Advice/Help What makes a good GM?

[GreyHeron]

Hi all,

I came up with an idea which I believe would be good for a group. However, I have never GMed a game before. I would love some advice and tips on how to do it well.

I've added my idea below, in case you're interested or if it changes the advice.

Spoiler: Idea

In a bleak, dystopian world ruled by a tyrannical regime, a jaded detective is tasked with solving a high-profile murder that could ignite a rebellion. As they navigate the dangerous underbelly of society, they uncover shocking truths about the regime and form an unlikely partnership with a group of disillusioned activists.

 

[Idea]

About the idea...

This idea sounds better for a 1x1 RP to be honest. While you do mention "a group of disillusioned activists", the focus of the premise and having a primary agent both point to a main character. It's probably not your intention - but the fact is this is a plot that has a protagonist.

A group roleplay with a protagonist can work, but it's not something I would recommend to a GM who isn't already comfortable enough with handling a group. I would recommend, if you do wish to pursue a group roleplay, to tweak the idea to have a less centralized dynamic. For example, given the plot, why not make this a detective agency or a group of private detectives? Or the opposite, the characters could all be activists, maybe preparing some kind of stunt when they receive an ominous tip from a mysterious source (a detective, perhaps).

-------------------------------------------------------
Now for some general GM advice:

• Involve your players and take an active interest in their contribution: Perhaps the thing I want most out of any GM I play under is that I'm not treated like I'm replaceable. Like a token that's just there and anyone could fill the spot. I think the ability to integrate a player and their character into your world and narrative, and to really give them their due spotlight is one of the hallmarks of a great GM. But even more generally, players and GMs alike both love the creations their put their efforts into. Whether it's the shared interest in the same thing or just the fulfillment of sharing what they made or better yet, someone liking what they made and wanting to explore it. You as a GM showing genuine-feeling interest in your player's work, be it their characters or other things they might contribute to your roleplay may go a logn way.
  
• Be aware and responsible of what you take on: Roleplays can die from an untimely absence of a GM, or from things artificially requiring GM management yet growing to a point where the GM can't manage them. As a GM you should remain of what you can sustain long term, and leave room for some margin of error. Don't make RPs based on a momentary whim, do try to look at your schedule and make sure you won't have major interruptions or periods of business that will keep you out of what needs to be done to manage the RP.
  
• The OOC is paramount: The OOC's health can often indicate the RP's own health. RP groups are small communities as much as they are a project, they need to be maintained and people need to show up and get along or you may be heading to a situation in which people distance themselves from your RP.
  
• Be firm but friendly and respectful: This is basically the 'don't be an asshole' rule, but combined with the need for a GM to sometimes say no or put their foot down.
  
• Try to be adaptable: A degree of adaptability and improvisation capacity is a must-have for any GM due to the unpredictability in groups, but adaptability will also help you much better balance accomodatting your player's wishes and the RP's other needs. Is that character truly something your RP can't have, or is it fine at the core and there is just some detail you can work around? Can the roleplayers really not visit this shop where you secretly hid a bad guy, or can you use it as an opportunity to show off their guile or a fun first encounter that shows how much the characters have to grow?
  
• Don't become overly attached to any one idea: Your fun and what you're here for as a GM is important. While you should look out for your player's needs, that doesn't mean neglecting your own. That being said, it's a common pitfall for GMs to become too fixated on some detail of the lore, a particular character, a piece of worldbuilding, location, eventual plot point... And start to do things which actively harm the roleplay and/or story's well-being in the name of that thing.
  
• Expect and have a plan for common RP difficulties, such as players leaving or slow moments: Many of these issues are borderline if not actually inevitable. Being prepared and having a functional strategy rather than just hoping the storm will pass without anything done about it is a recipe to potentially avoid disaster.

In the end, a lot of it will depend on luck and finding the right kind of players. Nonetheless, I hope this helps. Best of luck and happy RPing!

 

[GreyHeron]

About the idea...

This idea sounds better for a 1x1 RP to be honest. While you do mention "a group of disillusioned activists", the focus of the premise and having a primary agent both point to a main character. It's probably not your intention - but the fact is this is a plot that has a protagonist.

A group roleplay with a protagonist can work, but it's not something I would recommend to a GM who isn't already comfortable enough with handling a group. I would recommend, if you do wish to pursue a group roleplay, to tweak the idea to have a less centralized dynamic. For example, given the plot, why not make this a detective agency or a group of private detectives? Or the opposite, the characters could all be activists, maybe preparing some kind of stunt when they receive an ominous tip from a mysterious source (a detective, perhaps).

-------------------------------------------------------
Now for some general GM advice:

• Involve your players and take an active interest in their contribution: Perhaps the thing I want most out of any GM I play under is that I'm not treated like I'm replaceable. Like a token that's just there and anyone could fill the spot. I think the ability to integrate a player and their character into your world and narrative, and to really give them their due spotlight is one of the hallmarks of a great GM. But even more generally, players and GMs alike both love the creations their put their efforts into. Whether it's the shared interest in the same thing or just the fulfillment of sharing what they made or better yet, someone liking what they made and wanting to explore it. You as a GM showing genuine-feeling interest in your player's work, be it their characters or other things they might contribute to your roleplay may go a logn way.
• Be aware and responsible of what you take on: Roleplays can die from an untimely absence of a GM, or from things artificially requiring GM management yet growing to a point where the GM can't manage them. As a GM you should remain of what you can sustain long term, and leave room for some margin of error. Don't make RPs based on a momentary whim, do try to look at your schedule and make sure you won't have major interruptions or periods of business that will keep you out of what needs to be done to manage the RP.
• The OOC is paramount: The OOC's health can often indicate the RP's own health. RP groups are small communities as much as they are a project, they need to be maintained and people need to show up and get along or you may be heading to a situation in which people distance themselves from your RP.
• Be firm but friendly and respectful: This is basically the 'don't be an asshole' rule, but combined with the need for a GM to sometimes say no or put their foot down.
• Try to be adaptable: A degree of adaptability and improvisation capacity is a must-have for any GM due to the unpredictability in groups, but adaptability will also help you much better balance accomodatting your player's wishes and the RP's other needs. Is that character truly something your RP can't have, or is it fine at the core and there is just some detail you can work around? Can the roleplayers really not visit this shop where you secretly hid a bad guy, or can you use it as an opportunity to show off their guile or a fun first encounter that shows how much the characters have to grow?
• Don't become overly attached to any one idea: Your fun and what you're here for as a GM is important. While you should look out for your player's needs, that doesn't mean neglecting your own. That being said, it's a common pitfall for GMs to become too fixated on some detail of the lore, a particular character, a piece of worldbuilding, location, eventual plot point... And start to do things which actively harm the roleplay and/or story's well-being in the name of that thing.
• Expect and have a plan for common RP difficulties, such as players leaving or slow moments: Many of these issues are borderline if not actually inevitable. Being prepared and having a functional strategy rather than just hoping the storm will pass without anything done about it is a recipe to potentially avoid disaster.

In the end, a lot of it will depend on luck and finding the right kind of players. Nonetheless, I hope this helps. Best of luck and happy RPing!

Thank you that's all so helpful!

I agree with your point about my RP characters

How do you balance timings? Like for example if people take turns, everyone could be waiting days but I also don't want people to fall behind?
Or best to do like side missions etc?

 

[Idea]

How do you balance timings? Like for example if people take turns, everyone could be waiting days but I also don't want people to fall behind?
Or best to do like side missions etc?

It’s not an exact science. If there was a sure fire right answer, short of just having the right group and luck which people have little control over, everyone would do it, but the truth is it’s very dependent on circumstances, the exact RP, the GM’s disposition and capabilities among other things. Even just by what you mentioned, in many groups waiting a few days between responses is kind of expected - I know I personally wouldn’t join any roleplay that would ask me to make posts in under a week.

The important thing in this regard, in my opinion, is that you must not make yourself overly dependent on having a specific person respond. For example, any roleplay that requires specific character pairs is exponentially more vulnerable to one person’s absence effectively paralyzing a whole group of players by locking a pair down or several if stuck on a particular interaction not moving forward. Have plans and preferably also established rules for what to do when a player or character is stuck due to OOC reasons. Be prepared to adjust scenes, have time skips, and other techniques to try to get the roleplay unstuck.

Keep in mind as well, however, that doing this too much can also make players unable to make meaningful scenes due to the interruptions. It’s, like I said, not an exact science, so a lot of the time you’ll have to go by gut and experience.

Fundamental to making everything work will be communication. See what problems may have, and how much you can expect. Being friendly and talking can let you know things you’d otherwise have to guess, but it can also make players more comfortable or help resolve issues like doubts about a scene or the setting of one that are making a player stuck.


Sometimes a player will fall behind. Life happens. Depending on the roleplay it may be easy for them to catch up or you may need to give them some extra attention to help them get back into it. There are also scenarios where it’s best if that player searches for a different roleplay, particularly if it’s going to be a frequent thing or it doesn’t seem feasible to integrate the player into the group at that point. The point is that while naturally you don’t want players falling behind, this will happen even if you try to prevent it. Make sure they have a spot to return to if they do, and prioritize caring for the health of the RP as a whole is what I would generally recommend.


I apologize if this response is a little disorganized, I am writing it in brief pauses of a very busy Sunday. If anything needs clarifying, do let me know.