SangoProduction
2018-09-07, 11:25 PM
There are some Axes and Scales of gameplay and GMing style that I've identified (with the help of some nice people (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?563010-The-axises-of-GMing)), and present my own place on said axes as a means of quickly referencing my own style for future use. The specifics will vary from game to game, but these are my general positions.
On the the Lighthearted/Gloom axis, I lean toward Lightheartedness, and will frequently apply rule of cool when the PCs come up with a good/funny/interesting idea....or ideas that will horribly murder them. Those are fun.
On the Rails/Open-World axis, I actually lean on the Rails side up until the players actually interact with the world and make choices of their own. If no one's going to take initiative, the game still has to go on after all, or else everyone gets bored, and a strong through-line provides an anchor on which everyone can play.
With the Improv/Prep axis, I am heavily on the side of Improv. I am at home when I'm working with and around my players. Things tend to end fairly quickly when I have to keep dragging the players around the place and to the next plot point. I prepare general outlines of the adventures, as well as enemy encounters, leaving plenty of room for player involvement and self-direction.
On the lethality scale, I tend to basically be at about 10/100. You probably won't die unless you basically intend to die, or you were given pretty good warning of the lethality of the fight. (Even then, you will probably be captured instead.) Or you roll five 1s in a row. Then god has spoken and said he hates your guts.
For Realism/Gameplay, I say "**** Realism". I don't care if it's not 'realistic' that a giant lizard (that's a couple ten thousand kilos) can fly on tiny wings. If you can adequately justify what you are doing, go right on ahead. And, I swear to god, Bob, if you mention fluid dynamics one more time....!
As for Magic Rarity: It's not uncommon, but it's not something everyone and their mother's dog-bats can do without effort. Villagers do tend to have access to some of the more generally useful low-level "utility" spells like Continual Flame and Unseen Servant. (If not personally, then by knowing someone who can.) Magic Items, especially the less spectacular ones, you probably won't have a hard time finding. This is unlikely to change much unless I make it explicit.
Literal vs Freeform rules: I tend toward freeform, in case you can't tell. There will be a strong backbone of the RAW, but I reserve every right to say that the Monks probably should have proficiency with unarmed strikes, and the like. Afterall, it is rules as written that the GM can make the rules. If you're here to rules lawyer (which is different from simply being helpful and knowing the rules), you're in the wrong game.
On the the Lighthearted/Gloom axis, I lean toward Lightheartedness, and will frequently apply rule of cool when the PCs come up with a good/funny/interesting idea....or ideas that will horribly murder them. Those are fun.
On the Rails/Open-World axis, I actually lean on the Rails side up until the players actually interact with the world and make choices of their own. If no one's going to take initiative, the game still has to go on after all, or else everyone gets bored, and a strong through-line provides an anchor on which everyone can play.
With the Improv/Prep axis, I am heavily on the side of Improv. I am at home when I'm working with and around my players. Things tend to end fairly quickly when I have to keep dragging the players around the place and to the next plot point. I prepare general outlines of the adventures, as well as enemy encounters, leaving plenty of room for player involvement and self-direction.
On the lethality scale, I tend to basically be at about 10/100. You probably won't die unless you basically intend to die, or you were given pretty good warning of the lethality of the fight. (Even then, you will probably be captured instead.) Or you roll five 1s in a row. Then god has spoken and said he hates your guts.
For Realism/Gameplay, I say "**** Realism". I don't care if it's not 'realistic' that a giant lizard (that's a couple ten thousand kilos) can fly on tiny wings. If you can adequately justify what you are doing, go right on ahead. And, I swear to god, Bob, if you mention fluid dynamics one more time....!
As for Magic Rarity: It's not uncommon, but it's not something everyone and their mother's dog-bats can do without effort. Villagers do tend to have access to some of the more generally useful low-level "utility" spells like Continual Flame and Unseen Servant. (If not personally, then by knowing someone who can.) Magic Items, especially the less spectacular ones, you probably won't have a hard time finding. This is unlikely to change much unless I make it explicit.
Literal vs Freeform rules: I tend toward freeform, in case you can't tell. There will be a strong backbone of the RAW, but I reserve every right to say that the Monks probably should have proficiency with unarmed strikes, and the like. Afterall, it is rules as written that the GM can make the rules. If you're here to rules lawyer (which is different from simply being helpful and knowing the rules), you're in the wrong game.