| From: | GRANITE <granite@**.NET> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Tournament GMing |
| Date: | Thu, 7 May 1998 15:13:08 -0700 |
I'm here..I'm here..I had to go to training today [my day off-CPR
and Verbal Judo]..Or I would have answered already..Well here goes..
> At 07:29 PM 5/4/98 -0400, Erik Jameson wrote these timeless words:
> >Okay, I've finally decided that I will GM Shadowrun at the San Diego Comic
> >Con.
Excellent..Keep in mind that most people's greatest fear is speaking
in front of a group..Guess what..That is exactly what you will be
doing..and this group will expect you to entertain them..Sounds
bad..but It isn't all that bad..
>Not many of you actually care, I know.
First things first..That is quite enough of the negativity..No
more..you are the GM..You must be more positive..Or your experience
will not be as great as it should..
> >...... I can GM acceptably well
> >(while I occassionaly forget rules here and there, my players love my
> >playacting of the NPCs, especially Johnny Rotten the fixer), but that's
> >almost always been a group of friends or mostly friends.
Sounds like you are qualified..You are on your way..
> >So does anyone have any advice?
Remember..you asked for it..
>>Any web pages that give pointers to this
> >sort of thing (like maybe GenCon's page)?
Here is GenCon's page:
http://www.andonunlimited.com/CONS/GEN98/index.htm
Not sure if it will be the help you hope it will but there it is
anyway..
>>Anybody actually out there GMed
> >for a tournament or convention?
Yes..I have at GenCon [FASA Tourneys] and at SunQuest..
> >I imagine I probably should have enough pre-generated PCs for everyone, in
> >a mix that's appropriate.
If you do not..you will loose most of your time ti character
generation..
>> And a pile of dice.
Yes..But be careful about lending them out as they are small and
have a tendency to walk away..
>> All the sourcebooks I'll
> >need.
Yup...But only the ones that pertain to the adventure at hand..
>> Caffiene. Several writing utensils and note paper.
Yup..and yup..
>> My GM screen
> >since I have one (I think it's actually a SR1 screen too, but I haven't
> >used it in a while; I keep forgetting it and it's not terribly important
> >anyway; I don't use much written material anyway).
A very important piece of GM equipment which I also have trouble
remembering to bring with me..I do not really use it for the
tables..It is camo for what you are doing behind it..
>> Can anyone think of
> >anything else?
I'll give more explicit suggestions at the end..
> If your lucky, you'll get a group of creative players (I think at least 75%
> of all Con Players are at least semi-decent players, in my experience...
> Unfortunately the other 25% of them make up for this :( ). And creative
> players are experts at completely trashing an adventure by doing the
> totally unexpected.
Well I thing Bull has had different experiances..I have had about 95%
good players..and 5 % bad ones..but the bad ones have been REALLY
BAD..and the good more like excellent..My biggest piece of advice
about good players..If they head off into a different direction..Let
them..everyone will have a better time..As for Bad ones..If they
start getting out of hand Players bickering and such..-put a stop to
it imediately-..Let them know that the gaming table is not the place
for that sort of behavior..if they refuse to stop and it gets
impossible to run the game..stop the game..there is no reason you
have to put up with a bunch of arses..
OK..Now for the straight poop..
1]have your adventure written and prepared well in advance of the
convention [when you are writing it keep in mind players never do the
expected and leave yourself room to maneuver the group back on
course] figure out how difficult you want the game to be and write to
that level..
2] Write your game to fill a 4 hour slot..most cons allot gaming in 4
hour chunks..So be prepared to start and finish in that amount of
time because someone else is going to want your table after you..to
this end wear a watch..If you are getting close start cutting stuff
out..
3] When you are writing try and leave the PCs lots of apparent
options..that way you lend the appearance of allowing free will when
in actuality all paths lead to the same conclusions..
4] Generate all of the PCs and have copies for the players..Most Con
gaming is for approx 6 players..If you want to allow a greater
amount of choice for the players..generate more than enough PCs and
let them choose..this way you will end up with a surprise as to the
group composition..as well as allowing for player personalities
to be expressed better with more comfortable PCs..Give each of the
PCs a short bio..and perhaps include a quick what they think of the
other PCs as well..Create characters that will be able to accomplish
the goals you have set..but create them to have to struggle a bit to
do it..no struggle no fun..Never allow outside PCs into your game
99.99% of the time they will completely unbalance the entire
game..and the last thing you need are even more surprises..
5] Know your adventure forwards and back..that way when your group
takes a weird turn you will be able to better improvise..
6] have at least a fair grasp of the rules..And don't use house
rules..if you do tell the players first thing..Personally I try and
never use any kind of house rules in the convention setting that way
everyone that is familiar with the rules will have no problem playing
in my game..
7] ham it up..If you make a fool of yourself..you will never see
these people again..so ..so what..Have fun..Go wild..if you are
getting into the game then it is a lot easier for the group to get
into it..
8] have the group introduce themselves and their character to the
group after they have read the bio..this helps break the ice a little
and helps you keep in mind who is playing what character..But
don't let this go on too long you only have 4 hours..It is also
helpful to use name tents with space for character and player names..
9] there are any number of props you may use..don't bring anything
dangerous..I use a dry erase board..my particular fav..you can pick
up some really small ones at Wal-Mart, and like stores, that pack
nicely into a suitcase..And I usually use counters from a pente' game
for PC and NPC position marking on my drawings..
10] Do your darndest to keep -all- of the players involved..make the
effort to try and drawn in players that seem to be just sitting
there..
11] Don't forget to bring your GM screen..And essential piece of
equipment..
12] FUDGE..Do not get bogged down in dice..Oh don't get me
wrong..pick up a great big handful and roll them around..but don't
feel tied to their results..do what is going to make a better
game..and will be more cinematic..After all you will not be seeing
these people again and you can afford to give them bigger breaks..You
want them to leave your table excited and gibbering about what a good
time they had..
13] skip 13 I don't like that number..
14] Much better..hmm I'm running out of off the top advice..Have a
good time yourself..if it seems like work to you your players are not
having fun either..
15] Be prepared..Yea..I know this is in here more than once..That is
because it is important..
16] Make sure you complete whatever your obligations to the
con..stuff like collecting tickets is real important to them..and if
you want to play in their sandbox you have to play by their rules..
17] When the game is done..let the players know you had a good time
and that you hope they did too..this lets them know you care about
what you are doing..and that you care that they had a good time..
Well that will have to do for now..I can't think of anything else
--------------------------------GRANITE
"Rock Steady"
