I was asked by a Player about creating a character for a game. Their concern was that they didn’t want to spend the time creating a character that they wouldn’t have fun playing. First and foremost: don’t worry about it. Everyone has favorite and less-favorite characters. In some cases, a Neat Idea didn’t really resolve properly, as the ruleset might let you down, or you can’t quite nail down a way to work the idea into a list of skills and stats. Sometimes the character doesn’t really fit the campaign: a gung-ho combat character would be out of place in an Agatha Christie murder mystery. Sometimes the player just isn’t inspired by the campaign, so it can be hard to make a “good” character. And then there are the times when the Character just Clicks. Cherish those characters, as they are the most fun to pull out.
GM: Three Clue Rule
One of the hardest game to try to build and run is the Mystery. A good mystery is easy to write, but very difficult to run, siply because you have no way of knowing what the Players will actually figure out. You don’t want the game to be too easy, or to push theplayers through a script. You also don’t want the mystery to be too difficult. The point of the game is to solve the mystery, so having unintelligble clues is not fun for anyone. One concept that can really help make an exciting yet solvable mystery game is the Three Clue Rule.
GM: Location- Tavern
Ah, the tavern. Whether its in a city or the countryside, in the distant past or far future, the Local Pub is a focal point for many stories. It’s easy to plant story hooks and plot devices in the saloon, and most adventuring parties end up in one, sooner or later. Some plot hooks are classics, and you can always throw in new twists to throw off the second-guessers.
GM: Urban Adventures
Many exciting adventures are held in the wilderness or in caverns. Hidden ruins and deep forests are common places for characters to find themselves. Adventuring means exploring to many people. Almost any genre moves away from civilization, so that forest might be on a distant planet, rather than a magical realm. However, whatever your genre you play, you eventually need to resupply. Towns and cities may be just places to sell loot and buy torches, but they can also be places for entire campaigns themselves. The Urban Wilderness can be just as challenging.
GM: Failing Forward
One thing a Game Master needs to do is keep the Players happy. When a major component of the game is a random elelment like rolling dice, you know that there will be times when things will not go the way the Players want. It is important to keep these types of failures from slowing down the story, or let the other Players berate the roller for something which they could not control.
Game Master
Game Mastering is the fine art of making a group if intelligent and creative people do what you want them to do. It is an exciting, fulfilling, frustrating, enraging, beautiful, painful experience people can put themselves and others through. It can be a nasty addiction,or a one-time thrill. Here are some ideas and notes for people who are, or are considering becoming Game Masters.
Menite Army
I have an army for the Protectorate of Menoth in the game WarMachine by Privateer Press. I have painted them in a unique scheme: black armor with fabrics done in billowing flame colors. All trim is edged in gold.