly characters, steal their stuff and proceed to do all sorts of rad messing around that furthers the story in a different direction that is ultimately not what you planned but still can be fun.
3) Next I feel more importantly for beginners, and less mentally stable, more story oriented GMs like me. Be ready for Tor's Tedious Trek:
Tor's Tedious Trek: You painstakingly handcraft a campaign for your friends to play and they, at snail speed, dissect every option you give them and won't continue the story in anyway negative or positive because they get stalled on minor details. Ultimately what you planned but in a much more infuriating manner than you expected. It is important to be prepared in both your campaign and mental readiness for both of these situations. Knowing your group can help you plan for these contingencies.
4) I recommend starting on a campaign you haven't painstakingly made, if it is your first time start with maybe a ready made campaign or throw together one you think will be a good starting point for yourself to get to know how you GM.
5) Always ask your players after each session how you did. Ask what they liked, what they think you can do better and all that mess. You shouldn't rely only on their output though because each player is different and they will each likely want different things out of you, so try to become the GM you want to be and heed their words as guidance stones to get there.
6) And lastly, take it easy. Don't get stressed out about the small things and while you should take the bigger ones into account and work on them so you can get to where you want to be you don't need to obsess about them either. Thinking to much about your own GMing, will more likely than not make you never want to GM again. At least it did for me, but I am getting out there again tonight and hoping I can use my own advice.
Today I weighed: 209 lbs
Yesterday I ate:
> A cup of Wisconsin Cauliflower soup from cafe Zupas
> A California protein Cobb from Cafe Zupas
> Two bowls of pumpkin spice Frosted Flakes
> A bowl of ramen
Yesterday I drank: 56 oz of water
Giving advice is much easier than taking it even if it is your own, but I think I can at least come out on top of the session tonight. Given that it actually happens. Just in case I don't tonight, in my stead please:
Stay cool.
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