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OozoO
2016-06-19, 08:12 AM
Hey guys
I'm somewhat new to rpgs like DnD and currently translate final fantasy 12 into a pen and paper cause friends and I really liked the open world of this game.
My question is on what do I have to focus as a gamemaster and what ideas do you have that a gamemaster can do to inspire the players in their actions without steering their course of actions?

Mutazoia
2016-06-19, 09:01 AM
Hey guys
I'm somewhat new to rpgs like DnD and currently translate final fantasy 12 into a pen and paper cause friends and I really liked the open world of this game.
My question is on what do I have to focus as a gamemaster and what ideas do you have that a gamemaster can do to inspire the players in their actions without steering their course of actions?

This is a pretty broad subject, that will get you different answers depending on who you ask. I'll try to stick to the Cliff Notes version to keep things simple and generic.

As a GM, you are in charge of, literally, everything in the game world. You have to be part writer, part story teller, part director, part mediator, and a dozen other things, all at once. Even worse, you have to enjoy it, because it's hard work creating adventures, if not an entire world, for others to romp about in.

A good idea, if you are just starting out, is to pick a system with few, but easy to understand rules, that also has a few pre-made adventures. In the olden days they were called "modules", because they were designed to be dropped into any existing campaign with little to no work. Unfortunately, not many games systems have modules any more, and instead chose to focus on cranking out new source books.

Since you've already decided on setting (Final Fantasy) you are going to be left doing a lot of the leg work yourself when it comes to creating adventures. Generally, what you need to keep in mind when planning an adventure is:


Keep up the excitement.
Mix up the pace. Don't make it all combat.
Keep things consistent.
Listen to your players.


Keeping up the excitement is key. Nothing kills a game faster than players getting bored. Bored players tend to either quit, or start making their own excitement, much to the detriment of your game.

Mix up the pace....a game where everything is combat get's monotonous. Even worse, once players get use to constant combat, anything that doesn't involve combat will seem slow and boring.

Keeping things consistent is a must. A lot of new GM's forget little details, that can confuse and/or upset players. I once had a first time DM that kept forgetting the AC of the monster we were fighting, so sometimes a roll of 15 would hit, some times it would miss. But this also means keep rules decisions consistent. If you make a ruling, stick to it, even if it makes your job harder. Nobody likes to be told that flying magic doesn't exist, only to see the bad guy (BBEG) fly off with the princess later on. If you house-rule something, write that down somewhere everyone can reference it, and stick to it...as long as that rule works and doesn't create more problems.

Your players will be an almost never ending source of ideas for adventures and sub plots, and listening to the table talk and what they say afterwards about the game and/or their characters can help you come up with loads of material. You don't have to use all of it, but nothing makes a player invest more in a game, if some tid-bit of her characters back story becomes part of the main plot...or at least gets a little mini sub-plot of it's own. Many groups talk about setting up their own castle/base and ruling with an iron fist. Setting things in motion to make that happen, over the course of a campaign, can keep your players interested, even if the main plot starts to flag a little.

There is, naturally, enough advice for new GM's that we could fill several threads (and there are tons of threads here dedicated to this general topic already). Ultimately, experience is going to be the best teacher. Do your best to keep your players interested and invested in the game, and don't worry about making mistakes. Just learn from them and move on.