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We had our first guest on stream! Unfortunately, he did not get to join the campaign as I was also missing a player. We decided to do a one-shot instead, but no one seemed upset about that! My players got to pull out some of their old characters, and our guest got to try out a level 20 character!
This also created some unique challenges for me. Not only were they level 20, but the characters had completed world altering adventures in their own worlds. Bringing them all together was…interesting. I pulled out the old trope of falling through a rift for the one character that was not originally from the world. Then there were the resources that were available to some of the characters. One in particular had created a world business and taken over an underground business. I did not want that character to rely on their resources to run over the plot of the game, so I had to pull my GM card (the one where I can say “because I said so”). I decided that the group was isolated magically from the rest of the world, but thankfully this did not come into play. Finally there was the battle. What one-shot is complete without a battle? Those of you who GM know that level 20 characters are hard to balance mechanically. I had to dig around and pull together some monsters that could hit hard while not dying on the first round. There also should be many for the characters to focus on (of course that leaves me remembering to have them all take a turn too). There may have been some moments where we lulled in action. There was an easy encounter along the way. I may have secretly tried to kill a character. However, when it is all said and done, the most important thing is that we all had fun. Mission accomplished!
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This has been a new adventure for me. I don’t particularly like to be on camera. I was part of several plays in school, but never on stage. I always found myself backstage doing props, costuming, or even the curtain. If I wasn’t backstage, I was in the pit (remember, bard here).
Being on camera has its own issues. I have become quite aware of what may be showing in my background. I try hard not to have anything that could be personal sitting behind me or on my walls. I know a couple of us use backgrounds, but I just don’t like how it works with my camera. So, each week I clean off anything I don’t want seen before starting. Another thing I’ve come to realize is the shakiness of my desk. One week it was particularly bad as I did a lot of leaning on it. My camera is attached to one of my monitors, and these sit on an adjustable desk (so I can stand if I want to). Unfortunately, when it is raised even one notch, it becomes quite wobbly. Though I can trust I will not knock it off my desk, nor will my monitors fall, it is just not as stable. The biggest issue that can arise is bandwidth though. Having multiple people in the house using the internet while streaming can cause cameras to blur or even cut out for a while. Sometimes we can freeze up or our audio becomes choppy. Thankfully, we have not had that problem too much, but the possibility is always there. Not being too tech savvy, I rely on others to get us set up and going. Thankfully we have a diverse group. Each of us have unique skills and abilities that we can utilize when we need anything. Having a network of people to aid in this is essential to keeping it going, week after week. GM burnout is real! The moment you start to drag your feet in preparation, or feel like you're going to an unwanted appointment when it’s game night, you need to check in with yourself. Ask yourself, “Why?”
Are you running out of ideas? Are you receiving less engagement? Do you have something more exciting bubbling to the surface? Does your game nights seem redundant? Sometimes it just takes a break to refresh the creativity and excitement of the current game. Other times, it may take jumping into something else for an extended time. Keep an open communication with your game group through. If you need time, let them know, one of your players may surprise you by running a few one shots, or a shorter campaign even. This gives you the opportunity to step out of the driver’s seat for a while and just enjoy the ride. If you find yourself stagnant, put the current campaign aside and try something new. Continue to be open and honest with your players and let them know that you need something different for a bit. You can always come back to the campaign after a brief time, or even after another entire campaign. If you get only one thing from this, talk to your players. What you are thinking may not even be the case for them. They may be having a wonderful time and don’t feel like anything is redundant. Just as you would encourage each of them to keep playing, they will do the same for you to run (sometimes for their own selfish reasons, but take it where you can get it). Do not fidget with your dice. However, it’s okay to pre-roll at times. Of course you want to clear this with the GM first. Discuss with them when it is okay and when they may want you to wait. Personally, combat is optimal for pre-rolling your hit/damage dice.
I know many of you think this is a form of cheating. I’m not denying that cheaters can use this as a way to fudge their dice results, but this is a great way to speed up combat. You must know your players before implementing this, and make sure that pre-rolling turn actions do not distract from other players. Being an online gaming group, this is simple. I trust my players already and do not ask them to roll digitally or have a “die cam”, so this is easy to implement at my table. Along with this, it can also spread to skill checks. After I describe an area or set a scene, I am perfectly okay if players roll their dice and let me know what their skill check results are. For example, I set a scene of an unusually quiet field with overgrown crops, the scarecrow hanging by one arm, and an unnatural mist rolling in from the western forest. My players are allowed to just roll a skill check and let me know what their character is doing and the result of the roll. I will then give them what they discover, based on the result. I think this cuts down on the mechanical talks at the table. This is one way to stay in character without breaking into rules talks or metagaming. If the check that they rolled doesn’t apply, as a GM, you can change that and ask for a different roll. The more you play with your group and they become comfortable with you as their GM, they will roll what you would have asked for eventually. I am a very relaxed GM and I like my players to take initiative. Part of this probably comes about because of delving into other systems. I have discovered that the more player agency for a game, usually the more fun is being had. Very few people like to play an RPG and be told what you see, how you feel, the action you can take, and what is the result. This kind of experience can be found while reading a good book. RPG players want the ability to make decisions and respond to the effects. They want to develop their character from a nobody to a somebody, and make friends along the way. I have already disclosed I am not a D&D only gamer. I like to run 5e because I’m familiar with it and enjoy high fantasy/high magic adventures. Creating on-the-fly encounters and adjustments to the bad guys is easy in this system for me. However, I have begun to branch out and try running other games.
Throughout the past year, I have been involved in several 2d20 games. This system, to me, is even more simple. Everything is determined by these dice for actions and the characters are one page, often including equipment. If an action causes damage, or has an ongoing effect, you use a number of d6s to determine that outcome. So, I have begun to feel comfortable enough with this to try my hand at GMing. I play with a group on Sundays, and one week, our regular GM couldn’t make it. I asked if the group would be willing to let me run a 2d20 one shot. Of course, since it was my first time in the seat for this system, and everyone else’s first time playing, we only got about three quarters of it completed. It went over great and all the players seemed to really enjoy it. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get back to it yet, as we are in another campaign currently. Reflecting back on it, there are definitely things I will need to look into more. Spells, for instance. Some of the games that use 2d20 do not even allow for spell casting, but the one I was using did. I need to reread those chapters about magic to get a better understanding of their mechanics. The other area is monsters. Since I was using a prewritten scenario, it came with the monsters already, but I will need to understand how to create them if I were to run a campaign (or one shot) with 2d20 again. Those of you who follow my postings, and are GMs yourself, be encouraged to try new games and systems that you are not familiar with. Let your players know you would like to give it a go with them if they are willing. Usually, your players will be happy to try something new, just remember to be patient with each other as you work through mechanics. |
AuthorJodie 
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October 2025
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