Role-playing Games Stack Exchange
Role-playing Games Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [gm-techniques]

For questions about the practical arts and methods applied to gamemastering (GMing).

This tag is for questions about the skills, methodology, and/or conceptual approaches related to GMing. Such questions are generally subjective and should follow the guidelines for Good Subjective, Bad Subjective, and should also take care to avoid eliciting lists.

1806 questions
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How do I stop my PCs from acting like insomniac monkeys on crack?

An issue came up in the last session of my Pathfinder campaign - that of chronic PC impatience. It happens especially when they go to cities and between major adventures. They go into a frenzy of trying to buy and sell and talk to everyone and do…
mxyzplk
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How can I get players to realize that their enemies aren't evil?

For an upcoming game, I'm planning on making one of the early hooks a standard-seeming "tribe of monstrous humanoids (in this case, lizardfolk, if that makes a difference) is bothering us, go deal with it," thing. However, I'm hoping for this to be…
Tablesalt
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How do I get the PCs to stop focusing on a red herring?

Okay, I'll cop to it -- this is totally my fault. I get a little excited at the slightest opportunity to expound upon the setting, and in this case I added a small mausoleum to an otherwise boring graveyard where the PCs are investigating a rash of…
Kromey
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When GMing a game, how much should you prepare in advance?

Obviously you need to have some high level idea of what's going on in the world around the players, and where you are heading with the story, but in an ongoing game at some point players will be players and will head off in a different direction to…
Matthew Scharley
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What should I consider when creating a time travel adventure?

I'm sure that many would advise against doing so at all, but knowing that I will likely try to do so anyway, what are the factors I should consider when creating a time travel adventure? Specifically, what spells might accomplish this feat, what…
Cat
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Should a GM be a Player?

Game Masters have plenty to do; no need to enumerate the tasks here. But should a non-player character be a 'regular' in a party? By gaining a voice in the in-character interactions, the GM taps a source of fun that is otherwise denied. Such…
ExTSR
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How many sessions is enough to judge a game fairly?

I want to introduce some new games to my group. But when I broach the topic like, "Howdja like to play Dogs in the Vineyard?" they balk - not at the prospect of trying something new, but at the prospect of committing a big chunk of time to a total…
gomad
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Biggest GM pitfalls for new GMs?

What are the biggest/most common GM pitfalls (or mistakes) for new GMs? One pitfall per answer, please!
LeguRi
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How does a GM fix the rules when they goof?

I think it happens to the best of us. I'm not the best of us, so I get to goof a bit more often. The specific example I'm going to mention was using Dresden Files (a derivative of FATE for those who don't know) but I think this could happen to…
IgneusJotunn
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How can I let a wild and reckless character shine?

We're playing a rather serious story of political intrigue with a bit of magic thrown in. Most of the players are fairly sensible, trying to figure out who poisoned the duke, or how to safely dispose of the cursed stone. Then there's Alice. She's…
Joe
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What role-playing games have good gamemaster advice sections?

Which RPG's, in your experience, have good advice for gamemasters in their rulebooks, both for novice and experienced gamemasters? Please keep in mind that this question is not about good games for beginners. It is about good advice for gamemasters.
Tobiasopdenbrouw
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Keeping a published module interesting when some players have already played.

When running a published adventure which some players have already played, such as a RPGA module, are there any suggestions for keeping it interesting for all involved ?
VVolf
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How can I close my sessions better?

A big principle of group practices (facilitation, meeting management, etc) is Opening and Closing. Opening is creating a comforting environment where people feel invited and welcome. Closing is about bringing things to a conclusion (in facilitation…
anon186
24
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4 answers

Designing puzzle-based mysteries

I'm currently watching the BBC series Sherlock. In this episode, the central mystery is fascinating: first, there are symbols scrawled on the wall; next, these turn out to be a cipher; then, the cipher is revealed to be Chinese numbers; after that,…
Graham
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10 answers

How do I help my players get past an obstacle I didn't intend?

Here's the situation. There's a locked door that prevents any further progress into the dungeon. There's a keyhole in the door and a message basically saying that the key needs to be wished for. In the room with the locked door is a wishing well.…
dpatchery
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