Basic GMing Rules

Do not change reality more than is necessary to make your universe work. Real physics is your friend. You do not have to explain gravity, again or in general, how the world works. So do not complicate things that do not need complications. To add super science or magic, complication is enough.

All role-playing games are fantasy, even if they are not. Of course it's fantasy. If it were real, you would have lived it, not played it in a game. Even modern games or science fiction games are a fantasy.

Fantasy is not an excuse for sloppy writing or world-building.

Fantasy is not an excuse that means you do not have to do your homework or keep up with things. Good fantasy is internally consistent. We would like to write a good fantasy.

And we want good writing. When I spoke to Melissa Scott at ConFusion and her friends a few years ago (2003), I mentioned running a D&D game for 27 years (at the time). Her eyes grew as big as saucers and she said, "This is writing too!"

So you got it from a pro, and a well educated one. Write your RPG writing. Treat your game with respect, take its writing seriously, and it will provide you and your friends with decades of enjoyment.

Last note, do not take yourself seriously.

2: Write to your audience

Know your players. Ask what they like and what they want to see in the game. Important: ASK. Do not assume. Poll the players, inquire and look at things. Their role in the game is just as important as yours.

On that note, seek adventures of mutual enjoyment. If you're a sea adventure rabbit (like me) and your players are not (like mine), then do not write sea adventures. Write something you both like. You are part of your own audience. If you do not like what you do, it will show and enjoyment will be reduced.

Explore the boundaries, but be careful. Moving the boundaries can be a good thing if you do not push it too far. Pushing people's boundaries too far and they become uncomfortable. Uncomfortable people do not have fun. People who do not have fun stop coming. Do not even go there if you do not know your players well. This is a game, not a psychological test.

3: The rule of Yes

Say yes, unless there is a compelling reason to say no. To play a game with Dr. No to play is not fun. Players want to have fun and do things. There is a time and place for obstacles. Learn and know that time and place. Trying to find a royal blue shirt or game components in the market is not that time.

A role is not needed for everything, even if a role is needed. Use judgment to apply the dice. Dice are random, random is not essential, even if the rules say so. Remember the Yes rule.

4: Keep meetings open

An encounter with one solution is bad. I do not write encounters with a solution in mind. I suggest the problem, and let the players tell me how it will be solved. Remember they are also creative. Use it.

Frustrated players are bad. Look back at the Yes rule. If your players can not solve something because you wrote in a single solution that they did not think of, they get frustrated. It makes the GM look bad.

Use any reasonable solution and be open to solutions that you did not think of. As above, Rule Yes and keep an open mind. You have one brain, your players have one each. Use your brain to improve your game.

5: Be flexible

Do not write. Players will do the unpredictable. And that's it. You want north they go south. You have the old gypsy with the legend, and they all visit but. When that happens, period.

If an encounter is important, it can fit in elsewhere. Only you know how the scenario is put together. No one will hit you if you shake the parts. If the Vicar has the legend and not the Gypsy, you do not lose GMing points.

Most importantly, to have fun. The game is played for fun. If everyone's having fun, you're a successful GM.