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Message no. 1
From: Matthew Diederich <matthew@****.BAKA.COM>
Subject: What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 10:11:15 -0500
In response to the onslaught of requests (okay, one), here goes:

What makes a good Shadowrun GM?

1. Imagination.
2. Ability to throw the rules out the window.
3. Listen.

Imagination is key. Now, I've had friends make fun of the Shadowrun-style
decision tree format for adventures, but I find that what the disclaimers
say is true - no adventure can be hand tailored for each and every gaming
group out there. As a GM, it's your job to do that - make sure that the
Shadowrun world is one your players will enjoy.

Rules - rules are made to be broken. Many a time I've been explaining a
particular rule to a PC and had the glaze happen. You longtime GMs know
what I'm talking about - information overload. Let's face it - the world
we choose to RP in is a complex one at times. When this happen, you have
to know that your best choice of action is to grin, and make up something
on the fly.

"Okay Kev, I know that's a bit much to handle right now. Let's just make
it a TN of 5, roll your skill and we can hash out the rule later, okay?"

The game must go on. There is nothing worse for a gaming group then to see
the session degenerate because the GM has to explain a complex rule to a
PC, or PCs. When this happens, I always default to the above - break the
rule down to a basic roll or two, let everyone know I'll explain things
later, and move on.

The last aspect of being a good GM? Listening. I make it a habit to ask a
day or so after every session for feedback. How did I do? Did you like the
session? What could I have done to make it more enjoyable? Did anything
confuse you, any rules that tripped you up? As a GM, you need to realize
that feedback is your lifeblood. You can have the best of plans, most
complex, rich world laid out, but if your PCs are confused, or don't
understand, or worse yet are unhappy - you aren't doing your job.

Remember the first rule when dealing with people - unless pressured,
-most- people will not complain. Your players by and large will not come
to you if they aren't happen. You need to be proactive. Go to them. This
is expecially key with new players that haven't had a lot of exposure to
the world.

That's my two nuyen.


Matt.
Message no. 2
From: David Buehrer <dbuehrer@******.CARL.ORG>
Subject: Re: What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 07:43:34 -0700
For the mere cost of a Thaum, Matthew Diederich wrote:
/
/ In response to the onslaught of requests (okay, one), here goes:
/
/ What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
/
/ 1. Imagination.
/ 2. Ability to throw the rules out the window.
/ 3. Listen.

/ Imagination is key.

I don't believe that there is a key to GMing. Every good GM that I've
encountered has had a well rounded set of skills and abilities. A good
imagination does not mean that someone will be a good GM. In fact,
I've played with GMs that had little imagination (they used published
adventures or copied movie scripts) and had a lot of fun.

There are skills that you should work on as a GM, but I think putting
them in any order is misleading. The skills you require as a GM depend
on your style and needs and your players' style and needs.

If your players want straight up combat, then imagination isn't much of
a factor. If your players want to experience a full rich world beyond
the description in the rules, and they don't like published adventures,
then a good imagination would go a long way toward making that happen.

I think a better subject would be to ask the GMs on this list which
skills and attributes they have that they feel make them a good GM.

-David B.
--
"Earn what you have been given."
--
email: dbuehrer@******.carl.org
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1068/homepage.htm
Message no. 3
From: Matthew Diederich <matthew@****.BAKA.COM>
Subject: Re: What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 10:49:49 -0500
On Wed, 16 Dec 1998, David Buehrer wrote:

> For the mere cost of a Thaum, Matthew Diederich wrote:
> /
> / In response to the onslaught of requests (okay, one), here goes:
> /
> / What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
> /
> / 1. Imagination.
> / 2. Ability to throw the rules out the window.
> / 3. Listen.
>
> / Imagination is key.
>
> I don't believe that there is a key to GMing. Every good GM that I've
> encountered has had a well rounded set of skills and abilities. A good
> imagination does not mean that someone will be a good GM. In fact,
> I've played with GMs that had little imagination (they used published
> adventures or copied movie scripts) and had a lot of fun.


I was talking from my perspective. I wouldn't be so self-centered as to
think that I could narrate the end-all be-all of gamemastering Shadowrun.
:)

>
> There are skills that you should work on as a GM, but I think putting
> them in any order is misleading. The skills you require as a GM depend
> on your style and needs and your players' style and needs.
>
> If your players want straight up combat, then imagination isn't much of
> a factor. If your players want to experience a full rich world beyond
> the description in the rules, and they don't like published adventures,
> then a good imagination would go a long way toward making that happen.
>
> I think a better subject would be to ask the GMs on this list which
> skills and attributes they have that they feel make them a good GM.
>


I agree, and that's what I was doing. From my perspective - that is what I
think makes me a good GM.



> -David B.
> --
> "Earn what you have been given."
> --
> email: dbuehrer@******.carl.org
> http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1068/homepage.htm
>
Message no. 4
From: David Buehrer <dbuehrer@******.CARL.ORG>
Subject: Re: What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 08:42:49 -0700
For the mere cost of a Thaum, Matthew Diederich wrote:
/
/ I was talking from my perspective. I wouldn't be so self-centered as to
/ think that I could narrate the end-all be-all of gamemastering Shadowrun.
/ :)

:) Well, for the record, me neither.

/ > I think a better subject would be to ask the GMs on this list which
/ > skills and attributes they have that they feel make them a good GM.
/
/ I agree, and that's what I was doing. From my perspective - that is what I
/ think makes me a good GM.

I misunderstood. Sorry bout that.

Well, here's what I think makes *me* a good GM.

My goal is to entertain the players. Too that end I try to figure out
what they like. Once I've done that I work on the skills required
(IMO) to meet their needs and wants. I also keep in mind where the
lines are that I won't cross (for example, I don't like handing out
powerful items willy nilly). However, I also keep an open mind and am
willing to adjust my perspective.

My players like interactive adventures. They don't like the typical
dungeon crawl where everything basically comes down to die rolls. To
that end I try to breath life into all the NPCs (whether it's a
published adventure or one I write myself). If the adventure just
says, "There's a bum on the street corner" and the PCs decide they want
to talk to him I'll give that bum life. Or if the PCs walk right by
him, I might have the bum call out for spare change. In the overall
scheme of the adventure it doesn't mean anything, but IMHO it adds life
to the campaign world.

Something else I've learned is that being adaptive works well.
Sometimes the PCs take a left turn. If I tried to stick with the
adventure when this happens things bog down and the PCs become
frustrated. I've learned that sometimes you gotta put the adventure as
written off to the side and just go with the flow until the PCs get
back on track, or you figure out a way to subtly guide them back to the
adventure. Sometimes they don't make it back and I find myself
creating a new adventure on the fly.

I've also learned to stay within my limitations. If something's going
on that I'm not dealing with well I'll call a break and give myself
time to think things over.

I've also learned to push my limitations. Once I know I have a
limitation I can work on improvement. The best way I've found to do
this is to confront the limitation.

Which brings me to learning from mistakes. I used to describe combat
encounters. But the players and myself would sometimes lose track of who
was where. I bought a vinle(sp?) hex map and some dry erase markers. Now
when combat occurs I can sketch a rough map of the area and we use markers
to keep track of everyone. However, when we first did this everyone knew
where everything was, but the combat encounters lost a lot of flavor and
degenerated into miniature battles. I learned to combine the sketch and
markers with colorful descriptions of the scene.

Lastly, I learn from others and borrow good ideas. And the members of
this list have been very helpful in that regard. It's seems like at
least once a month someone presents how they (or their GM) did
something and I think, "Hey, that's a great idea" and make a note of
it. I've been gaming for 18 years and am pretty impressed when I see
something new :) I also keep an eye out for good ideas from books,
movies, TV shows, and the news. If I see something I like I put some
spin on it and use it in my game (or use it for one of my characters
when I play).

I guess what it boils down to for me is: GMing with the goal of
entertaining the players, knowing my players, knowing my self, and
constantly seeking ways to improve.

-David B.
--
"Earn what you have been given."
--
email: dbuehrer@******.carl.org
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1068/homepage.htm
Message no. 5
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 19:13:22 +0100
According to Matthew Diederich, at 10:11 on 16 Dec 98, the word on
the street was...

> Rules - rules are made to be broken.

Yes and no. If there is a rule that doesn't do what you want it to, then I
say by all means modify or replace it. However, I am very much of the
opinion that if a rule covers a situation, you should use it. After you've
used it, you can decide whether or not it's any good for your purposes.

> Many a time I've been explaining a particular rule to a PC and had the
> glaze happen. You longtime GMs know what I'm talking about - information
> overload. Let's face it - the world we choose to RP in is a complex one
> at times. When this happen, you have to know that your best choice of
> action is to grin, and make up something on the fly.

Not necessarily. You don't _need_ to bore players with the rules unless
there is a real need. If they "glaze," like you seem to experience a lot,
just keep the rules away from them: don't tell them "By the rules you can
either do a backflip with double corkscrew against a TN of 8 or a simple
jump with a TN of 4, but you get more 3 dice for the backflip and a +2
modifier for the normal jump" (or whatever) but say "Do you want to do X
or Y? You're better at X, but that doesn't mean you _have_ to do it" and
work out target numbers in your head.

Furthermore, I thought I'd mention that I agree with what David Buehrer
said about there not being any fixed set of "skills" you need as a GM, but
that it depends on your group and on the kind of game you (meaning both
the GM and the rest of the players) want to play.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
What do you mean, "let it"? How can you stop it?
-> NERPS Project Leader * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
->The Plastic Warriors Page: http://shadowrun.html.com/plasticwarriors/<-
-> The New Character Mortuary: http://www.electricferret.com/mortuary/ <-

GC3.1: GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U P L E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+
PE Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 6
From: Micheal Feeney <Starrngr@***.COM>
Subject: Re: What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 13:58:43 EST
In a message dated 98-12-16 09:43:16 EST, you write:

>
> There are skills that you should work on as a GM, but I think putting
> them in any order is misleading. The skills you require as a GM depend
> on your style and needs and your players' style and needs.
>

I dunno about that. I feel there are some skills that are Universal to GMing.
Creativity, Flexability, and the ability to remain outwardly unphazed when a
PC does something that is totaly outside of the expected parameters.

He needs to be Entertainer, a Storyteller, and a bit of a director. Yes, a GM
with a solid grounding in the rules helps, but its not as important as the
earlier skills Ive pointed out.

--
Starrngr -- Now with an UPDATED webpage:
Ranger HQ
<A HREF="http://hometown.aol.com/starrngr/index.htm">;
HTTP://hometown.aol.com/starrngr/index.htm</A>;

"You wear a Hawaiian shirt and bring your music on a RUN? No wonder they call
you Howling Mad..." -- Rabid the Pysad.
Message no. 7
From: K in the Shadows <Ereskanti@***.COM>
Subject: Re: What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 14:10:51 EST
In a message dated 12/16/1998 9:09:48 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
matthew@****.BAKA.COM writes:

>
> What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
>
> 1. Imagination.
> 2. Ability to throw the rules out the window.
> 3. Listen.
>
<snipped examples of above>

IMO

1. Understanding

I am NOT referring to having an understanding of the rules here. I am
referring to the idea that each player is an individual, one who will have
their own ideas of what should and should not be for their character and those
around them. Yes, a good, functional, understanding of the game mechanics is
nice, as it does provide for ...

2. Direction/Focus

... something that is necessary for the game to continue. Continuity is nice
in small amounts, a Blessing in moderation and a Curse in overabundance. The
Game Mechanics (Rules) help to allow for the PC and the GM to have a common
ground of reference. This goes hand in hand with all members of the game
group understanding the game's history. For those games that are "Canon" or
"Near-Canon" in thier history (what happened, when, and why) this is a
relatively simple task. For those games that are more Independant, this can
be a tremendous task if/when a new player is attempting to be incorporated.
And when this happens, it takes a lot of ...

3. Listening

... on the part of the new person, the current member(s) and the GM(s). We
have to learn how to hear each other and at the same time not hear too much
(reading between the lines, drawing uncertain or incorrect conclusions). If
something is not clear, it needs to be questioned. If it is obvious to
several individuals that perhaps a temporary impasse has been reached, then
the group should be able to recognize this or have this recognition brought
forward for everyone. Once these are firmly in place, then the ...

4. Imagination

... can take a good, firm, foothold into the group. Everyone likes to be a
dreamer once in a while. Gamers are definitely in that upper stratosphere IMO
when it comes to possessing or developing powerful, heightened, Imaginations.
But that imagination should go beyond "what would my character do", it should
also go into the "what would I think of that" or "how might they
react" and
even "is this going to help us all enjoy what we are doing?" If imagination
becomes too overwhelming, either individually or collectively, then the
reverse in proportion will lose out in their enjoyment. The group may be
overwhelmed by a single player who is a strong personality, whose imagination
can so vastly outdistance the rest of them, as to make everyone feel either
"lost in the dust" or "why am I even here?" The individual may
suddenly find
themselves in a situation they are so completely uncomfortable with (topic of
Rape or Family Death ranks right up here in this case) the course of actions,
that they feel shut out or left out from the actions of the collective,
shared, enjoyment. It is part of the GM's task to attempt to make certain
that Imagination is shared, as much as possible, by all, in order to build a
sense of Empathy, a sense of ...

5. Compassion

... a feeling that can go beyond Empathy, at least IMO. It is where the GM
and the Players gain an intuitive sense of "hey, this is for fun, let's not go
to far." It is where the good of the one and of the many are at least working
to strive an equal balance with one another. It is how a GM, IMO especially
one who is going to be developing a more "Epic" scale game, can continue to
develop new material, can gain the ...

6. Inspiration

... to continue to GM for a group, even if/when that group becomes difficult
to do so for simply because "everyone is in a bad mood today". For the group
to have the inspiration to want to continue to play as well, because they are
drawing so much enjoyment from they do that they *Want* to continue to play.
In many cases to spend many hours a week/day/month travelling to other locales
and spending the time. Overall, it is where the Memory, the ...

7. Recollection

... of what they do is good. Where the "Warm, Fuzzy, Memories" can be found,
can be felt, can be remembered for some time after the games are over. There
is a sense of instinctual, intuitive, knowing that you, if you are the GM,
have found that "level". Some GM's find it right off the bat. Others take
even years to reach it in their own minds. But in the end, you'll *Know* when
you are a good GM...

-K
Message no. 8
From: David Hinkley <dhinkley@***.ORG>
Subject: Re: What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 14:14:39 -0800
Date sent: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 10:11:15 -0500
Send reply to: Shadowrun Discussion <SHADOWRN@********.ITRIBE.NET>
From: Matthew Diederich <matthew@****.BAKA.COM>
Subject: What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
To: SHADOWRN@********.ITRIBE.NET

> In response to the onslaught of requests (okay, one), here goes:
>
> What makes a good Shadowrun GM?
>
> 1. Imagination.
> 2. Ability to throw the rules out the window.

And the wisdom to know when to do it.

> 3. Listen.

4. Ability to recognize when the the flow of the game and the storyline are
more important than the result of the die roll.

5, Understanding the type of game the players want, and the ability to work
with them to make it happen. This is not necesarlly giving in to the players
but rather adapting to thier style. A thoughtful mystery adventure, no matter
how good is lost on a group with a smash and grab style of play.

6. Willingness to do the home work. Have the material ready for the run,
and a bit more. If you do not know the game world, you can't run a good
game.

7. The ability to expect the unexpected and roll with it. Just as no battle
plan survives contact with the enemy, no adventure survives contact with the
players. If you provide them with three solutions, they will find the fourth.




David Hinkley
dhinkley@***.org

====================================================
Those who are too intelligent to engage in politics
are punished by being governed by those who are not
--Plato

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