ITT: One sentence GM advice >It's about having fun,

>It's about following the rules and having fun, fuck off with the rails.

>quit railroading me,you asshole.

>Take all GMing advice with a pinch of salt, and see how it works for you rather than trusting it implicitly.

>>51556222
>>51556270
>>51556286
>I've got nothing wrong if you push us in the direction you want, but in the end the choice is ours to make.

>Never listen to anyone from 4chan

>Down three shots of vodka before group starts arriving.

>>51556333
The triple trips confirm.

> When in doubt, drop rocks on the party

>First time GMs use the starter set without any prep time and just do it.

>>51556589
read it first tho

>Few planned encounters work out as you planned
>The best rails are those that are player created
>Remember the three names of GMing; Schodinger, Chekov, and Samus.
>Remain flexible, until you can't

Run at least one session where you just make everything up as you go.

>>51556680
always make up everything as you go

>>51556222
Prep a lot of generic NPCs, maps, etc. while limiting the more specific prep you need to do for any given session.

>>51556695
Do other people really do this? I always felt like I was doing something wrong because it's my preferred method of GMing.

>never accept handstuff as payment for GM favours, mouth or no deal

>>51556333
So, always listen to a guy from 4chan?

>>51556755
You can't do something wrong if you and your group enjoy it

>>51556774
Thanks man

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>>51556678

>>51556222
>If you're not enjoying the game, tell the group you want to stop.

>Never pay more than $20 for a videogame

>>51556811
>>>/v/

>no matter how good it will feel, killing them just isn't worth it

>>51556841
What, your GM doesn't dole out general life advice?
Weak.

>don't be afraid to railroad if the players don't start moving on their own

>Light ambience music or video game music is great!

>>51556908
>don't be afraid to "call in sick" whenever the GM decides to start railroading your party

>If you put enough rail, the players won't see them

>

>Don't be afraid to say no to your players

>There is the rule of cool, but also the cool of rule.

>>51557099
>Also don't be afraid to say yes, yes but and no but

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>You either play or run, DMPCs are for faggots

>never play d&d (and clones, smartass), not if or why. just never do it

>>51557222
i don't like d20 games either but some people enjoy it and you shouldn't tell that they're having badwrongfun

>Players are dime a dozen, don't hesitate to cull the awkward, the disruptive and the latecomers.

>>51557295
>Play with friends, not with idiots

>Focus on the what not the when, if your players go around something cool you had planned just reintroduce it later.

>>51557312
>Have friends.

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>>51557312
>implying your friends aren't idiots

>>51557312
That's really questionable advice. I've seen plenty of DMs whine about bad players whom the refuse to dispose of because >muh friend

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>>51557370
If you can't talk about anything with your friend they're only aquaintances and no friends
>>51557349
get better friends then
>>51557348
make friends with other gamers and hope those aren't idiots.

>calm down

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>>51557418
>implying I'm not an idiot as well

>If your group is having fun then your technique is irrelevant, you're doing it right.

>If your group isn't having fun then your technique is irrelevant, you're doing it wrong.

>>51557526
If your technique is how they are having fun, why is it irrelevant?

>>51557710
I think the intent was to say that it's irrelevant if your technique is "incorrect" if everybody's having a good time.

>>51556222
>4chan GMs are the worst you'll find, don't take GM advice from 4chan

>>51557418
Anon, just because they are your friends and you can talk to them doesn't mean they will listen to you or change their shitty ways.
Your equivalency is demonstrably false.

>>51557805
yeah but it does mean I can kick them the fuck out and don't have a bad feeling because they can understand.

>>51557840
A not shitty player can understand if they are not gelling with the group or the game, being friends just makes it awkward because most of the time they subscribe to the "geek fallacies".
I had to boot my roommate out of my group, and shit got weird with him for a while.

>>51556339
the only shit I relate
Session start in 10 minute
Not fully prepared
I poured a lot of rhum in my coffee to keep me strong

>>51557745
DOES NOT COMPUTE

>No campaign plan survives contact with the characters.

>Between sessions, always ask "What are the antagonists doing?"
>Never plan for a specific PC
>You're a player, too. If GMing feels too much like work for you, see what can help you enjoy it again
>Random tables are never a bad option when you're stuck for ideas

>>51558137

>Never plan for a specific PC

What?

>>51558170
>Do not plot to render a single pc obsolete, it is fun for nobody

>Always prepare a few spare statblocks jut in case

>>51558182

Ahh, right, I didn't get that from the context. I was thinking you were arguing against having plot elements or hooks tuned to specific PCs etc

>>51556222
>random encounter tables make everyone's life easier

>>51558198
Different anon than the one in >>51558137, he probably meant exactly what you initially thought.
I changed it to actually useful advice.

>Learn how to do a screen wipe.

Seriously, a lot of GMs will drag you through each minute bit of travel or exploration (I realized this a while ago in myself)

>>51558232
I have this problem, please elaborate.

>>51558198
>>51558226
>>51558137
>never cater to a single specific player
Happened two times to me as player, one time because the GM really wanted to bang that girl in our group (he didn't bang her in the end but tries for like 5 years now) and once the gm wrote an adventure just for one character of the group and had the rest forcefully put into that.

>>51558232
I admit, I'm guilty of this. I want the players to feel that sense of traveling, like in Tolkien, but it grinds everything to a crawl.

Oh! And some advice.
>if you want to railroad, give the illusion of choice

>>51556222
>If the player characters have their own goals, don't block them - roll with them.

>>51558244
From my experience as a player, unless the travel itself is important or could be interrupted by an encounter that inhibits the progress, go ahead and allow a scene transition to the desired location..

>It's not your world, don't describe every single bit of a monster, building or npc, give the most important details and let the players imagination do the rest

Never let a minute long description halt the game

>>51556222
GM advice, as in advice to GMs, or advice from GMs?

If former
>don't underestimate them. If you do, they will roll all over you and call it boring. Just try to kill them, it will work out
If the latter
>don't underestimate anything. remember, he's trying to kill you

>>51558260

Those are examples of doing it badly, but individually tuned plot elements are one of the best tools in a GMs arsenal.

The material a player gives you in their background is just as valuable as what's on their sheet, if not more so, for creating connections between them and the world.

I guess in general terms I'd say you should cater to every single, specific player, using their character and background to better link them to the world. Bonus points if you can have a plot element linked to multiple PCs, or tie PC background elements together in interesting ways.

>>51558302
don't cater to a single player or a single pc, cater to the group is what I wanted to say

>talk things out with your players, ask them what they want and what they like

>>51558244
Basically, it's this. Extensive, uneventful travel like in LotR is fun to read. However, it's not really fun as a player/it's a lot harder to convey in the sense of a tabletop game.

If you're going on a five day journey, get the party to make a general watch order and campsite layout, and just describe the whole journey in one go: don't stop every day (unless they're fighting every day). Similarly, say you're doing Starwars. Unless there's a very good reason, have the entire hyperspace journey plotted with one check.

You don't have to describe the PCs walking through each district for the eleventh time, just say
"You step out of the palace onto the bustling streets, and arrive in front of the Blue Gate within fifteen minutes."

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>>51556222
Sprinkle a little bit of all PC's specialties into the game.
Some undead for the cleric to turn.
An angry bouncer for the character who use diplomacy.
A broken vase for the wizard who picked the mending spell.
Makes everybody feel useful for picking the skills and abilities they did.

>>51558316

I'd still somewhat disagree. Always trying to have every plot hook appeal equally to each player locks off a lot of options.

It's okay for one character to be the focus of an arc every now and again, as long as you put the work in to make sure the rest are engaged and having fun with their own stuff to do alongside.

If you're returning to one characters home town, of course the story there is going to be more personal and have greater significance to them, but that doesn't stop the town and the story surrounding it also holding things of relevance to the rest of the group, even if it's not on the same level as the homecoming PC.

>>51558359
never said equally, but keep the rest in mind

>Fuck the Police

>>51556922
So is power metal, anime music, electronic music, jazz, old school hip hop, rococo ballroom music, reggae, German military marches, Russian prison songs and Mongolian throat singing. All in one sesion. If your players don't like it, it's their fault, find other players.

>>51556222
>Sufficient prep work allows you to ad-lib and improvise more confidently and effectively when you need to.

>Don't worry about realism.

>>51558291
That's only true for combat-centric games.

If you see that certain players deliberately undermine the game, kick them out without any discussions, voting or second chances. The others will thank you later.

>>51556767
Yes

>>51558776

It's not even true for most combat centric games

>Occasionally audit the PCs' sheets; not just to check for cheating, but to see what the party is capable of. Then design around that.

>>51559210
If your players cheat at your game, maybe you're doing something wrong. Or your players really hate the idea of not being perfect. Failed rolls shouldn't be something to be afraid of.

>>51559286
Players cheating is almost exclusively a shitty player problem, not a GM one.

Fun is the byproduct of playing the game.

Here a list of advice:
>don't be afraid of lists, list of names, places, races, countries, languages, these can all be of great help while improving
>keep a small list of generic encounters that can be adapted to the situation, it's better than having you pin down rules on the spot
>while your players should have agency and direction don't let players just shit all over what you want to do, you're there to have fun too

So here is some advice for something I do.

I come to the game table with an idea in mind of the kind of game I want to run, the story I want to tell, and the like. I advertise this when I start the game and am forthcoming. More often than not I find players with the "fuck your story" attitude or generally just wanting to go off and do something. While they're not generally bad people you shouldn't bend over backwards for them. I normally ask these people to leave the group and find folks who want to play the story I wanted to tell.

It's better to remove players and preserve your fun than to stop having fun for the sake of people you hardly know. Too many GMs, especially semi-experienced GMs have the attitude of the GM is subservient to the players beaten into them.

>Anything can be a mount as long as it can carry you

>>51558283
This. My DM on average spent about 3 minutes describing what we were looking at. Just tell me it's an antechamber, what you're describing is an antechamber!

>>51556222
>The players are not you, for better and worse.

>When in doubt, kill them all.

>>51556303
But that means taking that very advice with a pinch of salt, which means taking the advice to take advice with a pinch of salt with a pinch of salt, which means you shouldn't necessarily take it with a pinch of salt, which means oh no I've gone cross-eyed.

>>51558283
My last description was this:

>From between vines and cracked porcelain of the dilapidated fountain a massive serpentine body pulls itself forward. Nearly forty feet of it are visible with the end of it topped with a human shaped skull the size of a beachball. The skull is smooth and featureless save for a gaping human mouth. The body is entirely covered in soft white fur. Two small three fingered hands work constantly, twiddling its thumbs as its teeth gnash. When it opens to speak it sounds like the clack of wood forming into speech.

If I had described it as a huge serpent it wouldn't have been enough. A serpent with a human head it wouldn't have been enough. So what should I have done.

>>51560391

Common sense helps

>>51560401
are you autistic?

>>51556799
Very poignant. I had to stop my last game because I realized I would rather write stories in my setting than have people play in it.

>>51560448
I like monsters. The players should know what monsters they fight. Especially if the monster is not something from the bestiary (like a troll).

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>>51560507
Dude, I mean, think for yourself, all these tips here are just suggestions, do your own thing, describe how much you want or feel the need to, it's only really problematic if you halt the game. Let the players imagination do the thing, give whatever you feel important

>>51556589
>>51556628
Sage advice. I still remember my fighter having his head bitten off by a dire rat because the DM misread the rules.

> Everyone should have fun, and this includes you.
> Balance the damn party
> If in doubt, have the player roll for it and bullshit something up.

>>51560401
I for one really like detail and appreciate this effort

>>51556222
>Players don't know what they want

>take a shower
>hit the weights
>get a clue

>Always remember that if everyone in your game want to follow a rule of cool ,than they are here for social interaction and not the game itself.Just suggest to go to a cafe.

>>51557418
If your friends aren't idiots then they are smarter than you and that means you're an idiot.And idiot's opinion doesn't matter.

What I learned in this thread: /tg/ knows either basic stuff about gming or is really stupid. not looking at anyone.

/tg/ is really bad at advice>>51563499
>>51563211
That's probably the most stupid thing I heard all week and I work with mentally challenged people.

>>51560401
I think it may just depend on the situation. The creature you're describing is obviously very unique, and i imagine it's fairly significant. Taking a moment to describe something like that is fine, but it should probably be reserved for significant or otherwise unique things.

> Fuck the party

>>51556222
Just always roll with it, and have them roll for it.

>>51559991
The one that will take me to my end?

>Throw prep material out the window, make shit up as you go

>>51556222
it's less about being a storyteller, and more about being a referee.

>>51556222
>Slipping in a little fudge now and then can sweetan an experience, but fudge all the time is sickening and you best keep it out of the tuna casserole.

>>51556755

It's the only way I can GM. If I try to plan it at all, it feels stiff, and inevitably goes wrong. If I'm just flying by the seat of my pants the whole time, going off what the players do, I'm set. Plus then I don't look as bad when I space out on the name or description of some place or NPC

>>51558350

Seconding this.

For me as a player, nothing is more of a cockblock than having a specialty or subset of skills that never have any use in game. I've had several DMs do this over the years.

>>51556222
From the Shadowrun corebook.

>When in doubt, have a guy with a gun walk through the door.

>>51556222
>Don't write a story, write challenges that stand between the players and their goals.

>>51565473
Jesus this.

I am sick of Gm's saying "i want to tell a story." and then ignoring our characters and railroading us into inane bull shit.

>>51565656

>Your character wouldn't do that

>>51565216
>Build character around crafting magic items with DM's approval.
>feats, skill points, relevant crafting tools you name it.
>never have a chance to craft items or enough gold to buy the supplies.
>Ask DM if I can respecc my character to be more useful.
>"No, you made your choice and you are stuck with it."

In another game I put skill points in social skills like diplomacy and the DM shut me down whenever I tried to use them.
I then asked to respecc because my points in diplomacy were a waste and put me at a huge disadvantage to everyone who just picked perception.
>"No."

Fuck shitty GM's.

>>51560401
I liked that, you obviously missed why the dm was doing it. You murderhobo

>>51565846
your gm sounds like a dick.

>>51565846
Two different DM's actually. But the same group.

>don't be afraid to kill the occasional PC

If nobody in your games ever dies, the games can start to feel like an amusement park. Safe with nothing but the illusion of danger.

The key is making the players agree that their death was their fault and could have been avoided with some forethought.

>>51565296

Aka Chandler's Law

>>51556222
>Within reason, err on teh side of the players.

>Don't use critical hits.

>>51560401
>the size of a beachball.
I appreciate what you're doing, but this kind of kills the mood for me.

>>51558283
>It's not your world
Wait, then whose world is it? None of these fucks have spent weeks writing setting details and commissioning artists.

> Almost every time you plan ahead for something and think to have all options covered, the PCs will find a way to fuck with it and completely ruin your prep time.

>>51566463
I dissagree.

>Never let any PCs die if you can help it.

Nothing will tank your game faster than a character dying. Because, what do you do? Let them re-roll a character at the same level? That just cheapens the death. Make them start at a lower level? That's too big a penalty, everyone will complain and the game will collapse.

Better to give them significant setbacks than death.

>>51563119
Solid advice for anyone.

>banging out a PR to the LotR soundtrack

>>51567342
Sometimes, a character dying can mean a lot. Eg., a powerful villain defeating a character, or a character throwing themselves into a combat full force for personal reasons. Player deaths shouldn't happen any time, they should only happen when it matters/is important.

>Sometimes player logic is better than your own, learn to go with it

>>51569072
>>51567342

Funny, I have always planned out PC deaths well ahead of time so I can deal with it properly. Like if one character gets a little too powerful, i'll plan to crit him out in a few sessions so it dosen't unbalance the game.

>Have a staple of encounters and subplots to draw from in case the players destroy whatever plan you had for the session.

>>51556222
Rules and Rails is the name of my steampunk homebrew.

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Compiling a list of the good ones

>>51556222
>Plan for improv

alternatively,

>To pull something out of your ass, you gotta put something up there first

>Keep gameplay quick.

>Any time you change the rules you're setting precedent.

>>51556678
>and Samus
Huh? Like, from Metroid?

>>51556222
>Let the story tell itself and when it gets slow, make it go fast.

>have fun.

>>51569621
see
>>51556791


>>51569727
True, but unhelpful.

>>51569791
Not him, but I still think 'Samus from Metroid.' If there's another Samus, I don't know them.

>plans are useless but planning is indispensable

>>51556767
No

>>51557118
Hello, maker of G.U.R.P.S.

>>51558283
>Never let a minute long description halt the game
If your attention span is too short for a single minute, then you probably shouldn't play tabletop games.

>>51556222
Depends on the rules and the rails. If one player is set to fuck the fun of all the others, then he gets every rule and every rail dropped on his idiot head.

>>51569535
Good combination

>>51570627
>'If the PCs can't get there now, there should be a way for them to get there eventually'.
Yah, clearly referencing Metroid.
Though, admittedly, there are plenty of games that follow that model.

http://jrients.blogspot.com/2016/12/just-out-of-reach.html

>>51569283

What the fuck? Why not just talk to the player?

>Make sure it's actually fun and not fucking miserable.

>>51573357
people who visit 4chan are mostly crazy.

>>51556767
Maybe

>>51556767
I don't know

>>51574738
can you repeat the question?