I am new to the world of a Game Master (GM). I became a GM to get my wife and some friends interested in RPG games and this is very much a trial by fire. I developed my own campaign from scratch (also known as a homebrew) where I created the story, characters, encounters, side quests, loot… practically everything. I’m writing this in hope to inspire others to dive into the wonderful world of a GM and to try and explain what a GM does.
We are currently in the midst of a pandemic. One day this will be looked back upon as a great suffering of this generation. Of the many things people are doing to prevent the spread of this virus, the key one is Social Distancing. How do you continue a game that is very much social at its core during this time of distancing? How do you keep your players engaged? This is certainly a challenging time to accomplish most things (mainly work) and with social gatherings on hold indefinitely, what is a GM to do?
Well… it depends.
It depends on your situation. It depends on your players’ respective situations. It depends on how flexible your story can be made. It depends on the availability of everyone on a semi-consistent basis. There are many factors that can complicate and disrupt your story. Here are some ideas to hold it all together (if loosely) as we all navigate through these times… collectively.
Go virtual!
There are many services out there that will aid your adventurers in continuing their quest. There’s Google Hangouts, if your party is small. There’s Facebook Messenger, if you are all close friends. There’s also Zoom for larger groups. Discord is a great tool if you don’t need video and/or for moving your sessions to an asynchronous style. You and your adventurers have to option to adapt gameplay.
Work out any kinks in the process with your players up front. Have a little session to get to know how things are going to work. Do you have all of your players’ character sheets? Scan them to Google Docs and share them! Do your players rely on your to provide dice? There are many websites out there that will help you roll virtual dice. You could even get a copy of Tabletop Simulator and roll dice there!
Be understanding…
If you are like my group, the challenges presented in moving to a virtual space have become overwhelmingly complicated. Especially for new players or a new GM. As the GM, it’s up to you to help your players out in the interest of the story. If sessions need to be paused for a long time, that’s OK. If you want to weave in a long passage of time, that’s a great idea! If you want to progress your players’ characters through indirect experiences, that’s awesome (if it’s OK with your players’, of course). Be understanding that not all of your players may be able to make it to your virtual sessions. Many families are already stretched thin and juggling something that used to be rather mundane has become much more stressful. Know your players will return… eventually.
Help each other out!
As much fun as it was once to have regular sessions, know your players really want to come back. Your sessions have become less of a priority. But, as GM, you can still find creative ways to reward your players at the end of all this. Perhaps you can even build excitement to your next session back through some in game events, encounters, or just plain luck in your next session that rewards your players’ characters. Perhaps you skip over the lower level quests and rewrite your story. If you have time to adapt your story to be more rewarding and exciting, now is the perfect opportunity to do so!
Take it easy
This is also a good time to take a break yourself. Don’t suffer GM burnout overthinking your story. Don’t worry about what will happen in the future. Don’t worry about if your players will even want to return. Trust me, at the end of all this, your players will gladly want to leave the house and physically hang out with friends (or any person for that matter). They will gladly escape reality to a realm where this virus hasn’t thrown the world into chaos (unless, of course, your story had suddenly adopted a slice of life, but be warned, that may be too soon)!
So, rest that weary GM had on the rack for a bit. Take some time for yourself and your family. Your story isn’t going anywhere. While the current world may be a bit on pause, your story can pick back up right where you left off.