Talk, Talk, Talk

Submitted by Ghostwind on Wed, 2003-06-04 17:06

GM's Perspective

By Nakia Pope, Staff Columnist

*Chairman's Note: This is Nakia's first column as one of our feature GM's Perspective writers. He would appreciate any and all comments regarding this article that you may wish to leave. -SC

If I had just one suggestion to impart to would-be game masters, no matter what genre, system, or setting, no matter if it's a one-shot game or a lasting campaign, it would be: communicate often with your players. On one level, this is not advice at all. Communication is a prerequisite for role-playing. It's a social activity, a collaborative work, so at some level communication is necessary. You tell the players: "You enter a ten by ten chamber. There is an orc guarding a chest." They tell you: "We attack the orc!" Such give and take is necessary for the game to proceed. I have found, however, that communication between players and game master before the game even begins can lead to a better game once the dice come out.

Talking with your players before you begin any sort of game, is essential for the game to be successful. Communicating your decisions and expectations regarding the game as clearly as possible early on can save lots of hassle down the road. If, for example, you have in mind a campaign centered on the party saving the innocent citizens of a village from a dark force dwelling under the nearby mountains, some if this information should be given to your players. I am not saying you have to outline your campaign in detail and give away all your secrets. That is not fun for anyone. You should, however, communicate to your players the desired tone and, possibly, general direction of the game you are thinking about. If you have come up with a game centered around saving a village, but some of your players were looking for a game where their characters explore strange new worlds, there is bound to be some friction as the game progresses; the PC's keep trying to leave town, while you are doing your best to stress just how much danger the town is in so they will stay. A simple conversation about what you had in mind regarding the progression of the game before play even begins can save you and your players all sorts of headaches down the road.

Before the game begins is also the ideal time to have a conversation about rules modifications, house rules, allowed powers, and all those other bits that will inevitably come up as play progresses. You cannot think of everything, but talking with your players about what to allow in the game as far as alignment, races, classes, feats, skills, and the like are concerned will head off future problems. If there are no halflings in the world, let your players know before one of them decides to be a halfling. If you don't allow evil PC's, let your players know before one of them decides to play an evil character. If you are only going to allow feats and skills from the core books, let your players know. Otherwise, you may have someone show up with the evil halfling PC with lots of abilities from the Evil Halfling Handbook (which I am writing as my next project).

You and your players want to be, as much as possible, on the same page regarding what the game is going to be like before the game begins. The ideal time to hammer all this out is at a special character creation session that happens before actual play begins. You can communicate all your expectations for the game, including both mechanics and story, to your prospective players. That way, they have an understanding of what to expect and what is allowed as they make their characters. They can incorporate your expectations into their characters and their own expectations of the game ahead.

Communication, however, is a two-way street. Not only must you be as clear as possible during the initial stages of the game about your expectations, but you should also solicit input from your players about what they wish to see and do in the game. Unless you are a very lucky game master, you don't have hundreds of people lining up to play in your game, so you have to be somewhat responsive to the wants, wishes, and desires of your players. Your players may hate dungeon adventures, so you may want to make that thirty-seven level Labyrinth of Madness a bit shorter. A player may want to play in a game where they get to fight giants because they have never really gotten to fight one before. So, design an adventure where a hill giant menaces the town. You may not want to allow evil halflings, but a good, creative player has a character concept for an evil halfling that is redeemed through his deeds. You are the game master, and your expectations and parameters are important, but don't let them get in the way of having a fun group. Do not, however, be afraid to say "No" to suggestions that go too far. An evil halfling may be okay if done correctly, but an evil halfling who wants to travel the world in order to gain feats or magic not in any books you own may be a bit much for you to take.

Sitting down and having a conversation with the players before a die is even rolled can set the game off on a smooth path. Being clear (and firm when necessary) about your expectations for the game ahead will let your players know what to expect in general terms. Knowing what your players want from the game can help you prepare adventures that they will enjoy. This all seems so simple, but we often just overlook the importance a few hours of discussion about these things can have. I think if we gamers took the time to have conversations about the types of games we wanted and how to go about getting them, then I think our games will be better for it.

Re: Talk, Talk, Talk

Submitted by Ayeshalan on Thu, 2003-06-05 19:54.

Nakia -- I couldn't agree more. Communicating with your players, on all the fronts you describe, is absolutely essential for the long-term success of the game and mutual enjoyment of DM and players.

While the points you raise may seem like "just common sense" to many of us, I can say that even after 20 years of being a DM, even I forget sometimes -- and it costs!

Well said.

Re: Talk, Talk, Talk

Submitted by Nakia on Fri, 2003-06-06 07:26.

Thank you very much for the comment, Ayeshalan. It feels good to get positive feedback on my first column.

I really should call my series of columns "Learning from My Mistakes." I have found that constant out of game communication with my players helps to make the game go smoother and leads to better feelings all around. I think my players feel the same.

Re: Talk, Talk, Talk

Submitted by Llowellen on Sat, 2005-02-12 17:52.

I'll often go a step beyond this a provide a hand-out at the beginning of a new campaign that lists all of the above points - especially if the campaign is to be played with a new group of players who might not be familiar with my strange ways.

Cheers
Llowellen

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