GM No No's

This week we’re going to have a nice change of pace and give Game Masters some ways not to run a session!

1) DO NOT use RP sessions as your soapbox!

This little tip was inspired by reading a book of campaign modules recently where the author forgot the importance of fun and instead chose to focus on being political. As the Game Master, you have the responsibility to be a guide to coordinate a fun adventure for your friends, not preach at them.

2) DO NOT hog the spotlight!

The focus of the campaign should always be on the journey of the players and their characters, never about just how awesome you are as a GM. This doesn’t mean that you aren’t allowed to have memorable NPCs, but they should definitely not be of the variety that always undermines the players or steals the attention.

3) DO NOT be very explicit with sensitive topics!

Keep it PG-13! Obviously, this is just my preference and I’m not the overlord of all RP, but I think there is merit to this position. If your particular group wants to have more explicit content in the campaign and you are comfortable with that, go for it! But for most campaigns it’s beneficial to back off from the explicit content and go with the more flexible implications.

4) DO NOT go into a session unprepared!

First off, doing this is extremely disrespectful. People (your friends!) are taking the time to come hang out and go off on an adventure and if you as the Game Master aren’t ready, then the adventure goes nowhere. Sure, life happens and there may be times that you just aren’t up for running a session, but it’s always better to reschedule a session and give yourself the chance to get back on track.

Make the time to review your notes – it’s not that you need to run the campaign from memory, but having a good understanding and recall of your material helps everything run more smoothly.

5) DO NOT be inflexible!

Sometimes your players will throw a curve ball at you and not go down the path that you were planning for them, but wait! This doesn’t need to derail you! It’s totally fine to use your GM behind-the-scenes magic to help reel them back into the story. It can be a challenge, but be confident in your storytelling abilities!

We hope that you enjoyed this week’s post, and if you want a bit more detail on the above topics, please check out our YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSqeUOydwaA)!

Credit: Written by Meraki Forest