#gamemastering

I have been properly GMing my main group for six years now (though I've often assumed a similar role since my childhood, just without a proper ruleset) and am a player at another table with a campaign going on three years now. Knowing what issues I encountered when I GMed, I decided after a bit to take a more active role in the group and hopefully ease some of the inherent stress of running the game.

With that in mind, here are some things I do for my group as a player that are a general help for our GM & the table in general:

Take good notes & share them. I understand different people have different matters of notes & attention, but notetaking is just a basic skill you can bring to a table to the benefit of yourself, your fellow players, and the GM. The more notetakers at the table, the less likely information will fall down the cracks. I'm one of two notetakers in my second group, and between our two different styles it's typically easy to double check an event from real years prior in the campaign. The first ~15 sessions before we started taking proper notes? Lost to time, fuzzy memory, and context-free notebook lines in the single digits per session.

State your Plans. This applies to a lot of things, but basically boils down to "communicate with your GM." Give your GM a heads up if you have a course of action in mind for your next session (like wanting to visit a specific shop to get some new gear, wanting to investigate a haunted house, chasing down a specific lead in a mystery, etc).

Wrangle Your Fellow Players. GMing can be exhausting needing to run the game, manage the social group, and throwing time at prep that can get chucked down the drain. Again, each group & their needs & styles will be different, but you can ease some of this just by being a bit mindful. If scheduling's a problem, take the initiative on sorting out prime session time with everyone. Engage your fellow players openly on their plans heading into future sessions (and remember to State your Plans for the GM so they can focus their time where it will be of the most use). If your group can get a bit rowdy and/or the GM has trouble getting everyone's attention, give them a hand in returning the group to the game.

Provide Information as Necessary. This will entirely differ depending on group and game, but sometimes the GM might need help tracking a bit of information or looking up a rule (or, if you have good notes, looking up an NPC name or similar past encounter the group has had). GMing can be hectic what with managing the entire game beyond the party in many systems. You can respectfully bring up a forgotten mechanic or the text of a rule (especially if the GM asks for it). Importantly, strive to act as an impartial reminder of information and rules if you aim to perform this facet; you are arguing not to better your case, but to ease some load from the GM. A corollary to this that shouldn't need to be said, but sometimes does: strive to understand the game & how you interact with it. For D&D likes, this means "know your abilities & their functions; read your spells." If something's vague or unclear, ask your GM before or outside of game how they understand it (not that they're necessarily correct, but that you'll be on the same page).

And it is set after the events of Legend of Korra. An important piece of context that will be very valuable shortly is that I have never watched Avatar: The Last Airbender or Legend of Korra in its entirety. I've seen like, part of the secret tunnel episode. Regardless, my group wanted me to run it as their first non-D&D/OSR game, so I figured I could just read the wiki and make some setting changes, as the most important thing when running in an existing setting for your group is to make sure that everyone understands that it is your group's version of the setting so you don't spend hours arguing about canonicity.

Anyways, to establish that several years have passed since the Legend of Korra, I figured it would be easiest to show some of the younger characters to have entered into more authoritative positions while having the older characters move on. This is where I uttered the phrase that will forever live in infamy:

"So Tenzin is dead,"

I said, just figuring that well, he was pretty old and as such probably passed gently in his sleep. You know, a way to make it so I don't have to worry about an established character in our 20-years-later setting. He's probably having a nice memorial service or something.

This is where my group informs me of several important things:

Tenzin was like, 60 years old, tops

People in the ATLA universe routinely live to almost 100.

Apparently Fire Flakes can kill people (I'm not sure if they're pulling my leg on this one)

This not only derailed that session for half an hour, but is now brought up at least once a session. So now I have schrodinger's Tenzin, who may or may not have died from a reaction to Fire Flakes, and I now have to keep the group guessing until the last session as to whether or not Tenzin is actually dead.

So, let’s talk about a topic that I feel is fairly underrepresented (at least properly) in discourse about tabletop RPGs, that is the prowess of high-level characters, specifically spellcasters. I’m specifically referring to the effects of the vaguely-defined, exceptionally powerful spells, the ones that (GMs fear) can totally derail campaigns if left unchecked. 

The spells in question are like your Wish, True Polymorph (or equivalent), Permanency, Contingency etc. These are the kind of spells that a powerful spellcaster (specifically a wizard 90% of the time) uses to circumvent some of the conventional restrictions of the game in terms of the power of player characters. 

I’m in favor of a liberal approach to these spell powers, particularly if the player [wizard] in question is willing to cooperate with the GM. 

Now when you look at forums into how to rule these spells, you’ll quickly find a vocal majority championing the most restricted interpretation of these spells. AKA: Wish (the ultimate Arcane spell) can only be used to replicate lesser spell effects without surrendering the entire effect of the spell to your GM. Keep in mind, in some editions, Wish has a hefty material cost for a single casting. Or Polymorph any Object can only be used to replicate a lesser polymorph spell/improved baleful polymorph, albeit with a potentially permanent, superior duration.  

This is clearly done in an attempt to reign in the powers of player characters at high levels. However, I’d argue that this is absolutely frivolous, as any Wizard above like 10th level has the ability to completely break a campaign if they wished, dimply due to their class’s sheer magical versatility and the power of mid-to-high level spells. 

Per the rules, nothing is stopping a Wizard from doing the required research to prepare a ritual that calls a powerful outsider (like say a demon) to the material plane, bind it and kill it upon summon, then animate the corpse as some sort of powerful undead minion. You can keep it under your control by having a simulacrum maintain control while in some sort of extra-dimensional space, and pull it out whenever you need some disposable beatstick stronger than the rest of your party. Arguably that’s not even the most egregious of actions in terms of alignment, as it involves you slaying a powerful evil creature. Sure, I’d argue you couldn’t be good-aligned, but you could get away with being neutral and doing that. 

Anyways, if your player wants to use powerful transmutation magic to permanently change themselves into an outsider, or half-dragon etc. You should let them with these powerful spells, essentially if you make clear  a reasonable, in-universe drawback. Something along the lines of this “you use a combination of polymorph, empowered by wish spells to convert yourself into a mighty angelic being, however your soul has difficulties adjusting to your celestial form, removing all spellcasting and possibly other magical effects (even those inherent to the form) for an extended period of time as you acclimate. 

Now this doesn’t mean that you lose all your class levels, but rather that you are whatever base creature you change into, with all your class levels, however you take negative levels equal to whatever level your character was that can’t be recovered by a restoration as your soul is in the process of adapting to your new form. You’d start off by giving the player the powers inherent to their new form, and after that has been completed, you can slowly give them their casting abilities back. 

As for wish, you really shouldn’t take that as a sorcerer if it has a material cost that can’t be hand-waved by eschew materials, and a wizard should only prepare it when they want to warp reality. Wish should be interpreted as the ultimate expression of a mastery of the arcane arts. It’s not a parlor trick you use every day, but rather something you utilize when realizing the pinnacle of magical powers. 

Sometimes I go above and beyond as a gamemaster :)

Currently, I’ve been having a habit of making these brochures for my players whenever we start a new campaign/act. It greatly helps them with all the basic information they might need for the creation of characters regarding lore, etc. 

The Gargoyle

Once upon a quest so dreary, while our warriors, strained and weary, Fought many a quaint and curious creature of Victorian lore While they escaped nearly napping, from the jukebox, merely wrapping For the spirit that was trapping, trapping all inside the doors Every visitor, (all shuddered,) trapping tight inside the doors ‘Twas the Sandman, in the store.

Now, distinctly please remember, though we are now in December That each disparate adventure has connected heretofore Though we started in October, and we rarely all are sober When the clues are all gone over - over what we’ve learned before All the useful facts and clues your Gamemasters have dropped before You will find, they add to more.

Let the foggy, fell, uncertain landscape of this world uncurtain Rolled back - pulled back like a rushing wave before the roar So that now, to still the beating of your hearts, you stand repeating “We’ve already been defeating villains others would abhor - Yes, been damning and defeating villains others would abhor - “What’s a few dread demons more?”

Add XP, you’ll all be stronger; hesitating then no longer, Forth, must you, to find the creepy castle on the moor; Mind the traps don’t catch you napping, charms and puzzles overlapping, Horrid creatures snarling, snapping - snapping at each thrice-locked door - Help is scarce; be sure you listen - when to open wide the door - Was that wind, or something more?

While the whistling wind is whipping, stand not long cavorting, quipping, Falt’ring, fearing fears no mortal ever feigned to fear before; But go quickly up the downstairs and pass swiftly by the dark heirs And look not upon the nightmares lurking in each darkened door This remember - not for anything look back - not at one door! There’s silence there, and nothing more.

Deep inside, the chamber reaching, ghouls and monsters snarling, screeching, Each of you a demon battling bigger than the ones before “Surely,” you’ll say, “surely entry is non gratis, “What else then can they throw at us? What new fright in store? “Let this fight be still a moment and we’ll see what’s still in store - ” Only beasts, and nothing more.

Crashing through the clash of creatures, then, with cranky, craggy features, In there bursts a burly Gargoyle of the bloody days of yore; Not the least obeisance owes he; not a moment stops or slows he; But, as if a secret knows he, traipses ‘cross the chamber floor - Traipses ‘cross the clashing creatures cluttered ‘cross the chamber floor - Traipses - sits - does nothing more.

Now this rocky rogue regarding all combatants, time retarding, Sitting, stone and stern and serious, ‘midst the bloody chamber floor Seems to have a solemn purpose; “So,” you say, “Why thus usurp us? “Ghastly grim and ghoulish Gargoyle bursting through this chamber door - Tell us what your mien and mission, what your message, we implore!” Quoth the Gargoyle “Evermore.”

Much you marvel this great grumpy rock to hear discourse so plainly, Though its answer puzzles each one strewn across the chamber floor; For all can not help but wonder why the fight was torn asunder By a Gargoyle bound to blunder gaily through the gales of gore - Bound to bound and blunder ‘sundering combatants among the gore, Just to grumble “Evermore.”

But the Gargoyle, sitting stonely on the marble floor, speaks only That one word, as if a mountain that one word is - no encore. Nothing farther then he grumbles - not a rocky shoulder rumbles - Till you scarcely more than mumble, “He has broken down the door - Now the creatures here will trap us, as they’ve tried to do before.” Then the Gargoyle: “Evermore.”

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken, “Doubtless,” say you, “You have seen the monsters strewn upon the floor Trained to traffic in disaster by their devious beast-master Vlad, whose minions are far faster than his wit’s been heretofore - Could he be the mastermind behind the maze outside that door? Are we trapped here, evermore?”

Then the Gargoyle, barely turning, eyes you with his one eye burning, Turns to stone each heart inside your chests rather than reassure - Each believes from his beholding a new terror less embold’ning: There may be no exit from this exhumed house of horror From this maze-mired, monstered, misanthropic, mangled house of horror... Warned the Gargoyle: “Evermore.”

“How did we then come to be here - what was it we meant to see here?” Ask each one of you as realization dawns within your core - You remember stepping blindly through the maze’s dark and windy Twists and turnings, passing passageways and curling corridors, But what twisted, past-passed passageways and cryptic corridors Led you here...forevermore?

Now, you think, the air grows closer, your dilemma growing grosser - Strung by spellwork to a creepy castle moored upon the moor. “Rock,” you cry, “what friend hath sent thee? - was it Sentinels that rent thee From our ship and its enchanted chain and sent you to this door? Tell us how we might escape and are we bound inside these doors?” Quoth the Gargoyle, “Evermore.”

“Wizard!” cry you, “thing of evil! - villain, vampire, lich, or devil! - Whether magic-bound or whether cunning traps us in these doors, Yet we five remain undaunted, in this tower all enchanted - In this home by horror haunted - we will bow before no lore! Never - never shall we bow before some frightening piece of lore! Quoth the Gargoyle, “Evermore.”

“Listen!” cry you, “rocky stone-ears - we have told you we have no fears - Of the Hell that presses ‘round us; of its foul ambassadors - Tell us now, who seeks to keep us - what Death’s doppelganger reap us With the scythe and sickle of this keyless labyrinth of gore? Tell us what the villain’s name, that we may turn him into gore?” Quoth the Gargoyle, “Evermore.”

“Be that word a name or warning? This will shortly end in mourning Should you fail to give us counsel on the fiend we all deplore! Leave no clue to us unspoken as you left no door unbroken, Give us sigil, sign or token, as our pet and obligor! We compel you - we coerce you - you must tell us something more!” Quoth the Gargoyle, “Evermore.”