I am a new Game Master (GM) and this blog is my attempt at logging what I’ve learned so you can learn from my mistakes, or at least find them entertaining. I post tips and tricks I’ve learned to show how easy it is to run your own game. You can follow my Fallen Star campaign as it progresses if you want as well. I hope these posts inspire you to start running your own games!
When you set out to build a story you have to keep in mind that the story is a collective experience. You need to provide your players the opportunity to steer the direction of the narrative. You need to provide a way for your characters to impact the world. You need to provide your characters choices and serve up the consequences of those choices.
When developing a story, you should have a vague outline. Keep in mind this is something that should (and will) change over time if you don’t want to railroad your players into a specifically outlined path. Sometimes, railroading is OK, but should be rarely used. Choices should direct the player back to a more desired path, but not limit the player from making ones that would stray farther. You could always have things befall the player when they stray too far from a justifiable path. Perhaps a paladin wants to leave behind helpless people to pursue some sort of treasure. Greed may not be in the nature of a paladin’s class, but, this should not prevent the player from making this choice. Instead of denying the choice, you could make the path much more difficult with overpowered encounters. You could also have some sort of internal consequence, perhaps the connection to their faith becomes weaker the farther they stray. This weaker link could lead to certain faith based spells and actions to become more and more difficult to pass ultimately becoming unanswered, and thus impossible, to use. This shows choice in the player’s perspective while also having grave consequences.
However, if a player does want to stray that far from a path that you must have their consequences stop them, you might want to talk to your player about their character. Perhaps they don’t enjoy their character and want to change. This is perfectly fine! It also provides your story fuel for the player’s character. They could have their own personal adventure. You could design a story arc that focuses on evolving this character. Discuss with them what the ultimate goal would be for the character’s personal story and work it into your overall story. Perhaps the paladin has become so jaded that they are ready to abandon their faith in search of a new driving force. This is perfect as it can play out alongside other story arcs and even tie into the main story. You can get creative in attempting to fit this in. This is how some of the most memorable moments in gaming sessions occur. If your players are so invested in the game, that they are willing to change their character, you have complete engagement form the player! Success!
Other choices could be recurring: How do you want to split this loot? Who gets this rare item? And the consequences could be unintended: the party splits, one half is in trouble and they would totally benefit from the powerful item thats in the possession of another party member in the other half of the party. This could lead to group strategizing. Player led decisions are always a good sign. It’s also beneficial to let the players discuss strategy for a little bit of time before forcing their hand.
If your characters are in a precarious situation but not currently threatened and start taking forever to determine their next move, it’s perfectly fine to apply some pressure. Perhaps give them some warning signs. A check is always a good way to snap your players out of a protracted discussion. You could force pressure as well: “You hear footsteps running away from you down the hallway.” This may indicate they have limited time to move. Subtle reminders that they are still indeed in harm’s way keep your players immersed in the current situation and keep them from overthinking things. If you want, you could also use a sand timer and just set it on the table. This could act as a visual reminder that they are not as safe as they appear.
Anyway, keep giving your players choices and they will stay engaged. Your goal is to provide a playground for your players and act as the judge of their choices. Keep giving them choices and you keep your job as that judge. Stop giving choices and your players will stop caring and eventually your game nights will dwindle and all of your hard work in putting this story together will fizzle right in front of your eyes. While it may be your playground, it’s really the players’ story. Don’t ruin it for them.