The Chimeric Files: The Gamesmaster

Games Master. Storyteller. Dungeon Master. Marshall. The list of names for the position is long, but the list of people willing to take on the task is short, and the list gets even shorter when you only include the GM's who enjoy running games (for the right reasons) and who are good at it. GM'ing is a skill set, a different skill set for the different styles to be sure, but a coveted set of skills nevertheless.

We take a moment here to put forward the TCN theory of what a GM should be, and this defines the type of article you can aspect to see in the future.

THE GM'S MANY FACES

There is not as many styles of GM as there is GM's, but a good number of variations exist. None of these variations are wrong as long as everyone is having fun. Even the real big sins, like viewing the game as a competition between yourself and the players is not wrong as long as everyone is enjoying it and understands the situation. A good number of GM's like rules heavy games, the reason being they like a rule for as many eventualities as possible, either because they are comforted by this or because to them it is a game, and hence games have rules. If you play a board game you do not expect to have to make half of it up as you go along do you? A lot of other GM's like rules lite systems, allowing events in the game to be resolved via one or a few simple mechanisms that, while not realistic, do provide a simple resolution system that does not detract from the story. We also have GM's that are good at invoking an atmosphere, or role-playing characters while others can string together a heart pounding action scene. Everyone is different and no one is perfect, but that does not mean we should not strive for it, and try to learn from others.

The point as far as TCN is concerned is story, as TCN takes the position that the GM's major role is that of a storyteller, and not just an independent controller of a challenging game. A lot of the other concerns, like the rules heavy or rules light approach are irrelevant, as in many cases system is irrelevant (unless it gets in the way of genre conventions).

The only relevant factor is that a good story is being told.

THE GM IS AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

The majority of role-playing games (and other articles for that matter) compare the role of GM to that of a writer/novelist or a movie director; I do not favour this analogy. The reasons for this are simple, the GM does not really write anything in the same sense that a novelist or scriptwriter does; both these writers have full (or nearly) full control over their characters, the GM does not. The same is true of the director of a film, he controls most elements of the film, including his actors; a GM does not have as much control, and his storytelling environment is much more fluid and dynamic. It is also true that a GM usually has to plan beyond the one adventure (the movie) to ensure his world and the major characters (the players) have future stories and avenues of development.

A GM is a Josh Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel), an Ira Steven Behr (Star Trek), a Michael Pillar (Star Trek), a Chris Carter (The X-Files) or any other Executive Producer of quality TV shows, such as Alley McBeal, ER, NYPD Blue, etc. A GM is an Executive Producer of a TV show, its creator and guiding hand. The Executive Producer analogy fits for numerous reasons. One of the critical ones is the sense of it being a position that involves story and character management (shared jointly with the players), and also a large degree of time management which may well be an out-of-session task, but one that is very important.

The Executive Producer's role falls into two broad categories: story development and essential production management. These roles are often so distinct, and involve to some degree a different way of thinking, that they are sometimes handled by two different people. As an example, in The Next Generation Rick Berman handled the management of the production with Michael Pillar managing the writers, characters and story development. Now, in reality the two sides of the job blurred a great deal, but they did separate the roles in this way. It is also true that Executive producers have an army of staff to keep them sane such as a number of producers to order around, or a story editor to manage the day-to-day script issues.

As a GM you have to do both all by yourself.

Like an Executive Producer, the GM's most scarce resource is time. While the humble GM is not lumbered with the frightening task of getting an episode of quality TV out of the door every week, he does have to commit a large amount of time to his own 'TV series'; it also takes a lot of time management and a certain amount of selfishness. In the hectic environment that is modern life a GM has to plan his life like it is work, like a novelist writing a book, the campaign should not be put into the background, it should be one of the GM's highest priorities. He should try and spend some time on it every day, and in this work to keep the ideas flowing. This is the only way a campaign can be run on a regular schedule; it takes blood and sweat. Like an Executive Producer, the GM must have a sense for the dramatic, an intimate understanding of a good story, and an eye for interesting character development. He must also be able to merge all these factors, and manage all those involved (such as the players) to ensure that his campaign grows, and develops like a quality TV series - one that grows, excites and then reinvents itself when it grows stale. This is the most important GM'ing skill set, a GM can be disorganised and run his campaign on an irregular schedule - he can even be disorganised during play to some degree, but if he has the players engaged in the story and the immediate world in which it takes place they will forgive him.

Think of the X-Files, a TV show that has run for seven years based on the relationship (and a professional one at that) of just two characters. The relationship has stayed interesting and dynamic for all that time. Think of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, were Josh Whedon had the balls to remove all the familiar trappings of the show at the end of season three allowing the characters to grow up and their relationships change. Then we have Deep Space 9 that, unlike its predecessors, allowed all its characters to change radically over time both in and off themselves and in terms of their relationships with each other. This is what you want to achieve as a GM, characters who develop, stories that further that development rather than just propose a plot and it should also take place in a fluid and exciting milieu. Like an Executive Producer the GM must also liase with his cast, while he might like to rough ride characters in a certain direction he will rarely get away with it. In this area a GM has less power than an Executive Producer, as while an actor has some say over his character's development at the end of the day he is a man paid to do job. The player on the other hand is playing to have fun, and should be the final authority on where his character is going. This does not mean to say the GM cannot be a guiding hand. The GM must work with his players (the cast) to ensure that all the characters have goals that can be explored through the stories. A GM should also introduce his own elements, after all, the odd curve ball thrown into the characters development is often more revealing than all the events on the players planned path put together.

In some situations this analogy does not hold up. As an example it is possible to run role-playing games like movies, indeed this is a very immediate and exciting way of doing it (and a future article). In this situation the GM will be more like a movie director as the plot, locations and the characters (probably pre-generated to his needs) will be more narrow, and the whole session can concentrate on that one story, and that evenings gaming. In this situation a lot of the concerns of the Executive Producer model are not relevant. This is not how the majority of role-playing games are run though; most are campaigns in formats similar to TV series and mini-series.

THE DIGITAL AGE

The GM's role is also changing due to the ever-developing nature of Computer Role-Playing Games. It is fast becoming possible to host a full role-playing session over the Internet, merging the brilliance of modern 3D worlds with the storytelling skill of a human GM. This will become possible when the game Neverwinter Nights is released early in 2001, assuming it lives up to its specification. The game comes complete with the Solstice Toolset that allows aspiring GM's to create full 3D worlds for Internet gamers to explore through their 3rd Edition (Dungeons and Dragons) characters. The game will also allow the GM to direct affaires in game allowing him to move monsters into position in a dungeon adventure or speak as a PC using Roger Wilco type technology. If a GM of a Neverwinter Nights world can speak as any PC he can give them emotions, and develop a plot based on the relationship of the characters in the world. It could be the first game to give a CRPG world the human element that has been missing so far. I am sure Neverwinter Nights will not be perfect, but it is certainly going to be the first to demonstrate a popular line of development.

The future of the GM's role may well be in the digital landscape, especially when you consider that CRPG's seem more acceptable as a mass market entertainment than sitting around a table with your friends. I find this future GM'ing role intriguing as it can only expand the hobby. It also has interesting psychological effects, as people are often willing to role-play to the nth degree on the Internet by pretending they are someone they are not, how will this effect GM'ing and role-playing characters? Will a shy person be more willing to GM if he does not have to physically role-play his NPC in front of people he knows across a table, but rather to anonymous people he may well never meet on the net?

CONCLUSION

A GM can be many things, and as long as everyone is having fun he is doing his job well, but for the mainstay of TCN we consider him largely a storyteller. As far as TCN is concerned a good GM is like an Executive Producer of a TV series, and in many cases more, having sole responsible for the creating the most minor of characters to the grandest of sets. A GM is also a scarce resource, and one with a much-valued set of skills that are actually of great use outside of the role-playing arena. TCN wants to support these brave few who take it upon themselves to spend their time and effort to entertain others. We hope to provide articles that will inspire you to write interesting campaigns and then provide articles to help you keep them under control and deliver the stories in an interesting manner.