Gamemastering planning

[Zhentarim]

I’ve tried running games several times in the past but the game grinds to a halt when one of the players does something I didn’t expect. Is there a format for planning games or am I better off just playing other people’s games.

[zlefin]

can you give some examples? more detail about why the game grinds to a halt might help. also, are these online or offline games?

my generic answer if you face problems like that is: play modules/adventure paths. make sure the players are fine with that beforehand; then if something like that happens just say that you don't know how to handle that and please stick to the railroad. (i.e. the point is to get player agreement beforehand to stick to the rails of the module, cuz it's what you have)

[Darth Ultron]

Well, you can do a couple things when a player does something you don't expect:

1.Toss up a distraction, quick! This can be anything, depending on the group. An easy one is a sudden attack: something very simple for you to run like 'just skeletons'. Something weird, mysterious or odd can also work great...something that will catch the players attention and make then spot and think and talk. Having an NPC pop up with a problem, question, job or whatever works great.

For example, a great one I used just last night was in the city late at night a woman threw her guy out of a window...and tossed his chest out too, that broke apart in the street sending coins and gems around. The goblin street sweepers were quick to clean up(aka steal) and naturally the players jumped in with both feet.

2.Dead End. This is very simple. Just let ''whatever" the player 'does' happen for a little while and then just end. It's nothing more then a side quest.

3.Just add whatever it is to the plot and story.

[BowStreetRunner]

Handling the unexpected is the forte of the sandbox style DM. Check out this article from the Alexandrian (https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/4147/roleplaying-games/dont-prep-plots) for a good discussion. Note that even when you aren't running a sandbox style game, the principles still work to get you out of these sorts of situations.

There are a bunch of other related articles under Gamemastery 101 (https://thealexandrian.net/gamemastery-101) as well.

[Doctor Awkward]

Also read a book on improv acting.

[Zhentarim]

can you give some examples? more detail about why the game grinds to a halt might help. also, are these online or offline games?

my generic answer if you face problems like that is: play modules/adventure paths. make sure the players are fine with that beforehand; then if something like that happens just say that you don't know how to handle that and please stick to the railroad. (i.e. the point is to get player agreement beforehand to stick to the rails of the module, cuz it's what you have)

I predominantly run online games because this problem is more pronounced in offline games (due to having less time to mull over a solution), but I experience a similar problem with online games where a few weeks in, somebody will do something so out of the box it stumps me and the game dies depite having more time to think due to it being an online game.


I can give two examples, one where it was more the players acting unexpectedly, and one where an NPC in an adventure path was an issue.

In one campaign, the pcs didn’t want to fight in a gladatorial match, and the story required they fight, but nothing I did seemed to be able to goad them into fighting and that game died.

In the other, a pc gave an npc a request and the adventure path stalled because I couldn’t find a canned response that would work and didn’t want to make my own in case it ruined the rest of the game, so that was basically analysis paralysis.

[Rynjin]

the story required

These three words are the central problem with your thinking. You, as a GM, are not a novelist. Any plot you create that absolutely REQUIRES something outside of your control (i.e. player reactions/initiative/cooperation) is an instant non-starter.

If your story requires the PCs to fight in an arena...fix your story.

[JNAProductions]

These three words are the central problem with your thinking. You, as a GM, are not a novelist. Any plot you create that absolutely REQUIRES something outside of your control (i.e. player reactions/initiative/cooperation) is an instant non-starter.

If your story requires the PCs to fight in an arena...fix your story.

Or, alternatively, get player buy-in.

For instance, if the DM said mid-way through a game "Hey, I really need you guys to let yourselves be enslaved and forced into the arena," when my character had already been established as a former slave who never wanted to be in bonds again... That's a no-go.

If, on the other hand, the DM says "Hey, for this game, I'd like to start you all off in a gladiatorial slave arena-can you make characters that work for that?" that's a much better deal.

[Rynjin]

Or, alternatively, get player buy-in.

For instance, if the DM said mid-way through a game "Hey, I really need you guys to let yourselves be enslaved and forced into the arena," when my character had already been established as a former slave who never wanted to be in bonds again... That's a no-go.

If, on the other hand, the DM says "Hey, for this game, I'd like to start you all off in a gladiatorial slave arena-can you make characters that work for that?" that's a much better deal.

Sure, but that's more "initial premise" work, not the real meat of the plot. He's talking about getting weeks into a game and things coming to a halt because of stuff like this.

[JNAProductions]

Sure, but that's more "initial premise" work, not the real meat of the plot. He's talking about getting weeks into a game and things coming to a halt because of stuff like this.

You can still get player buy-in, even for mid-game things.

It's just a lot harder to do.

[Telok]

1. Anticipate that the players will fail and plan for it. Allow for failure to be an option at all points.

2. Have a few generic contingencies set up & statted out. I used to keep a "suddenly, twenty wights!" generic immanent apocalypse on about two sheets of paper when I ran D&D.

3. Use pro-active NPCs with motivations and plans coupled with a calendar an timeline of events instead of a scripted plot. This way when the PCs go off the rails you have some idea of what will happen without them.

4. Ask for help. If you have the time you can come here and ask for help. You'll get some whiners or people complaining that you're doing it wrong, but amongst the dross there will often be at least a few good ideas.

5. Ask for time. Talk to they players, tell them that you've hit the end of your prepared material and need time to get more going. Good players will accept that the DM has mortal limits and occasional bad days.

[Erloas]

In one campaign, the pcs didn’t want to fight in a gladatorial match, and the story required they fight, but nothing I did seemed to be able to goad them into fighting and that game died.
It is hard to see exactly how that is *required* but if it is then it is. Think back to movies you've seen with a similar sort of death match, how many of those did both sides *want* to fight in it? Almost none, it isn't really a choice. While forcing them to do something they don't want to do could be considered railroading, it is also very much in-line with the believable actions of any sort of ruler that would force people to fight in gladiatorial matches. Prodded out by spear point is an option.



In the other, a pc gave an npc a request and the adventure path stalled because I couldn’t find a canned response that would work and didn’t want to make my own in case it ruined the rest of the game, so that was basically analysis paralysis.Just pick something that mostly works and go with it. If you find out down the line that it screws something else up, then deal with it then.

I sort of look at it like fixing something that is broken. If it is already broken and you do something you've only got 2 possible outcomes, it is either still broken or it is fixed. You're either in the same situation or a better one. So trying a fix can't really hurt.
If your two choices are kill the game right now, or maybe possibly kill the game in the future, take the future option every time.

[Crake]

These three words are the central problem with your thinking. You, as a GM, are not a novelist. Any plot you create that absolutely REQUIRES something outside of your control (i.e. player reactions/initiative/cooperation) is an instant non-starter.

If your story requires the PCs to fight in an arena...fix your story.

Seconding this. Ideally, your story should be able to play out entirely without the players' input or interaction. Things will happen with or without the players. When you know what the NPCs' goals and motivations are, what they're attempting to achieve, and how they plan to go about achieving that, improvisation becomes much easier. If something was supposed to happen in the gladatorial match, whether the players are in the arena, in the stands watching from the sidelines, or hell, in the pub and hear about it secondhand, it shouldn't matter. If, for example, the players choose to ignore a hook, have the world change as a consequence. Don't REQUIRE the players to go investigate the crypt, but if they don't investigate the crypt, start mentioning that there have been disappearances, because the ghouls in the crypt have been abducting people to eat. Players don't investigate the disappearances, then mention that ghouls were found in the crypts, but were cleared out by the local cleric, but unbeknownst to them, the cleric who went in there solo is now a vampire's thrall. The town then slowly begins to become more authoritarian, with the church pushing for greater control over the citizens, etc etc. All the while, let time pass while the players do what they want, until, eventually, the main plot that you want to run begins to affect the players in ways that they HAVE to deal with, or else just abandon the area entirely, at which point you can just give them a deadpan look and say "Did you want to play dnd, or did you just want to kill monsters in caves?"

Also, make sure to find ways to tie "random encounters" to the plot in every way you possibly can, short of just random wolves in the woods. If you decide to randomly throw an undead in the woods, or some kind of magical beast, ask yourself how it got there, and how it can be tied to the story, that way if the players want to investigate it, it will lead them toward the plot, but if they ignore it, later on they get the fun moment of "Ohhh, so that's why those monsters were there!". This will also help your players begin to see the world as something living and breathing, rather than just a set of procedurally generated dungeon maps with monsters to kill.

[zlefin]

I predominantly run online games because this problem is more pronounced in offline games (due to having less time to mull over a solution), but I experience a similar problem with online games where a few weeks in, somebody will do something so out of the box it stumps me and the game dies depite having more time to think due to it being an online game.


I can give two examples, one where it was more the players acting unexpectedly, and one where an NPC in an adventure path was an issue.

In one campaign, the pcs didn’t want to fight in a gladatorial match, and the story required they fight, but nothing I did seemed to be able to goad them into fighting and that game died.

In the other, a pc gave an npc a request and the adventure path stalled because I couldn’t find a canned response that would work and didn’t want to make my own in case it ruined the rest of the game, so that was basically analysis paralysis.
sounds like all the more reason to do a module with player buy-in. if you're stumped; just tell the players you're stumped and move along, explaining the situation can work fine. and player buy-in means you're free to stick to the railroad.
in your second case, just tell the players the problem and ask them to work around it.

[Florian]

It´s hard and simple at the same time. Don't plan a story, you're not writing a novel, plan a series of scenarios and look what happens.

[Zhentarim]

It´s hard and simple at the same time. Don't plan a story, you're not writing a novel, plan a series of scenarios and look what happens.

I am a self-published novelist, so I guess it makes sense I was approaching this gamemastering thing from the wrong angle.

[Florian]

I am a self-published novelist, so I guess it makes sense I was approaching this gamemastering thing from the wrong angle.

A bit, I guess. Unlike writing a novel, you do not have any creative control on the actions of the Protagonists beyond sticks and carrots, when even those don't often work as anticipated.

[Rynjin]

I am a self-published novelist, so I guess it makes sense I was approaching this gamemastering thing from the wrong angle.

It's a common mistake, especially among new GMs if it makes you feel better. A lot of people approach GMing at first as if they're writing an officially licensed Adventure Path or Module, and it just ends up frustrating everyone involved since you end up with the worst parts of both homebrew and published stuff (you have to put in all the work writing AND have to figure out what to do if things go off the rails).

[Doctor Awkward]

I'm going to have to push back a little bit on this idea of having an overall plan being generally a bad move.

There's nothing wrong with that. Part of the reason for wanting to be a DM is because you have a particular story you want to tell. The players are controlling characters in that story, and while they shape how the narrative progresses, the actual plot doesn't even have to be about them in particular.

Rather than approach the game like a novelist, approach it like a screenwriter. You are making a movie and the players are actors in that movie. Rather than have a focused and driven narrative that proceeds strictly from one specific moment to another, have a rough outline of what you want to happen and make decision trees that can lead the players from one scenario to the next.

Rather than have a specific set in stone map for where certain events happen and when, treat your encounters like set pieces that can be edited from one location in the world to another, with "All roads leading to Rome."

For example

Let's say your bad guy wants to bring about the end of the world for whatever reason. In order to accomplish this, he is searching for the legendary scrolls of Balgarad the Infinite, which are buried in an expansive underground tomb. The players are approached by an old wizard in a tavern who tries to plead with them the seriousness of the matter. For the first session you create an elaborate dungeon full of encounters and once the party has the scrolls the complications will begin: the wizard is suddenly killed before the party can get back to him, and now they are being hounded by agents of the bad guy. However, instead of going for this crumb, the party tells the wizard to get lost and isn't interested in anything he has to say because they, "ain't gonna be railroaded. Not US! NO SIR!" Your entire campaign is now in shambles because they ignored the one thing that was meant to get them involved in the plot and now you have nothing planned for them to do.

Or...
As the party wanders around town, looking for something to do, one of their contacts approaches them with some information about an opportunity for work. These plot hooks can be tailored specifically to appeal to the player characters specifically. A cleric or paladin might be spoken to by a member of their church and told of a recently discovered tomb that needs to be excavated. A fighter or rogue hears about the same expedition but instead their contact tells them that the explorers are looking for bodyguards and are willing to pay good money for it. A wizard is told that the expedition in question might be to the tomb of an a powerful spellcaster, and they need an expert arcane as a consultant, and while good money is being offered, it's not enough to entice some of the higher level spellcasters in town. A ranger is told that an expedition will soon be setting out into uncharted region of the area, and they'll need a guide who knows how to navigate in the wild. If the party bites at any one of these hooks then instead of the old wizard in the tavern being killed, the expedition is killed by the bad guys agents, and the party escapes with the scrolls looking for help, and suddenly they are back on the railroad.

Or...
The party ignores ALL of this and goes off to do their own thing. If they wander out into the wilderness, then you can simply have them stumble upon the ruins by "chance". Make a few meaningless dice rolls, and suddenly they find a large rock formation descending into darkness that isn't marked on any of their maps. If they go off to attend a social function at the castle, after some light roleplaying a guest at the party uncovers a secret passage that no one previously knew about that opens into a path descending far below even where the palace dungeon was. Or if you are running a game for a group of kleptomaniacs that decides to go out at night and rob a store, or some rich guy's house the party suddenly discovers that it has a shockingly deep basement and tunnels that wind downward. If they go explore them, they are now suddenly back on the railroad. Except the next day they find out that the guy they robbed was murdered, and they are the prime suspects. And worst of all at the bottom of the crypt they found these weird scrolls that could be really valuable but they don't have much time to get them appraised because they are being hounded by people who want them dead.

One of the dirty little secrets of dungeon mastering a good game is offering your players the "illusion of choice". You can often do that best by structuring the early parts of your game as a list of plot-relevant encounters that can take place wherever the party decides to wander. Once they get invested in the story and are riding the railroad of their own accord, you can shift gears and start to script out much more refined and detailed scenarios: a castle at the top of a mountain that the party much traverse during a blizzard to find the bad guy. An army that is laying siege to a city the party needs to defend. A bad guy is hiding out on the plane of Mechanus in the city of the modrons and they need to find him.

As you likely noticed from my example, another big part of running a great game is tailoring your story to the expectations of the party. Let them decide ahead of time what kind of adventurers they want to be and what motivates them, and structure the plot hooks to best appeal to the nature of their characters.

"What are you guys all playing?"
"Oh we are X, Y, Z, P, D, and Q, and we've done these things and have known each other for years and trust each other because of them."

The prologue for your campaign is basically 80% written with a response like this. All you have to do is expand on the information they gave you and tailor the rest of your plot to best suit their particular foibles.