10) Understanding
The GM
should know the rules inside out, as well as when to break them and
when to stick to them rigidly. They should also know the scenario, by
reading through it at least twice, and also know the wider campaign
and the world it’s set in. The GM should know the players. What
they like, what they dislike, what they pretend to dislike but always
seem to get more involved with. The GM should also know the
characters, have copies of their character sheets to hand at all
times, and have a note of their basic stats right in front of them.
Most importantly,
the GM should know the players, including themselves, are there to
have fun, and to empower that fun for all concerned.
9) Flexibility
I’m not talking
about the ability to put both feet behind your head, but to alter the
flow, mood and speed of a game session according to the preferences
of the players. For instance, if the player who normally pushes the
game on is absent for a session, game progression might slow to a
crawl. The GM will have to take steps to keep things moving. Or maybe
the players are in an upbeat mood, and the session you have planned
for this week is very dark and sombre.
In this case you might want to change the events so the dark and
sombre comes at a more appropriate moment, which means you’ll have
to change your plans at a moment’s notice.
8) Diplomacy
This might not seem
like an important skill, but players come from all walks of life
and have different attitudes, (baggage!)
to prove it. Some people think gamers are all young, white men,
intelligent and a little odd. While the intelligent and odd might be
true for most, the young, white, and men parts definitely aren’t.
Which means a GM could be dealing with people who are very different
to themselves and to the other players. It’s obvious you can’t
please all the people all the time, and so have to be diplomatic when
making decisions, particularly if they had a good effect on one
player and a negative effect on another.
7) Patience
During a
particularly rowdy game session, the GM could be asked the same
question by every player over the course of several minutes. The GM
should answer each one fully and patiently, it’s not the player’s
fault if they didn’t hear the previous answer because of all the
noise. Or maybe the players are having a dull moment and just can’t
guess the answer to a problem you think is easy. Don’t forget you
already know the answer, which makes it seem easy to you. Just keep
giving them clues until they get it, you can always reduce the XP
given at the end.
6) Good Listener
This is particularly
important the more players you have. Each one wants to have their say
and take their actions, so you have to listen to each in turn. But
the players might all have different ways of speaking, so the GM also
has to understand what they say, not just hear the words. This is why
turn-based
systems are used. Each player gets their few minutes of GM attention,
during which time they should ignore everyone else as much as
possible.
5) Imagination
This might seem like
an unimportant skill, particularly if you only run pre-written
campaigns.
But if you want to write your own, or even just customise the ones
you buy, this is important, particularly if the players are more
experienced and have seen it all before. In order to keep things
fresh, the GM must come up with new ways to threaten the players, new
NPCs and new locations.
Imagination is also
essential to putting the NPCs you play into the setting, to allow you
to think more like them, and participate in the game, the GM is also
a player after all.
4) Good Planning
Good planning
is essential for any GM, not just the scenario you’re playing, but
at least two or three ahead. That way you know what’s coming up,
and can head off any problems in time. Always read the scenario
before the session, and refer to it during, make sure you know what’s
happening and why, what the player need to do, and any items that are
essential to the success of it. For instance, if the whole adventure
revolves around the characters having a specific artifact or a scroll
to decode a locked door, you’ll need to make sure they have it, by
whatever means necessary. And that means putting it somewhere they
can find it, and even moving it if they miss it the first time. (Done
that one a few times! Once with an entire building!)
Good plans should
also include things like dealing with deaths, characters getting
lost, upsetting NPCs, missing clues and generally not behaving as
they should.
3) Quick Thinking
Good planning and
preparedness can reduce the need for sudden changes and actions, but
things can still go wrong. The GM might also come up with a better
idea halfway through a scenario and have to change something on the
fly.
Sometimes, particularly if you write your own stuff, things might not
work as you planned, and you have to start thinking on your feet to
save the situation. Having material planned for such events as
character death, whole party deaths, characters going the wrong
direction or missing vital clues are all times when quick thinking is
needed. Depending on what type of GM you are, this can be bad or
great fun. I once ran a full session making it up as I went along
after the PCs completely misinterpreted a clue, and it was great fun
for all.
2) Good
Story-Telling
I think this one is
pretty essential for any GM. This isn’t just about reading the text
in the scenario, but acting out the NPCs, making PC interactions with
NPCs interesting, making sure combat is exciting, and that the whole
adventure tells a decent story from beginning to end. You don’t
have to be a Benedict
Cumberbatch, but being at least able to do a few
voices and some mannerisms is a great way of letting your players
know they aren’t talking to you, but to a person within the game.
You don’t have to create a whole persona complete with speech
patterns and gestures for every NPC the players encounter, but doing
this for the most important ones really helps. Giving NPCs voices
that don’t match their character, like a troll who sounds like a
small child or a politician, is a good way of making lighter moments
among all the action.
If you aren’t so
good at this kind of thing, you can learn about it. You can read up
on drama, acting, voices, story construction, etc. You can also get
advice from other GMs and players, asking them for feedback on your
performance. Most of the time the story will flow along with the
gameplay, but sometimes the GM is the sole focus of the players, and
is carrying the story on their shoulders.
1) Reliability
A good GM arrives at
the session venue in good time, with everything prepared and ready,
with enough material to keep the players occupied for that session
and preferably a few more in advance. If this isn’t going to
happen, and real life can get in the way without notice, the GM
should be able to contact all the players and warn them of their late
or non-arrival. With today’s modern
technology this shouldn’t be a problem. This sounds
like a serious thing for what should be a fun game, but it’s only
fun if the players are there and everything is ready. In some cases,
people travel relatively long distances to play, and not being there,
or being there unprepared is a good way of losing players. Sitting at
a table set out for gaming with one or even no players at all is not
fun for anyone. And eating all the snacks and drinking all the beer
alone is definitely not good for your health.