The campaign I was running when I created Treasure Tables ended shortly after I got started the site, and I haven’t GMed anything since then (mid-2005). My group of four includes three folks who GM regularly and one player who GMs occasionally — there’s no shortage of GMs, in other words.
This weekend, however, I’ll be running a one-shot of sorts: a pitch session for Burning Empires (BE), my nerd-crush for the past year. One of the things I wanted to do the next time I ran a game was see what TT could do for me: pull together all of the resources here that I could find related to my GMing needs.
In general terms, that could be nearly everything — but that’d be a cop-out, and not terribly useful. The point of this post is to serve as an example of how you can put TT to work for your games. This site is here to help you, so let’s stretch its muscles, shall we?
For starters, it’s a pitch session — there’s lots of reader advice about running pitch sessions in the aptly-named How Do You Craft a Good Pitch Session? Since Burning Empires brings some unique elements to the table, though, I started a thread in the TT forums asking for specific advice.
I got pointers and ideas from knowledgeable fellow GMs, including some kickass links and a suggestion from the creator of the game himself, Luke Crane. That’s what the TT forums are all about — if you have a problem, or just want to talk GMing, in my opinion there’s no better place to go.
In terms of blog posts, I started with Every GM Should Own at Least One Pink Shirt, which is all about having confidence as a GM. I’ve been out of the saddle for over two years — I needed that reminder! Playing Burning Wheel with Luke at my past three GenCons was also a big inspiration; details are in my interview with Luke Crane (and, more generally, in Pinks Shirts at GenCon 2007).
Overall, Nine Steps to Help You Run a Great One-Shot Adventure is my blueprint. I’m still not 100% sure I’ll be running the BE demo scenario, “Fires Over Omac,” or doing worldbuilding and character creation, but the guidelines in that post are useful to keep in mind either way.
I’m doing OK on budgeting my time so far, and I’m printing off sheets, creating the soundtrack and doing other stuff in parallel with reading the book and doing more general prep (plus using my mental back burners). I’m also setting aside time this Saturday (the game’s in the evening) for refinement prep — a stage I forget, or put off until it’s too late, all too often.
In terms of mindset, I’m keeping my players first. Yes, I’m pumped about finally getting to run BE, and hopeful that I’ll do a good enough job that my group will want to play a full-on campaign — but priority one is making sure the guys have a good time.
There’s no specific post on TT about that (as far as I can remember), but it comes through in everything I write — or at least, I hope it does! A quick browse through the titles of the 76 posts in the Players category in our archives serves as a good reminder of this priority — and provides some more advice.
Never Say No When You Could Say Yes is a big part of Burning Wheel, the engine that powers Burning Empires. I’m also keeping my players’ flashlight and my 150 watt bulb in mind, of course (although BE is so flag-driven that this should be less of a problem than it might be in some games).
I’m planning on not sitting behind a GMing screen — something I’ve only ever done once or twice, and that I was convinced to try by the comments thread on Do You Use a GM’s Screen? I’ll probably keep a screen off to one side, just in case.
That’s what I’ve found helpful here so far — in the next couple of days, I might find more. I feel like I got some good mileage out of the resources on TT, and I know that if I need more specific help with certain things I can always go to the forums.
Was this case study useful to you? Have you used TT this way? If so, what could I do to make it easier to pull together what you need?
I’d say making this into a PDF would be a helpful kind of step. It highlights how someone (you) went through the multitude of resources here. It points out some key posts, and directs people to some of the sideline resources (like the forum). Definitely PDF it, or at least make a link on the page “New to TT, click here to see how it can be helpful to you.”
Yes, but the real “burning” question (heh, I crack myself up!) is will you be rolling in the open or fudging die rolls?
😉
I agree with John Arcadian. A compiled list of the articles you used would be great. I’m sure you’ll let us know how your game went.
Maybe you could also ask your readers to choose 5 to 10 articles that they would craft a game or campaign around?
Good luck to you with your BE game! I’m sure the advice has already been posted on the forums, but I highly recommend running “Fires Over Omac”… it’s exactly how I “sold” the game to the group I’m playing the game with now!
Checking the forum link you provided I see that most said the same thing. I definitely think going with the demo game is a better idea than trying to demonstrate the creation procedures… save that stuff for when you have buy-in, they’ll be even more excited!
(John Arcadian) I’d say making this into a PDF would be a helpful kind of step.
Hmm. I hadn’t considered that. To flip your idea around, did this only work well for me because I run the site and wrote 95% of the posts, or would it work well for anyone?
In a perfect world, a regular poster (like yourself) and a first-time visitor would have done this same thing — that’d be a true test.
(Abulia) Yes, but the real “burning†question (heh, I crack myself up!) is will you be rolling in the open or fudging die rolls?
I can’t remember if I’ve said it outright on TT, but I’ve been converted back to the idea of hidden rolls by running this site. Good news for you. 😉
That said, I’m 99% sure that a lot of the GM’s rolls in BE are assumed to be open. In the Duel of Wits between PCs and NPCs, for example, both sides are competing using the same tools — when I play BW with Luke at GenCon, he always rolls his side in the open.
Checks and other rolls, though, I can see reasons to hide. I’m not far enough through my reread (and the first read was a year ago), so I’m not entirely sure about this.
Yax: Two votes for a reference, eh? I’m inclined to think that a more general version of this post could be useful — “What I’d use if I was prepping to start a campaign,” for example — except that the case study aspect goes away.
Can you expand a bit on your idea about asking TT readers to choose articles with this in mind?
robustyoungsoul: Yep, it’s going to be Omac. I think that’s the right choice, and one of my players (Abulia) has already said he’s happier with a one-shot than the gen session.
Psychoticbarber here with an idea: Why don’t we set up a thread in the forum where other people can describe what they’re using and what they’ve used from this site in creating and running games?
I can do it, but Martin’s name holds more sway than mine 😉
Dylan: I’ve started my fair share of discussions that never went anywhere, and ended my share of them by joining them (not my intention!) — I’m not sure that thread would need to come from me to get noticed, and it might do better if it didn’t come from me. 😉
Well I agree with Yax. 🙂 “Maybe you could also ask your readers to choose 5 to 10 articles that they would craft a game or campaign around?”
The 5 most useful articles from TT would be a great cpost idea.
Martin:
I think the general walkthrough works well because you are the creator of the site. You have a kind of full picture and focused interest in which articles you present, but I think the general idea is a good one no matter whose perspective it comes from.
I know a lot of webcomics do something like that. The kind of “new readers guide” that shows the big plot point comics. The same would hold true for TT posts. The big idea posts that are kind of the pillars of the TT philosophy. I think those can be picked by the creator, and by the readers (partially because TT is such a reader oriented community), but that there are bound to be differences in what people think which posts show the TT philosophy better.
Martin said: In a perfect world, a regular poster (like yourself) and a first-time visitor would have done this same thing — that’d be a true test.
Well Martin, I have been visiting this site for about a month soaking up all I can about GMing since I am putting together my first campaign. The site has so much great info I am sure there is stuff out there that I haven’t even made it to yet! The site is definitely great to help a GM prep for a game!
Nice integration of the site in one blog post. Two thumbs up.
I like John’s idea. Sure, it’s your site, but who better to use show how it can be “leveraged” than the owner?
The biggest complaint I have about this post is that it wasn’t done two weeks ago when I was starting my new campaign and had to do all the legwork of searching through TT by myself 🙂
Martin said:
“Can you expand a bit on your idea about asking TT readers to choose articles with this in mind?”
If I made this into a reader poll kind of thing I wouldn’t want the readers to work too much! So I’d ask the readers to mention 1 TT post that either drastically improved their enjoyment of RPGs (as a GM or player), or drastically diminished their GMing prep time.
Readers with more free time could list more articles that they liked.
I think most readers can recall at least one TT article that changed their RPG life. What do you think?
Congratulations on getting back in the GM chair…I’m sure that both your GMing and your GM website will be improved by it…providing your time management affords sufficient time for both. I’m really glad you’re GMing again, but hope with all my heart that it doesn’t mean fewer posts here.
One of the hardest parts of being a GM/DM is that you don’t have the same kind of freedom to discuss your participation in the game that players do. Everyone loves “debriefing” after the session and I have to bite my tongue to keep from joining in with “your ability to charge right out of the module is hilarious!”
TT gives me the opportunity to discuss all the things I can’t discuss with my players, and dramatically lessens the feeling of loneliness sitting behind the screen can engender.
Please keep the site active as you step up to your GM prep duties.
And if it hasn’t been said lately, thanks for this website. Even if I don’t post replies regularly, I am really grateful for it existing.
Thanks for the kind words. 🙂
Dylan, thanks for starting that thread — it’ll be interesting to see where it goes.
Shandar: Your point about needing a place to freely discuss GMing stuff is well taken (and well said). That’s definitely one of the things I want GMs to get out of TT, and I’m happy to be able to provide a place like that for you. 🙂
In terms of keeping up with TT if this session blossoms into a campaign (or more generally, if I run something else — now or later), in some respects it should actually be easier.
I was running a game when I first started the site, and I found that it gave my posts a different focus. Being in the trenches provided more ready post ideas than not running a game. There have been days since then where it’s taken me a long time to come up with a post solely because I didn’t GM something within the past few days.
The flipside, of course, is time. When I started TT, I wasn’t posting daily — I could see full-blown prep plus daily posting plus real-life stuff adding up to a burned-out Martin. I take steps to avoid burning out when it comes to TT, and I’ll be doing the same thing with GMing — hopefully I’ll be able to keep a good balance, and I certainly intend to continue posting every day.