Kate Bullock and I are back with another episode of GM Masterclass! This is the “Behind the Scenes” episode, where we talk about important GM matters that happen away from the table. Specific topics:
What do you do when you only have an hour to prep a session?
How do you prep for a campaign when the group is inconsistent?
How do you maintain hype between sessions?
How do you get good critiques about your GMing?
How do you get players to care about your NPCs?
Enjoy!
http://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/the-gauntlet-podcast/gm-masterclass-03-behind-the-scenes
Thank you so much! That advice is amazing!
Thank you so much! That advice is amazing!
Nice!
Nice!
I find the best way to get the players to care about an NPC is to keep them simple, but relatable. Using a direct motivation and a silly voice/accent/affectation keeps them simple for me to run and entertaining for the players to interact with. Since the players ultimately just want to have fun, this works best for me.
I find the best way to get the players to care about an NPC is to keep them simple, but relatable. Using a direct motivation and a silly voice/accent/affectation keeps them simple for me to run and entertaining for the players to interact with. Since the players ultimately just want to have fun, this works best for me.
Yes Jason Cordova! 100% for “full service” GMs, and just being ready all the time! Thanks Kate Bullock for the “play unsafe” recommendation, will check that out.
Yes Jason Cordova! 100% for “full service” GMs, and just being ready all the time! Thanks Kate Bullock for the “play unsafe” recommendation, will check that out.
Brand new listener here – found the 7/3/1 method of GM prep to be a really cool way of thinking about GM prep! I myself when prepping for games just set up events and situations with NPCs that may or may not occur. I think I may be doing something similar to 7/3/1, but having it presented in the way that Jason did really set my mind on fire. Thank you.
Brand new listener here – found the 7/3/1 method of GM prep to be a really cool way of thinking about GM prep! I myself when prepping for games just set up events and situations with NPCs that may or may not occur. I think I may be doing something similar to 7/3/1, but having it presented in the way that Jason did really set my mind on fire. Thank you.
I realized that I was thinking of the thorns as kind of like a lesser x-card (as in, for things people aren’t quite ready to x-card for whatever reason), and now I’m thinking I have that wrong.
I realized that I was thinking of the thorns as kind of like a lesser x-card (as in, for things people aren’t quite ready to x-card for whatever reason), and now I’m thinking I have that wrong.
Goddangit! I had a nice long post full of comments on the episode almost ready to go, and the G+ app crashed and ate it! Ugh.
Well, anyway, here’s the quickie version:
• Jason’s attitude toward Roses & Thorns resonated with me; I don’t do it for many of the same reasons.
• To his very sound advice regarding knowing what criticisms to ignore, I would add that when you have a bad GM habit you know can only be improved through time and practice, I think it can sometimes be wise to tell your players not to bring it up as their thorn every session. You want to learn what you could do better, not develop a complex about that one particular thing.
• The bit about one-note NPCs reminded me of this Every Frame A Painting video on Kurosawa’s use of movement, which is full of great storytelling advice you can repurpose as GMing advice (even if I think he is a bit hard on the scene from The Avengers): youtube.com – Akira Kurosawa – Composing Movement
The part of the video I thought of immediately when I heard Jason talk about the NPC lighting a cigarette was that bit where Tony Zhou says that Kurosawa would tell his actors to pick one visual tic for their characters and repeat it over and over so the audience instinctively knows who’s who. Pretty much exactly what Jason was talking about, and a great tip!
(I don’t mean to slight Kate, whose contributions were great as well. Jason’s perspective just resonated with me more.)
Goddangit! I had a nice long post full of comments on the episode almost ready to go, and the G+ app crashed and ate it! Ugh.
Well, anyway, here’s the quickie version:
• Jason’s attitude toward Roses & Thorns resonated with me; I don’t do it for many of the same reasons.
• To his very sound advice regarding knowing what criticisms to ignore, I would add that when you have a bad GM habit you know can only be improved through time and practice, I think it can sometimes be wise to tell your players not to bring it up as their thorn every session. You want to learn what you could do better, not develop a complex about that one particular thing.
• The bit about one-note NPCs reminded me of this Every Frame A Painting video on Kurosawa’s use of movement, which is full of great storytelling advice you can repurpose as GMing advice (even if I think he is a bit hard on the scene from The Avengers): youtube.com – Akira Kurosawa – Composing Movement
The part of the video I thought of immediately when I heard Jason talk about the NPC lighting a cigarette was that bit where Tony Zhou says that Kurosawa would tell his actors to pick one visual tic for their characters and repeat it over and over so the audience instinctively knows who’s who. Pretty much exactly what Jason was talking about, and a great tip!
(I don’t mean to slight Kate, whose contributions were great as well. Jason’s perspective just resonated with me more.)
Awesome episode! I’m inspired to use love letters in the middle of a game (especially trad games) to help me feel confident with harder framing.
Awesome episode! I’m inspired to use love letters in the middle of a game (especially trad games) to help me feel confident with harder framing.
Stars and Wishes is brilliant!
Stars and Wishes is brilliant!
Logan Howard Haha, Stars and Wishes is the most Gauntlet-assed thing ever.
Logan Howard Haha, Stars and Wishes is the most Gauntlet-assed thing ever.
Jason Cordova I’m a big believer in making small changes that result in better skills and forward momentum.
Back in the early 90’s I was in an improv group and we were just about to go down in flames because every practice ended in defensive arguments and confusion about why we were even doing it if it wasn’t fun. It always came down to feedback time. Some member, thinking they were being helpful by delivering an “honest” critique would smash another’s feelings and the arguments would begin. That’s when I had a really simple idea very similar to Stars and Wishes.
At the end of each practice we would talk about how to be better and we always started our feedback with “Let’s try….” Instead of slamming the group over something that wasn’t working, we offered our best solution and let others counter with other options. The group continued to give weekly performances for many years. Just a slight change in our feedback etiquette made all the difference in the world.
Feedback is super useful, but that “take it like a professional” attitude is bullshit. Role-playing is similar to improv in many ways and there is a quality of intimacy and freedom that requires trust to really flourish. Harsh feedback in that environment is way more destructive than beneficial. Honestly, this reflects my view of a much larger issue. Life would be way better if more of us took responsibility for the way we communicate. Instead if taking the lazy route and expecting others to know how to take what we say, we could do the work and say something helpful.
Jason Cordova I’m a big believer in making small changes that result in better skills and forward momentum.
Back in the early 90’s I was in an improv group and we were just about to go down in flames because every practice ended in defensive arguments and confusion about why we were even doing it if it wasn’t fun. It always came down to feedback time. Some member, thinking they were being helpful by delivering an “honest” critique would smash another’s feelings and the arguments would begin. That’s when I had a really simple idea very similar to Stars and Wishes.
At the end of each practice we would talk about how to be better and we always started our feedback with “Let’s try….” Instead of slamming the group over something that wasn’t working, we offered our best solution and let others counter with other options. The group continued to give weekly performances for many years. Just a slight change in our feedback etiquette made all the difference in the world.
Feedback is super useful, but that “take it like a professional” attitude is bullshit. Role-playing is similar to improv in many ways and there is a quality of intimacy and freedom that requires trust to really flourish. Harsh feedback in that environment is way more destructive than beneficial. Honestly, this reflects my view of a much larger issue. Life would be way better if more of us took responsibility for the way we communicate. Instead if taking the lazy route and expecting others to know how to take what we say, we could do the work and say something helpful.
Same feeling about roses and thorns especially when the thorns come after the roses. Not my jam. But for me it’s always a chance while doing thorns to talk about the system.
I’m personally not into stars and wishes since I had to do that at work all the time so it just smells like a realm to me I don’t want to touch in RPG. So forgive me if I don’t participate in it.
Exchanging war a stories first (as Nordic larpers do it in their debriefs) is good advice too.
I’m since I played Winterhorn a fan of handing over the moderation of the debrief to a different player. I think the time is over when one player has to have all the duties in their hand alone.
Same feeling about roses and thorns especially when the thorns come after the roses. Not my jam. But for me it’s always a chance while doing thorns to talk about the system.
I’m personally not into stars and wishes since I had to do that at work all the time so it just smells like a realm to me I don’t want to touch in RPG. So forgive me if I don’t participate in it.
Exchanging war a stories first (as Nordic larpers do it in their debriefs) is good advice too.
I’m since I played Winterhorn a fan of handing over the moderation of the debrief to a different player. I think the time is over when one player has to have all the duties in their hand alone.
Jacob Arntson Glad to hear it! The super key thing with 7-3-1, and I fear I never express it clearly enough, is that it’s an exercise. Yes, you theoretically may have some usable notes, but it’s more about interrogating your setting and creating almost a mind web of honest details and reactions.
Jacob Arntson Glad to hear it! The super key thing with 7-3-1, and I fear I never express it clearly enough, is that it’s an exercise. Yes, you theoretically may have some usable notes, but it’s more about interrogating your setting and creating almost a mind web of honest details and reactions.