Help pep-talking a GM

[Shade Kerrin]

This post is not for my sake, but for a friend.

Right, so I had a friend who decided he would GM for the first time. We all got exited about it, but unfortunately, things didn't turn out so well....

The main problem was, only 2 players(including me) could make it for the first session, and the other one was sick and therefore not all there. We tried anyway, but between having only one alert player and first-time slip-ups in the rules, we wound up having to quit within the hour.

Now the guy seems to have lost his confidence, and is unlikely to get the game running again any time soon.

So...anything I can do to help him?

[Fenryr]

Tell him **** happens. Make a second opportunity so he can DM again (a different campaign or the same) and tell him read again all the rules he skipped the first time.

Being a good DM is not a one-shot stuff. He needs to practice and get better with time.

[The Blackbird]

Being a good DM is not a one-shot stuff. He needs to practice and get better with time.

This.

Though I'm sure you've already tried, try to convince him that things going downhill wasn't completely his fault. Compliment the things he got right, if you're a DM as well give some tips.

[Heliomance]

My first foray into DMing was an unmitigated disaster. I ran a bad dungeon crawl, took it way too personally when the players nearly managed to bypass half of it, spontaneously turned a piece of paper with Explosive Runes on it into a piece of paper with Secret Paged text gloating about how they thought it was explosive runes when they worked out what it was and took it with them, and had as the final boss a catgirl whose only weakness was logic. That game put one of my friends off D&D for a year and a half or so.

Now I'm running a campaign in a heavily homebrewed setting, and my players keep trying to tell me I'm doing a really good job. We're all enjoying it, at least, and that's the only important thing.

[TroubleBrewing]

Being a player really helps GMing, too. Learning what works for other people and taking your own angle on it. I spent about three years as a player before I started GMing, and I'm still working on my technique after about 5 years of that.

[Shade Kerrin]

Being a good DM is not a one-shot stuff. He needs to practice and get better with time.

Good point, I'll say that to him


Though I'm sure you've already tried, try to convince him that things going downhill wasn't completely his fault. Compliment the things he got right, if you're a DM as well give some tips.

Well so far we have done so, and attempted to regale him with tales of our first times at the wheel. I'm hoping we can get him back in the mood, he has quite a few good campaign ideas

[Saint GoH]

Its remarkable how poorly a first time DM session can go, and yet how those same DM's can run completely successful and fun games later.

My first time DMing was a shock, in different ways. I love Neverwinter Nights and those sorts of games, so I had literally only combat. There was a group of three level 1's that fought roughly 40 kobolds, 10 goblins, and a dire weasel all before the session was out. I was appalled when the players asked "When do we get to roleplay?"

Tell this DM that he has no control over his players, and that he shouldnt take it too hard. Not all the rules can be memorized (I like to believe I have a fair grasp on the rules, but as soon as you mention "grappling", "bull rush" or "over-run", I quit), and if he would like to try again make an offer to set up the session.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

[LansXero]

Does the group usually get together for things other than D&D? I think his demotivation isnt coming from how well or bad he did DMing but because he feels there is no interest in it and the slip ups with the rules are probably due to a lack of interest when only one player is paying attention. So someone take the weight of logistics and arranging people to meet from him and hang out for videogames or movies or whatever, and have D&D stuff nearby. Ask him if he would like to run a small encounter or something, nothing too grandiose or big, and then if everyone was into it, he will probably be more agreeable to continuing it as a full-sized campaign. And if people arent really into the game, even though you are, dont force it. They may agree out of pity / compromise / wanting to hang out, but never put too much stock into the game, and DMing for people who act that way feels a lot like begging for attention, and it sucks majorly.

[Shade Kerrin]

Well, we have a club at the local Uni for roleplaying, which meets on a regular basis.
Thing is, we have what seems to be the unique problem of more GMs than players, so he had arranged to have a trial session on a day we don't normally get together. As above, various reasons prevented more than two of us arriving.

Incidentally, the system he was running was M&M, not D&D

[Crossblade]

Wait until the other guy is over his cold, then give it another try. Explain to him it was bad circumstances that soured the occasion, not performance. With 2 healthy, enthusiastic players, things will go much better.

[Shade Kerrin]

Well thank you all for your input.

I've talked to him again, he should be fine for another try at another stage, he just says he needs to do a bit more research first.

Conclusion: Mission about as successful as we could hope for.

[shadow_archmagi]

This post is not for my sake, but for a friend.

Right, so I had a friend who decided he would GM for the first time. We all got exited about it, but unfortunately, things didn't turn out so well....

The main problem was, only 2 players(including me) could make it for the first session, and the other one was sick and therefore not all there. We tried anyway, but between having only one alert player and first-time slip-ups in the rules, we wound up having to quit within the hour.

Now the guy seems to have lost his confidence, and is unlikely to get the game running again any time soon.

So...anything I can do to help him?

Tell him that if he does not atone for his failure, he will be forced to commit sudoku to avoid a life in dishonor.

[Daftendirekt]

Not all the rules can be memorized (I like to believe I have a fair grasp on the rules, but as soon as you mention "grappling", "bull rush" or "over-run", I quit)

Lol, so our group isn't the only one. 3 of the 5 of us have a pretty good (read: encyclopedic in some cases) knowledge of lots of the rules, whenever grappling comes up we pull out a PHB.

[true_shinken]

Tell him that if he does not atone for his failure, he will be forced to commit sudoku to avoid a life in dishonor.

Commiting sudoku is hardly unpleasant. Many people enjoy it. It's a very cool game, I hear.
Seppuku, on the other hand, is pretty hardcore.

[Kish]

Tell him that if he does not atone for his failure, he will be forced to commit sudoku to avoid a life in dishonor.
Commit Sudoku (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Sudoku)?

[Shade Kerrin]

Commit Sudoku (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Sudoku)?

"<Insert Name Here>, for poor GMing you shall be forced to form a series of lines and boxes that each only contain one of each of the numbers 1~9, until the end of your days....Or lunchtime, whichever comes first"

[Callista]

Two players is plenty; that's all some GMs have and most games will work with two pretty well. It might even be easier on him that first time if you only have a small group.

'Course, you could GM a session and then switch off with him and anybody else who wants to give it a shot; if you're all about equally experienced it should work out fine. You don't have to do anything epic. This is just for practice, for now.