From the article archive
Too Much In Your Head Not Enough on Your Paper
One of the things that a lot of folks enjoy about RPGs is designing a world for the players to adventure in. While building a game world can be tons of fun, every time I ask the GM “How’d it go?” I’m told that it didn’t quite work out the way they had hoped.
As you have no doubt figured out I’ve got what I think is a good way to help smooth things out. So, let’s get to it then.
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As the GM you have the ideas in your head of what you want your world to look and feel like. You’ve been working on this world for a long time and feels your ready to let the players in on the rush of creative joy that you felt. A whole stack of notebooks (or megs of file space) is devoted to notes, sketched maps, bits of artwork, adventure ideas and other great bits of information. All seems ready.
At the first game session you will need to introduce the world. Quite often this means reading from notes and reciting bits of info from memory. A basic lecture of “Here’s how things work in My World.”
In the last such session (for a 3rd Edition D&D game) I was a part of the first thing we found after the GM was done was a lot of us didn’t like some of the “Really cool stuff I’m putting in my world” that the GM told us about. The home brewed rules for magic items, removing a favorite standard race from the game, limiting the types of weapons and other equipment… all of these things were a shock to many of us. The other players and I looked at each other and weren’t quite sure what to say. I thought I’d break the tension and ask some clarification questions – I’d heard some things about magic and sorcerers that I wasn’t sure I (or the GM) understood the ramifications of.
When I asked my question the GM couldn’t recall exactly what he had said. I read off my notes, and was told that wasn’t quite right, and the GM began leafing through his notes. At this point another player said that he though he had heard the opposite of what I had said. Things broke down into an hour long discussion of magic and how it works in the GMs world and, as the GM couldn’t find his notes on the topic, we basically re-wrote the whole thing on the spot.
The rest of the session was much the same. Questions and answers. Inconsistencies found and corrections made on the spot. Not much fun for a group that had been told to be ready to play that night. When I look back on that night I can see that we were missing something – we didn’t have anything to read before the game started.
If I were to tell a group of players that we’d be playing D&D in the Forgotten Realms setting – the players know there is source material available to them. If they don’t already know about the world through reading source material on their own, some will buy it, or ask to borrow some so that they can get a feel for the world. Home brewed worlds need the same type of information available for the players. While we don’t need hard cover books complete with illustrations and full color maps, we need to give the players something to read.
To help get this written knowledge transfer going, when the GM says “I’ve got this kick ass new world I want to run at our next game” the players should ask: “Do you have anything written up on it that I could read?” GMs should not be intimidated or affronted by this request. The players want to do their part to make the game enjoyable, and by asking this question they are showing that they are interested.
It’s normally not a good idea to simply let the players have access to the GM’s notes on the world. Part of the fun of playing in a new world is discovery and the GM doesn’t want to let the players have too much info – but they need something to get them going so we can all share the same vision, or get as close to the same vision as possible. Additionally, most GM notes only make sense to the GM. Reading them can make a player feel like they are translating a Lovcraftian tome.
One of the best ways to start is to give the players and outline of the world. To do this I’m going to borrow a bit from the recent Wizards of the Coast world building contest. I’ve used my own outline in the past but I’ve recently modified it after seeing the WotC questionnaire. Feel free to use/modify this in any way you’d like.
1. What kind of world is this?
Here the GM gives a short paragraph or sentence telling the players what to expect. My current game would read: “A dark modern day horror setting that combines Delta Green and the World of Darkness, particularly using Wraith.”
2. What are the PCs?
Are the players traditional D&D character types or are they delta force commandos from the 30th century? This gives the players an idea of what types of character will be allowed in the game.
3. What rules are you planning to use?
This is informing the players what rules system the GM would like to use for the world.
4. What changes are you planning to use with the system and setting?
The GM who want a D&D world without orcs, a sci-fi world without lasers or a horror game where no one is allowed to start with any occult knowledge – this is the place to mention these things.
This is also where you should mention rules modifications or changes that you think are noteworthy. If you want to run an AD&D game with only the player’s handbook, DM’s guide it’s best to mention that now before the players start digging out their Unearthed Arcana for Barbarians and Acrobats.
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By answering these four questions the GM has given the ball back to the players. Now everyone has a basic idea of what is going on, and we have a common ground that will allow players and GM to intelligently discuss things. The players should start asking any questions that have been brought up by the initial outline.
My advice to the GM is to keep writing your answers down for the whole group to read. I’m not saying you need to write an full blown essay - short answers and bullet points are perfectly fine. This not only helps solidify his ideas, but it puts them in a format that everyone can access.
The more the GM can get down on paper (or email, or Word doc, or whatever) the better the experience for the group will be. Not only will you find out in advance if the players are actually willing to play in a Space Opera setting with a twist of Paranoia, the players now have a window to the GM’s creativity.
This will take time. Perhaps even a few days to get things ironed out before the first real game session. But, when the GM sits down for that first session he’ll have informed players who are ready and willing to have fun and experience the world he has created.
-Brett J.B.
As you have no doubt figured out I’ve got what I think is a good way to help smooth things out. So, let’s get to it then.
-------
As the GM you have the ideas in your head of what you want your world to look and feel like. You’ve been working on this world for a long time and feels your ready to let the players in on the rush of creative joy that you felt. A whole stack of notebooks (or megs of file space) is devoted to notes, sketched maps, bits of artwork, adventure ideas and other great bits of information. All seems ready.
At the first game session you will need to introduce the world. Quite often this means reading from notes and reciting bits of info from memory. A basic lecture of “Here’s how things work in My World.”
In the last such session (for a 3rd Edition D&D game) I was a part of the first thing we found after the GM was done was a lot of us didn’t like some of the “Really cool stuff I’m putting in my world” that the GM told us about. The home brewed rules for magic items, removing a favorite standard race from the game, limiting the types of weapons and other equipment… all of these things were a shock to many of us. The other players and I looked at each other and weren’t quite sure what to say. I thought I’d break the tension and ask some clarification questions – I’d heard some things about magic and sorcerers that I wasn’t sure I (or the GM) understood the ramifications of.
When I asked my question the GM couldn’t recall exactly what he had said. I read off my notes, and was told that wasn’t quite right, and the GM began leafing through his notes. At this point another player said that he though he had heard the opposite of what I had said. Things broke down into an hour long discussion of magic and how it works in the GMs world and, as the GM couldn’t find his notes on the topic, we basically re-wrote the whole thing on the spot.
The rest of the session was much the same. Questions and answers. Inconsistencies found and corrections made on the spot. Not much fun for a group that had been told to be ready to play that night. When I look back on that night I can see that we were missing something – we didn’t have anything to read before the game started.
If I were to tell a group of players that we’d be playing D&D in the Forgotten Realms setting – the players know there is source material available to them. If they don’t already know about the world through reading source material on their own, some will buy it, or ask to borrow some so that they can get a feel for the world. Home brewed worlds need the same type of information available for the players. While we don’t need hard cover books complete with illustrations and full color maps, we need to give the players something to read.
To help get this written knowledge transfer going, when the GM says “I’ve got this kick ass new world I want to run at our next game” the players should ask: “Do you have anything written up on it that I could read?” GMs should not be intimidated or affronted by this request. The players want to do their part to make the game enjoyable, and by asking this question they are showing that they are interested.
It’s normally not a good idea to simply let the players have access to the GM’s notes on the world. Part of the fun of playing in a new world is discovery and the GM doesn’t want to let the players have too much info – but they need something to get them going so we can all share the same vision, or get as close to the same vision as possible. Additionally, most GM notes only make sense to the GM. Reading them can make a player feel like they are translating a Lovcraftian tome.
One of the best ways to start is to give the players and outline of the world. To do this I’m going to borrow a bit from the recent Wizards of the Coast world building contest. I’ve used my own outline in the past but I’ve recently modified it after seeing the WotC questionnaire. Feel free to use/modify this in any way you’d like.
1. What kind of world is this?
Here the GM gives a short paragraph or sentence telling the players what to expect. My current game would read: “A dark modern day horror setting that combines Delta Green and the World of Darkness, particularly using Wraith.”
2. What are the PCs?
Are the players traditional D&D character types or are they delta force commandos from the 30th century? This gives the players an idea of what types of character will be allowed in the game.
3. What rules are you planning to use?
This is informing the players what rules system the GM would like to use for the world.
4. What changes are you planning to use with the system and setting?
The GM who want a D&D world without orcs, a sci-fi world without lasers or a horror game where no one is allowed to start with any occult knowledge – this is the place to mention these things.
This is also where you should mention rules modifications or changes that you think are noteworthy. If you want to run an AD&D game with only the player’s handbook, DM’s guide it’s best to mention that now before the players start digging out their Unearthed Arcana for Barbarians and Acrobats.
-------
By answering these four questions the GM has given the ball back to the players. Now everyone has a basic idea of what is going on, and we have a common ground that will allow players and GM to intelligently discuss things. The players should start asking any questions that have been brought up by the initial outline.
My advice to the GM is to keep writing your answers down for the whole group to read. I’m not saying you need to write an full blown essay - short answers and bullet points are perfectly fine. This not only helps solidify his ideas, but it puts them in a format that everyone can access.
The more the GM can get down on paper (or email, or Word doc, or whatever) the better the experience for the group will be. Not only will you find out in advance if the players are actually willing to play in a Space Opera setting with a twist of Paranoia, the players now have a window to the GM’s creativity.
This will take time. Perhaps even a few days to get things ironed out before the first real game session. But, when the GM sits down for that first session he’ll have informed players who are ready and willing to have fun and experience the world he has created.
-Brett J.B.
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