GM-Preparation

[kota1342000]

Ill have to preface my answer with a though on different types of gaming first; there is a difference between War Gamers and Roleplayers. War Gamers typically have a huge amount of maps and counters, and are very intricate about rules. If a rule doesnt exist for the situation, play stops until the matter is resolved. Roleplayers have a tendency to land anywhere from a style which is just a hair short of a War Gamer to near complete chaos with dice. I like to run my games a little closer to the chaos side myself.

I once heard Roleplaying described as a combination of a board game and acting, and took it to heart. Preparation for me includes many of the tasks listed above already, but I try to add more. I practice accents when no one is around. I think about how to play primitives or mentally unhinged NPCs. And I try to figure moods for NPCs, especially if it will yank the h*ll out of my player's heartstrings to do the right thing.

The 3x5 cards have been a friend for a long time. I have a collection of quite a few random encounters that I can use, and describing them a bit different each time hides the fact that there are only 50 or so.

Combat has to move fast. Make it seem like a movie. I know Ive said this before so Im sorry if Im putting anyone to sleep....but Ive seen D&D games where it took 15 to 20 minutes to resolve each attack. Unsat. I want my players to have quick gratification or disappointment. So I study the combat rules and try to memorize the more important charts. The faster the little facts get out of the way the faster players get to kill things or get killed, and a little dramatics is encouraged too. Have you seen the pic that General Pain has on his site with one of his players holding up a document tube like a LAW rocket? Perfect. And any combat rules that drastically slow the game or jerk player initiative out from under them? Out the window they go.

And I like to do something I started calling "Joe Cheese". Sometimes if things need to move faster or if players are getting bored with random encounters, Ill throw a piece of soundtrack score on and do a montage description of the little things that are happening around them, especially if events are NPC controlled.

[atiff]

Originally Posted by kota1342000

Combat has to move fast. Make it seem like a movie. I know Ive said this before so Im sorry if Im putting anyone to sleep....but Ive seen D&D games where it took 15 to 20 minutes to resolve each attack. Unsat. I want my players to have quick gratification or disappointment.

Something I learned from a wargaming comrade was to just roll the dice. Forget the modifiers initially. Just roll, see if it's obvious success or failure (which most people have a good feel for). If it's close, then get into the details to check. Speeds things up a ton.

[Legbreaker]

That's pretty much what I do F2F as well.
Also having the players calculate the odds is a huge time saver. They can then either roll for themselves, or the GM can do it in secret and declare the result (or apparent lack of them).

[Tombot]

Originally Posted by kota1342000

I think about how to play primitives or mentally unhinged NPCs. And I try to figure moods for NPCs, especially if it will yank the h*ll out of my player's heartstrings to do the right thing.

Ill throw a piece of soundtrack score on and do a montage description of the little things that are happening around them, especially if events are NPC controlled.

Thumbs up - i like to do that to - thinking about how to play the NPC´s in detail (& preparing a bit of music).
Seems like most of us are the prepared type of GM.

Thanks for your input, guys!

[ArmySGT.]

The more complete the NPC is in any game the more the GM can concentrate on the story.

So give the NPC a reason for being in the area.

Whats in their pockets?

Tattoos? Scars? Why?

Where are they from? How did they get here? Passing through? Running from an angry husband? Hiding from vigilantes?

If they have weapons then factor up all the modifiers before using them.

If they have a map to treasue, a cache, a still, to the nearest Brothel draw it up.

Maps. There is atleast two maps. The GMs map and the Players maps.

Fodors guides for Countries are your friend. Description of a village goes better than "Looks like a typical euro villages with some war damage".........

Pictures help.

MS Excel is your new best friend. You can set up hundreds of NPC encounters. MS One Note is a great tool for the GM that is building a Campaign.

I still like the "feel" of rolling dice, and a computer can't replace that.