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It is scary to share your passion. I am quite secure in what I like and how I make it happen, but there are those who disagree. For every person I share this with, there is a new opinion. Some like everything, some like nothing, but mostly it is somewhere in between.
The first conventions that I ran games at I was nervous. I don’t run games for strangers (well, at least I didn’t used to), I’ve always just played with family, and a few scattered friends. I find it easier to fail in front of family, they are more forgiving usually. In front of strangers, I fumble over rules, concepts, and if I am taken off guard by something it takes me a moment to recover. I do not let my deep seated fear of disappointment stop me from trying though. In fact, I think this is my biggest accomplishment! Sure, I want the game to go well, and that is my ultimate goal, but when I look back I see myself overcoming fears. Stepping out and presenting what I find exciting and allowing the risk of someone else not liking it is confidence building. Let me give you a piece of advice…you’ll never be ready. There are still monsters to build, characters to tweak, and maps to put together, but if you move forward anyway, it will work out in the end. Each time you get a bit more comfortable and confident. just take that leap of faith and trust that everyone is there to have a good time.
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As a GM, you often feel like you have to plan everything for your players. Sometimes you have a block in your creativity and cannot come up with the next thing. When this happens, what do you do? Ask for help!
In planning a game for a local event, I had wracked my brain for ideas…the theme was 80’s. Although I remember a lot from the decade, putting it into a role playing game (specifically D&D) was taxing my creativity. I thought about all the great things from my younger years, but struggled at getting them into some sort of logical scenario. Talking this out with some others, I finally settled on a popular movie that introduces some very unique creatures. Now I just had to come up with the game plan. This was proving more difficult than I anticipated. How do the characters encounter these creatures? What do they know about these creatures? How do they “win” this game, what outcome did I want? I messaged a friend of mine who’s game mastering I admire for reinforcement. He suggested a couple of things that could happen and a light bulb flicked on in my imagination. In a matter of an hour, I had taken his basic layout of the game and began to fill in the gaps. At this point, it is just creating the details, monster stats, and pregenerate the characters. If you find yourself stuck and unsure how to move forward with the campaign, ask for help! Talk to other GMs, chat with the local game store employees, check out the numerous YouTube and Discord channels. Don’t keep banging your head against a wall thinking you have to come up with it yourself. A GM’s best kept secret. What is behind their screens when you sit at a table? I know it seems like we are hiding the game-breaking information. Things we cannot have you know about because it would spoil the fun. It’s just not true (well, most of it anyway).
I have seen others reveal what they keep behind the screen, and it’s pretty much the same as mine (even online). There is nothing that you can take a peek at that would ruin anything we have been planning. Unless you stand there and read everything there, it’s just not possible. Most of what is kept there is quick reference for things, and notes for possible encounters, and perhaps the minis that go with them. What do I have? Well, at my computer I have extra space, almost like a keyboard shelf. There, I keep books that I have pulled that have my monster stats and often the book that has the setting the group exploring. On my desk are my dice, a pen, scratch paper, and my notebook. That is pretty much the same if I play at the table too. Most of us keep our notes for the session in a notebook of some kind. If you don’t want your players to know what is in there, close it when you do not need to use it. Being online, I don’t have to worry about that at all. I have two notebooks, the first half is in my older notebook which I keep handy each session, in case I have to reference it. The other has the current session notes. I do not keep quick references. They are at my fingertips through my computer (or iPad at the table). I have often thought about getting some down on paper and attaching them to my screen, but never do. I still seem to run a decent game without them, so I don’t quite have the motivation to get that done. If you are new to this, keep what is behind the screen specific to the session. Dice, paper, pen, and some notes for the session encounters, both NPCs and monsters are best. Don’t overcrowd your space with extraneous things that are not needed. Remember, it is okay to let your players know that you did not prepare for them to take a left in Albuquerque. If you have spent any time gaming online, a glitch with your equipment can be devastating. It can be the difference between killing the zombie or being killed by the zombie. In a roleplaying game there is no massive consequence (mostly because there is no computer algorithm running the bad guys). So what happens when they do occur?
We have been streaming our home game for nearly two years now, and it still happens. When we experience a lag in timing, or a camera randomly shuts off, we just go with it. Sometimes we have to stop and wait for the issue to be corrected, but often we can continue with whatever we are doing and fill in the other person when the issue gets worked out. In the case of complete power failure, it shuts down the stream, and that can really disrupt the game. When the stream is interrupted, we break (mentally and physically) while it is getting back up. Unfortunately, that means we have two videos for one week. Sure, I can take those and put them together in one video, but that is just extra work. So far, no one seems to mind the way it is, so I’ll leave it for now. The biggest problem is picking up where we left off. Our regularly scheduled breaks do not affect us quite the same way. We have time to mentally prepare and when we return, we are ready to go. Abrupt breaks catch us off guard. We get a little discombobulated and when we come back, it takes a minute to remember what we were doing before we were so rudely interrupted. Most of this is to say…go with it. No one can expect the unexpected, so be adaptable and patient as you work to push forward toward recovery as best as you can. Remember, practice does NOT make perfect, it makes better! |
AuthorJodie 
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April 2025
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