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A few years ago I read an article on Treasure Tables about How Different RPGs Define the GM’s Role.  It was interesting to see how different games, as well as games from different time periods, defined the GM’s role within the game.  After reading a number of these I decided to try to create my own personal Definition of what being a GM means to me.   I decided rather than writing my own definition on my own, I would hack together one from all the different GM descriptions from Martin’s article.

After reading them over, I copied the phrases and definitions that I liked the best, and then cut and pasted them into a single semi-coherent description:

The Game Master, or GM is the participant in the game who acts as moderator, narrating adventures and representing other characters involved in the adventure who aren’t controlled by the players. Most importantly, the GM is responsible for introducing complications to the story, in the form of crises, moral dilemmas and occasionally a plain old villain; and then to describe the consequences to the players’ choices and mesh them into a cohesive whole that fits within the context of the game.  It’s never the GM’s job to plan what will happen, rather the GM’s job is to create a scene for the players, and from then on, only respond to the player’s actions.

Depending on the situation, the GM may determine what happens arbitrarily (for the best possible story), or by referring to specific game rules (to decide what is realistically possible), or by rolling dice (to give an interesting random result). The GM should be open to the suggestions and improvisations of the players and the players should be the same with regard to the GM. Together, everyone works to build a great story.

It is the GM’s primary duty is to make sure the other players have a good time. As the GM, you are in charge of interpreting and enforcing the rules, yet you are also an entertainer — you must struggle to balance your two roles.  The job calls for quick wit, theatrical flair, and a good sense of dramatic timing, among other things. You must possess creativity, sound judgment, and the ability to improvise in unexpected situations. Game Mastering takes extra time and effort, but the reward of watching the players revel in the game setting and plot you have created makes it all worthwhile.

Inspired by and Quoted From:

• Dungeons and Dragons-Dungeon Master’s Guide, 2nd Edition (TSR, 1989)
• Alternity – Player’s Handbook (TSR, 1998)
• Burning Wheel – Core book, Revised (Burning Wheel, 2005)
• Dogs in the Vineyard – Core book (Lumpley games, 2004)
• GURPS – Basic Set, 3rd Edition, Revised (Steve Jackson Games, 1999)
• Little Fears – Core book (Key 20, 2001)
• Primetime Adventures – Core book (Dog-eared Designs, 2004)
• Silver Age Sentinels – Core book, 1st Edition (Guardians of Order, 2002)
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Core book, 1st Edition (White Wolf Publishing, 1992)

I do not own all the games above, nor am I interested in playing all the game I have quoted, but their definitions did strike a cord with me.

This personal definition has, for me several important factors, that are key for my personal style of gaming:

• Create complications– Part of what I do, is to take the player’s suggestions for how to solve a problem, and then complicate it, by adding in unexpected events.  This keeps the players on their toes, and keeps the game exciting, for me and for them.
• Never Plan The Ending of A Scene– This quote comes from the Dogs In the Vineyard RPG.  The idea is that I will set up a scene, but then put the outcome of the scene into the hands of my players.  Using complications, I make the journey through the scene more exciting.
• Arbitrator of Player Actions– As a GM, I have different tools for how to resolve player actions, and there are times for using each one.
• Deliver a Good Product– As a GM, my job is to create a game to entertain my players, and that means I need to work hard before a session, to do my prep and to create a session that my players are going to enjoy.  During the game, I need be entertaining to help deliver a good experience.

Now that I have a definition, I can use this as my “mission statement”. It gives me a statement that I can use to compare my GMing to, so that I can see if how I am running my sessions, matches up to what I believe I should be doing.  It is also a statement I can share with my players, so that they are aware of my style, and that my style meshes with theirs.

Here is my question to you all:  Using the definitions from all the RPG’s listed  in the article, what is your own personal GM Definition? Go out to the article and piece together your own and share it with the group.  I am curious to see what elements we have in common and more importantly what are the things that we do not have in common.

This post was originally published a year ago, but at the behest of some of my fellow bloggers, This is the last in a series of three articles, that will run this week.  Enjoy.

Over the past two weeks, I have written about how I assemble my session notes. In the first segment, I talked about my writing cycle, where I mix imagination and productivity in order to produce my notes. Last week, I talked about the tools that I use in order to create my notes. This week, I want to discuss what goes into my session notes. Where the other two segments really focused on the productivity aspect of creating my notes, this segment is really about how my session notes help me to overcome my own shortcomings as a GM and to support my personal philosophy as a GM.

In the past I spent a lot of time tinkering with how I write my session notes. There are not a lot of articles about that subject. Most GMs whom I know, have evolved their own systems based on reading published modules and then applying parts of those structures to their own writing. I started by copying the structure of AD&D modules (for those of you younglings, that is D&D 1.0). Over time I experimented with different writing styles, templates, and formats, but never quite found what I was looking for. Along the way I learned some very important lessons at work in writing Business Requirements for software programs. So, I decided to put what I knew about business requirements to work for my gaming, specifically my session notes. I started to define what my real needs were from my session notes.

After some thought I came up with a short list of things that were true needs… things that I had to have in my notes to run my game effectively. That list of needs as well as how I addressed them is listed below…

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This post was originally published a year ago, but at the behest of some of my fellow bloggers, This is the second in a series of three articles, that will run this week.  Enjoy.

Last week I discussed my writing cycle, detailing how I organize my time and imagination to produce my session notes for an upcoming game. The cycle is an important aspect of how implementing the ideas of productivity can be used to create session notes. This week I wanted to discuss another area of productivity: the tools used to create the session notes. In this article I am going to outline the tools that I use when I am working on my session notes. Each tool has a specific use and an optimal way to be used. Through trial and error I have refined my list of tools down to this set. I find they are, for me, the most efficient tools to get the job done, and they fit seamlessly into my writing cycle.

Here are the tools….

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This post was originally published a year ago, but at the behest of some of my fellow bloggers, I am bringing this post, and the two that followed it back over the course of this week.  Enjoy.

One of the core elements of Encoded Designs is the marriage of Productivity and Imagination. Writing session notes is one of the best examples of the blending of those elements. I have over the years tinkered with a lot of different ways to write my session notes. At first I only explored different media to on which to produce my notes such as journals, sketch books, word processing, wikis, etc. But about a year an a half ago, I started to apply some principles from my other passion, productivity, to the process to see if I could not come up with a better process for getting my notes written…..

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Early this morning, my fellow GM-Fu master, Vicki Potter, at Tabletop Adventures, announced that our PDF version of our workbook, from this year’s GenCon talk, Mastering Your GM-Fu: Session Prep had been released to the following sites:

• RPGNow
• DrivethruRPG
• EnWorld Store
• e23
• YourGamesNow

Mastering Your GM-Fu: Session Prep, is full of techniques and tips for how to improve upon your session prep, in order to enhance the content of your notes, as well as to improve the way you write them.  It is 30 pages long and even has a few homework problems for you to try.

Go and get yourself a copy of Mastering Your GM-Fu: Session Prep and make start on your path to Session Prep Mastery.

As part of my Secret Project, I needed to create a document that listed my gamer credentials. A document that detailed my better campaigns, game systems I am familiar with, blogs that I have written for, and talks that I have given.  So I created a Gamer Resume.

Take a look. The resume (in PDF) can be seen here.

I did not do this for any kind of bragging rights. When the Secret Project is revealed, it will be clear what it is for. But for now, I found this to be an interesting exercise and a great way for me to document my own journey through this hobby; starting from the “Pink Box” D&D all the way through my Iron Heroes campaign.

I am encouraging everyone to create their own Gamer Resume.  Take the time to document the campaigns you have run, all the things that you have done in this hobby.  Over time, you may forget some of the games you have played in, but if you document them in your resume, there will always be a reminder.  Take time each year to update your resume, so that it stays current.

So if you want to start, I am offering up this MS Word document located here (Word 2007 format).  Feel free to change it up, add sections that I don’t have, remove sections you are not using, etc.  Make it your own.

Here are the major sections I included in my Resume:

• Entry into RPG’s– I listed the first game that I played as a player.  This is to establish just how old I am.
• Campaigns Game Mastered– Here I listed all my major campaigns.  I did not list the failures or any short run campaigns (less than a few months); only the more successful ones.  I don’t think I could even remember all the failures and short run campaigns now.
• Blogging Experience– This section lists all the blogs that I have written articles for.
• Presentations Given– These are the talks I have given at various GenCon’s of the past few years.
• RPG Systems Proficient– This lists all the game systems that I have played more than one game in.  No claims I remember the rules to every game system, but at one time or another I have played these systems.
• Collectible Card Games Proficient– I was never much of a CCG player, other than the requisite time playing Magic in the mid-90’s,  but you may have be a much more robust player.
• Miniature Games Proficient– CMG experience.  My only experience was a run of Mage Knight and MechWarrior a few years ago.
• Conventions Attended– I have been to a few conventions over the years.  Not as many as a lot of people, but enough that I thought I would list them.

So what is missing?  There are a few sections, that could be added to the format.  If you have experience in them, you may want to add some of these sections:

• Games Playtested– If you have playtesting credits, I would list them here.  Be careful about the non-disclosure agreements you have signed with various companies, before you list them.  I would say a safe rule of thumb is that if you are listed in the book’s playtesting section, add it.
• Publications– If you have officially published any gaming material, or have authored, or co-authored any published product, I would put it here.
• Convention Games Run–If you have experience running convention games, list that as well.

I am sure people will think of others, so if you do, list them in the comments section.

So go and create your own gamer resume, and when you do, add a link in the comments to your resume, so that we all can see it.