perelgut@utcsrgv.UUCP (Stephen Perelgut) (10/13/83)
Hello out there. Can anyone hear me?
With all you people claiming 2-5 yrs of GM'ing experience why did I get so
few replies to my first plea for help?
I am planning on taking a party of neophytes into a Basic D&D dungeon along the
lines suggested by the Basic D&D manual. If this bothers you send mail and
tell me why. I have only received two real responses so far.
1) What is the best way to start GM'ing?
2) What is the best way for a GM to introduce first-timers to FRP? (I am
choosing Basic D&D for its rogue-like nature and for the simplicity
of the rules. If you think this is terrible, let me know and give
me an alternative. It isn't too late. YET!!!!!)
3) Does anyone have any useful GM tools running under UNIX? I can
design my own random number generators (probably better and
faster than you with the nifty programming language we use
here). What I would like would be a fancy window managing
package with separate processes running in the various parts
of the window to constantly roll and suggest outcomes and
encounters and stuff. And maybe a sexy map displaying pgm.
I can imagine it all but I don't have the time to develop
anything extensive.
To summarize:
H E L P ! ! !
P.S. If your site did not receive this article, please let me know. :-)
--
Stephen Perelgut Computer Systems Research Group University of Toronto
Usenet: {linus, ihnp4, allegra, decvax, floyd}!utcsrgv!perelgut
ARPA: utcsrgv!perelgut@UW-BEAVERarnold@umcp-cs.UUCP (10/14/83)
I have been playing FRP games for 6 years now and have GM for 5 years. So here goes my responces to your questions. I have played D&D, Runequset, Traveler, Busido, SpaceQuest, and other FRP games, as well as board (historial Simulation) games. 1) What is the best way to start GM'ing? Answer: The best way to start GM'ing is to use a subset of the what ever game you choice to run. You as the GM should stay in control on the game. Your should not let magic item, special abilities or bizare happings into your game unless you know what they will do in most circumstances. They use of a very basic system to start off with also helps. You will find that your players will try their best to bend, alter, and change the rules that you all are playing by. The best solution is to change to rules when you are ready for the change and can control the side effects that the change will cause. 2) What is the best way for a GM to introduce first-timers to FRP? (I am choosing Basic D&D for its rogue-like nature and for the simplicity of the rules. If you think this is terrible, let me know and give me an alternative. It isn't too late. YET!!!!!) Answer: Chaosium, the people who make Runequest, Super World, and Stormbringer, put out a 16 page booklet called Basic Role Playing. Basic Role Playing contains the basics for most role playing games. It includes definitions for characteristics, spell, skills, monsters, sample encounters, what a begginning cahracter could carry on an adventure and other information useful for beginning players. This booklet is included in most of Chaosium's boxed version of FRP games. It is a very good introduction to the relm of FRP even if you are not going to play any games by Chaosium. 3) Does anyone have any useful GM tools running under UNIX? I can design my own random number generators (probably better and faster than you with the nifty programming language we use here). What I would like would be a fancy window managing package with separate processes running in the various parts of the window to constantly roll and suggest outcomes and encounters and stuff. And maybe a sexy map displaying pgm. I can imagine it all but I don't have the time to develop anything extensive. Answer: I do not know of any GM tools running under UNIX. General Notes: One should look at the FRP games on the Market to decide which game they want to run. A good GM ( one that stay in control of the game) can make all most any system work, by creating good plots, NPC's, and other story telling devices. A few of the FRP games to look at are: Runequest, Travler, Busido, D&D, AD&D, Iron Crown's Game, In the Labrinth, Boot Hill, Space Opera, Call of Chuthlu, and various other games. Go to your local game store and check out what goes on, Talk to people who have games, and read gaming magazines. Enough time to slay the Ph.D monster --- arnold -- --- Arnold Miller, U of Maryland, College Park MD Usenet: ...!seismo!umcp-cs!arnold Arpanet: arnold%umcp-cs@Udel-Relay
bb@lanl-a.UUCP (10/18/83)
Try the book "Through Dungeons Deep: A Fantasy Games Handbook"
by Robert Plamondon I believe. I checked it out of the local
library a few days ago just to check it out. It is a good introduction
to all the elements of FRP with no emphasis on a particular system.
b2
...ucbvax!lbl-csam!lanl-a!bbandree@uokvax.UUCP (10/24/83)
#R:utcsrgv:-246200:uokvax:2400002:000:465 uokvax!andree Oct 16 19:12:00 1983 Commnet: taking new players into a Gygax layout in basic D&D is probably a bad idea. I run a fairly nasty campaign (on our 2D scale, its deadly/easy) according to the people who run in it. I consider the Gygax suggested layouts (ala `temple of the frog') FAR to hard. Most pre-planned layouts suffer from this, as they assume experienced players, with a fair chance that one or more of them have read the scenario. Sorry if I misinterpreted your message - <mike
daemon@decwrl.UUCP (10/24/83)
From: Ed Featherston HL01-1/P06 225-5241 <roll::featherston>
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Newsgroup : net.games.frp
>From : ROYAL::RAVAN
Organization : Digital Equipment Corp.
Subj: Re: Help for Beginning GM
I have been a DM and a player for over four years, mostly using
an AD&D variant. These are a few things that I learned from my
first dungeon.
Rule 1: Know thy scenario!
Whether you're using a prepared module or one of your own
devising, whether you're in a dungeon, a town, or a wilderness,
whether your players like hack-and-slash or storytelling - you
MUST be familiar with their current surroundings. (The ability
to improvise will also serve you in good stead, but everything
that you make up on the spur of the moment will affect your
campaign for the rest of Time, so be careful.) It can be truly
dampening to a budding dungeon if the DM has to pause and look
things up at the most exciting moments, or, worse, has to stop
and backtrack because "I looked that up on the wrong table".
Rule 2: Know thy players.
People participate in role-playing games for many different
reasons; your dungeon will be happier (great concept, a "happy
dungeon") if you and your players agree on the kinds of things
that you want to do. If your people want action, then don't keep
forcing them to do involved puzzles or to spend hours plotting.
If they like to puzzle things out, don't keep throwing hordes of
orcs or wererats at them. If they want to role-play their
characters in every detail, give them the opportunities to do so;
let their characters have relationships with other characters or
NPC's - they may fall in love, make enemies, change professions
or perhaps take a job on the side. (Of course, a little variety
is good for the soul; just don't force people to do things that
seem like fun to YOU if they don't seem to like it themselves.)
For absolute neophytes, the "Basic Role-playing" guide that comes
with such games as Runequest is the best introduction to FRPs
that I have seen.
Rule 3: Practice your combat system.
Whatever system you are using, practice it before your first
melee. Try pitting characters of different classes against each
other, and run the whole thing. (It helps to have a friend play
the "player characters", leaving you the NPC's.) If you've done
small melees but are facing a new type - a war or a seige, say -
then practice that, too. Make sure that you have enough
record-keeping materials handy to track all the wounds, spell
effects, etc. that both sides have taken. If you miscalculate a
monster's hit points and find out later that the monster killed a
player character three rounds after it should have been dead, you
may have a problem! (If the player finds out, you REALLY have a
problem.)
Rule 4: Keep the characters hungry.
Be EXTREMELY careful about what you let your players find early
on in the campaign. It is, of course, possible to take things
away later on, but that can cause hard feelings; it's usually
simpler to let things start slowly and gain momentum as you and
the players feel more comfortable with the game. Even if they
wind up as 18th level mages ruling half the world, they'll still
be able to get together and talk about the days when they fought
off a rabid wolf with only one magic dagger between them.
Rule 5: Remember to role-play!
This is less important to some people than to others, but the
game rapidly turns into a strange sort of backgammon if it is
played only with the rules, tables and dice. You may not want to
go so far as to insist that everyone speak in character all the
time ("What did the Paladin just say? What is a 'pizza'?"), but
players should make some attempt to act as their characters
would.
This isn't always easy, especially in AD&D: in striving for game
balance, the designers put many artificial restrictions on
character classes, races, weapons, magic - everything, in fact.
Therefore, it is possible for people to play strictly by the
numbers, or, worse, to try to force interpretations of spells or
rules way past the intended spirit of the thing. Although I've
done my share of arguing with the DM over what actions my
character should be allowed (fear of death can do strange
things), I prefer to use the role and not the rules.
It's the DM's job to use the game restrictions, coming up with
reasons for them and weaving them together with the characters'
and NPCs' actions to create a cohesive story. (Nobody said it
was easy.) Try to get your players to help with this; if they're
pushing the rules too far, ask them if they think their
interpretations would "feel" right if they read it in a book.
("... and while the great demon watched, the mighty Aragorn
ripped the rings from the fingers of his dead comrade, then stood
in the corner and quaffed three little vials of liquid, one after
the other..." Some hero.) Might help; who knows?
/beth ravan/
Mail address : ...decvax!decwrl!rhea!royal!ravan
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