feet or even ten feet beyond range, go with the action, roll the dice character a bit of background
ound to round the identity out and to give
to see if the attack hits or not, and keep on going.
Likewise, do not get lost in the minutia of the story or setting.
Please do not role-play every step of a three hundred mile journey
– it is boring – keep the action going and have fun. Jump ahead
through the slow parts. (“So you travel is uneventful until at about
the half-way point when you encounter ...”)
Newer Game Masters may feel that until they have mastered
all the rules and have a few hundred hours of being a G.M. under
their belt that they aren’t ready. That’s probably not true. Sure you
should get better with practice, but many G.M.s are good from the
start and only get better over time. Trust your gut, listen to your
players and wing it the best you can.
We suggest keeping it simple. Keep those early adventures
simple and linear, in a familiar setting. The more complicated
the plot you create, the more work you have to do and the more
overwhelmed you may feel. If it is too complicated and you feel
overwhelmed, your players are likely to feel the same. Present-
ing something complicated to the players can be difficult and feel
daunting or confusing. Even after years of gaming, we throw in a
very simple adventure or two unrelated to the overall plot. This
can help to recharge the Game Master’s batteries as well as the
players’, and can lead to new ideas or result in a new twist to the
adventure.
Likewise, if your story is not working out the way you had
hoped and it is dragging, wrap it up and end it. Move on to some-
thing else that is more fun. That’s part of being flexible too. And
do not beat yourself up for a bad game night; this applies to both
players and G.M.s. There is always going to be other adventures
where the game and your character shines.
Tip Nine – If you and the players are having fun, you must
be doing something right. It’s all good. Don’t over think it and
have fun. Seriously, if everyone, from G.M. to players, are having
a blast, then whatever you are doing is just fine. Keep it up and
keep the fun going. Who cares if you are not playing all the rules
exactly the way they were intended, or that you could be doing
some things different or better? This is a game and fun is what
games are all about.
Player Character Tips
By Kevin Siembieda
One could argue that the players have it easier than a Game
Master, because the focus of each player is on his own character
and the events unfolding in the story. I’d have to say yes and no.
Each character is like a role portrayed by an actor, only that actor is
you and the character has a leading role. Player characters are the
main protagonists in our stories, and since this is an ensemble cast,
it means you need to work with the other heroes as a member of a
team. The main characters are tasked with figuring out clues, res-
cuing people in danger, fighting evil, protecting the innocent, and
navigating through all the elements of the adventure. These char-
acters are, in effect, the Avengers or Justice League of America or
the crew of the Enterprise.
Here are some quick, easy and simple player tips. You will no-
tice advice similar as that given to the Game Master. That is be-
cause the fundamentals of role-playing are the same for all RPG
characters. The player characters just get the deluxe treatment be-
cause they are the stars of the show.
1. Keep it simple and play what you like. Pick an O.C.C. and
abilities/skills that you think you will enjoy playing. Then give the
yourself some emotional anchors to play. Your character does not
need a large, sweeping or complicated backstory. He or she can be
a simple fighter or adventurer trying to survive in this crazy world.
He or she can be someone who is trying to earn money to feed his
family or protect her town. It could be someone who craves glory
and wants to become a famous hero, warrior or mage, or maybe the
character is searching for someone or something, or seeks respect,
or desires power or wealth, or revenge against a particular type of
villain or monster (“I hate dragons”), or the Coalition or Federa-
tion of Magic, and so on. Or maybe he’s just a farm boy tired of
life on the farm and simply wants to see the world or fight the evil
empire. Sound familiar? Keeping it simple works.
Ask a few simple questions, like:
What does the character love or enjoy? Music or magic, or a
particular flower?
What does he hate? Could it be something as simple as bullies
or slavers? Why? Because he or someone he loved was bullied or
once enslaved.
What does he want? What are his goals? We covered some pos-
sibilities above.
How does he think he can get achieve his goals?
Where is he going? Even if he never gets there or doesn’t know
(just drifting) the character may have a destination in mind.
What does he fear?
These tidbits and the character’s alignment (code of ethics and
morality) should help you understand what drives your character
and how he might react to any given situation. What might tempt
him or lead him astray, what might press his buttons and what
makes him take action or stand his ground.
Note: In this regard, many of the G.M. tips involving NPCs
and knowing your character, his goals, desires, and fears, apply
to player characters as well; heck, even more, because these are
ongoing heroic figures.
2. Use the character’s alignment as your guide. This is the
character’s moral compass. It’s how he was raised and it’s how
he feels about good and evil, what’s right and wrong. Know your
alignment and stick to it. Alignments help define who the character
is and how he behaves.
3. Play to your strengths and be careful of your weaknesses.
Attributes and skills indicate the character’s strengths and weak-
nesses, play to the strengths and compensate for weaknesses when
you can. Teamwork can make up for weaknesses and vulnerabili-
ties.
4. Play in character. You, the player, are almost always going
to know what’s going on in the story and elsewhere in the imagi-
nary RPG setting, that the character does NOT. Play in charac-
ter. Your character does not know his hometown is being invaded
and his family is being threatened, even though the player might.
The character does not know what awaits behind the door until his
character opens it, even though the player might.
Playing in character can be difficult, especially when adrenaline
and emotions run hot, but it is fun and worthwhile. Just like in real
life, the character may want to react in the heat of the moment or
the player may want to maneuver his character to where the action
is or where treasure has been found. However, if his character does
not know anything about it, the player needs to have his character
act accordingly.
5. Play like an actor or don’t act at all, it doesn’t matter.
Do what feels most comfortable for you. Some players speak in
a different voice or accent and take on the role of their character