GM throwdown

[Rukellian]

Not trying to butt heads here, but I would like to kindly remind everyone that we will get the occasional DnD rookie, a rookie that is still getting a feel for what dice rolls go with what (I used to be that rookie a month or so ago). With that said, instead of just telling the new guys to start up games of their own, I suggest we keep this thread as a support tool, something that they can all look at and help educate themselves with. Earlier I suggested that we find some pre-made modules and mini-campaigns for them to look at and maybe adopt for their games. By doing so, it helps introduce them to how campaigns are put together, showing the basics that they would need to know in order to take on the role of a DM/GM.

In fact, thirdkingdom's advice column has already shed a lot of light on some pro tips that many could be found useful for building a comfortable game for both the DM/GM and the players.

Given that I've just started leading a group for the first time myself, I don't have much to bring to the table; however, it would be beneficial to any potential DM/GM to practice and hone their creative writing skills. Putting together a well-written story and wrapping your group and yourself in a breathtaking world straight out of your imagination is a rewarding, and exhilarating experience for everyone! Yes it may take some work, but that work is will pay off and players just might be talking about your game for months, maybe even years.

[hedgeknight]

I would love to run another game on this site, but I'm already running a Greyhawk game over on RPoL which, thank the Lord, is wrapping up (I will be taking a couple of months off to recharge on that one). As a person who enjoys being a DM, I hesitate to stretch myself too thin. I want to put forth a good effort for my players, without a lot of down time or days between posts. I'm very critical of myself on that, so I'm cautious about starting yet another game.

And then there's the "boy gamer" in me that is excited that all of these "new" folks are showing up to play...and don't have a game to jump into. It makes perfect sense to me that when you join a new forum, you are eager to play, not DM. You want to come in, meet a few folks, feel out a game or two (or 12 :cough: Alethan :cough: ) and see if you like the forum. Very rarely will a new person jump right in and DM...unless they have had experience in other forums and then they perhaps see this as a chance to rehash some of their favorite gaming ideas to a bunch of new faces.

So, I'm torn as to how to help. One way is to offer up some NPC's as potential characters for someone who wants to jump in and get their feet wet with pbp gaming. Kinda piggybacking off of Dave's "Adopt a Character" thread, but I have one (maybe two) NPC that could be a potential good character. Right now I have six players split into two groups with a bunch of NPC's tagging along for the rides. That's a lot of extra work for me...

So, in this "throwdown" thread, I'll pick up the "gauntlet" and offer a spot to a player who is willing to take over an NPC dwarven fighter - his name is Darlond, but that can be easily changed. His player was only in the game for a few weeks, so the character is pretty much a blank slate. I just have him along for fighter fodder.
Here is the link to my game: viewforum.php?f=68
And here is the specific link to the thread where the group is about to venture into a mausoleum: viewtopic.php?f=68&t=1384
What I need is for potential players - I'm not going to take the first one who shows up; that's not a fair shake for others who may log on later today - to read through the "Oggle > Riders of Nesme" thread to catch up on what has gone on in the past couple of days, perhaps look through the character creation thread on the main page, and PM me with the following:
Age, years of gaming experience, what you like about playing D&D, and a very brief (and I do mean VERY brief) background idea for this character. I'll be taking requests TODAY ONLY (JULY 2) - I don't want to delay this any longer.

You will be coming in just as a battle starts - so right out of the gate, you'll be in combat! My game is a 2E game set in the Forgotten Realms during the Time of Troubles. I try to post 2-3 times a week. If you can't swing that, then don't put your name in the hat. I also am a rules-lite DM and am fairly flexible (just ask my players). So, if you're a rules lawyer, don't apply. If you have to have everything your way, don't apply. If you piss and moan about every little thing...stay far, far away!

There you go, TK > I'm stepping up! I'd invite any of our other DM's out there to check their rosters and see if there is room for an NPC "take over" in their games. Also, if you haven't checked out Dave's thread: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1533 - take a look. He's offering up all four of his characters for "adoption"

And Alethan or Tonixx > if this needs to be moved to the recruitment thread, please let me know (or just move it for me) - thanks!

[AQuebman]

Everyone games or comes into these forums differently some are from other sites like myself some are new but none of it is wrong. Some people will like the way one person posts new games or DM's others won't you unfortunately experience this up and down as a DM. I'm sure some players enjoy my style of DM'ing and others despise it. It is what it is unfortunately and you sort of hone a group down that stick with you for the long haul i've found. In reference to Hedge he's an amazing DM who doesn't give himself enough credit. We RP a lot but the combat is frequent and fierce so any newcomers be prepared for that style of game. You don't have to know the system by heart lord knows I don't, everyone is very friendly and willing to help if anything of that nature comes up.

I welcome anyone who wishes to join the Riders of Nesme. Hope you like sermons about Bahamut

Lastly, i'm openly recruiting for my Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign so anyone who is interested please check out the links below

Main Link: viewforum.php?f=57

Most Current Thread: viewtopic.php?f=57&t=1460

[dmw71]

In reference to Hedge he's an amazing DM who doesn't give himself enough credit.

As a one-time player in his RPoL game, I second this. I would encourage anyone to jump at the chance to take over control of the dwarf NPC he's offering up in his campaign.

[hedgeknight]

In reference to Hedge he's an amazing DM who doesn't give himself enough credit.

As a one-time player in his RPoL game, I second this. I would encourage anyone to jump at the chance to take over control of the dwarf NPC he's offering up in his campaign.

Appreciate that, Dave - miss you in that game. When the summer ends, revisit and think about signing on again.

[Blazeguard]

Not trying to butt heads here, but I would like to kindly remind everyone that we will get the occasional DnD rookie, a rookie that is still getting a feel for what dice rolls go with what (I used to be that rookie a month or so ago). With that said, instead of just telling the new guys to start up games of their own, I suggest we keep this thread as a support tool, something that they can all look at and help educate themselves with. Earlier I suggested that we find some pre-made modules and mini-campaigns for them to look at and maybe adopt for their games. By doing so, it helps introduce them to how campaigns are put together, showing the basics that they would need to know in order to take on the role of a DM/GM.

This describes me almost to a 'T'. I have always been interested in rpgs but never got the chance to actually play. I'd picked up a couple of books over the years and after jumping on a few kickstarter projects started looking for options online. I discovered this 'thing' called Play-by-Post which was like a god-send to me. I had finally found a place that actually offered me a choice of games, I could play from home and fit it into my schedule (work, kids, family sure eats up a lot of free time). I'm currently trying to get a game going with my kids and teach myself how to GM at the same time. I've joined several games (here as well as other sites) with the express desire to see how games are run and gain some insight on how to GM.
Now, my problem is, as a perfectionist I tend to be a lot harder on myself than maybe I should be and I don't always feel that I'm as prepared for something as I really am. I would love to jump in and start GMing a game but currently I don't feel even close to being prepared enough for that responsibility. With that being said, the GM Tips thread is exactly what I need (and I'm sure others too) to build my confidence and get me up to that next level. Once I've got a game going with my kids and have some experience built up I would love to step up and start running a game. One thing that PbP has going for it, which I really like, is that it gives me time to think between posts and I don't have to come up with something off the top of my head (which I'm terrible at).
Anyways, that's just a few random thoughts that I wanted to throw out there to let you know that there are some of us up-and-coming GMs out there but we just need some time and nurturing to get us going.

[hedgeknight]

Nice post, Blazeguard - I'm sure that many other aspiring GM's feel the same!

[Distorted Humor]

I think that while I might not agree that everyone should DM (though I would love to see some people offer. ) Just remember all of us.

For example, I have developed a entire small crawl for my BECMI game, after running a Dungeon magazine module for the group. And I am running two groups in the Barrowmaze. It is mostly likely looking at 80 hours of DM work for the BECMI game, and 20 on the LL barrowmaze games, and those games have not even really "Started" up. (Though one of the parties just lost a Hireling to a critter. )

[AQuebman]

The "hours of work" really depends on what your doing if it's custom then the hours add up but modules can be run without too much prep work really as long as your into it. The beauty of PbP really shines with guys like me where I don't think quickly on my feet and thus struggle to DM in person but in this format you are given much more time to move at your own pace. Heck even a fast game just needs small input each day which really lets you think out everything.

In a slower sense it makes the roleplay that much better because it doesn't feel uncomfortable and unnatural you just feel like your adding to a book but with dice rolls deciding the action.

[Stonjuz]

My $0.02 about everyone running, still rings true for me.
If someone is running a game somewhere else, then he/she IS running a game, and is getting that experience.
I really think that it should be attempted by all. Unless, said player has tried multiple times before and proven to himself that they should not. It's all a personal choice. Im just saying, dont let fear of the unknown keep you/us from trying, and benefiting the pages here in the long run.
I was worried about failing at it. My rate of player drop outs may be testiment to that being true however.
Count 'em. Jacob, Darius, Thorar, Bazil, Skuzz, Thorar again. Thats six, at least.
I have more drop outs than I do actives (5). But they are deep into story at the moment, and its only been 24+ hours of total timeline.

[AQuebman]

While its good to look at yourself for campaign problems dont beat yourself up about folks who leave a game. Theres a lot of reason for it and we all look for certain themes or styles we connect well with in a campaign. The players who.really dig your style hang around as long as real life plays nice.

I wouldnt take player movement as a testament to your ability or inability to run a campaign sometimes its pace in PbP or themost common issue is probably over estimating how many games you can handle. Ive had to remind myself that though where people go radio silent for many reasons and some people just wont like the system you run. I run DCC on a mostly grognard heavy forum so ive had to come to terms with that as well.

My biggest suggestion really is keep an open dialogue and dont shut your players out even if they say your a horrible dm calm down and dig out nuggets of truth in their complaints. We can all get better and as a community we can help and support each other in these goals. I know im always learning as a dm. Another gem is to learn from and steal great methods of dming from games you play in. I know each of my DMs inspire me in certain aspects.

[hedgeknight]

Players drop out of games for all kinds of reasons - RL (real life) issues are the reason for most, but some just get tired or bored and disappear. DM's shouldn't take it too personally, unless their players are dropping like flies...then perhaps an evaluation of their game is in order.
I started this game with 7 players and within two months was down to four...and now I'm up to six solid ones. Two of those were "spread too thin" and told me they were leaving; the third just disappeared. Same for my game over on RPoL - it just happens.

And I guess it's good I got no takers on the Dwarf NPC in my game...cause he just got killed by a flaming arrow to the throat! It's good to be the DM!

[dmw71]

And I guess it's good I got no takers on the Dwarf NPC in my game...cause he just got killed by a flaming arrow to the throat!

D'oh.

[Alethan]

And I guess it's good I got no takers on the Dwarf NPC in my game...cause he just got killed by a flaming arrow to the throat!

D'oh.

He really did, too. I checked...

[dmw71]

D'oh.

He really did, too. I checked...

Well, I guess if you're gonna go, might as well go out with some flare.

[rredmond]

D'oh.

He really did, too. I checked...

Well, I guess if you're gonna go, might as well go out with some flare.

Stole the words right outta my mouth.

[dmw71]

Stole the words right outta my mouth.

Great minds.

[Distorted Humor]

And we just had a NPC hireling who wanted a Ribbiting adventure, and got killed by a Giant toad, and it wasn't even T1!

[Vargr1105]

Harkening back to what was previously debated about recruiting threads, THIS is what bitchin' recruitment posts look like:

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1548&p=47931#p47931


If it doesn't make you want to grab a few dice and join in I don't know what will.

[Fearghus]

I disagree. A recruitment thread should have more vim, less GSN spiel and state clearly what system and module are going to be run.

Point taken.