Hi, everyone! For those of you who don’t know, I am super into tabletop role-playing games (ttrpgs). As a perpetual game master, I want to share my top 5 tips for new gms. Keep in mind that every group is different, and what works for me might not work for you. That’s totally fine, and part of the fun of ttrpgs is getting to experiment. Regardless, I want to share a few things I wish I would have learned sooner.
1. Mistakes Will Happen – Learn To Accept Them
There tends to be a lot of pressure felt by gms, especially new ones, to run every session perfectly. The truth is few sessions are completely perfect. Sometimes you’ll forget a rule or two. Other times your session might feel a bit boring. These things happen. Learning to be a good gm means learning how to accept mistakes and move on from them.
The pressure to be perfect is often exacerbated by comparing ones self to professional gms. Watching the pros play your favorite game can be a lot of fun. However, it can also create unrealistic expectations for how your own games should go. Comparing yourself to a professional gm is a lot like comparing yourself to a professional athlete. Don’t worry about having a movie-quality storyline or character voice. Ttrpgs are games, and the important thing is to have fun.
2. Try Not To Over Prep
When I first started running games I prepared pages and pages of notes for every session. This was honestly exhausting, and I barely used those notes half the time anyway. Improv is a huge part of ttrpgs. This means no matter much you prep you will never be able to predict everything your players will do. Exactly how much prep work is enough can differ from person to person. Over time you’ll figure out how much prep work is right for you.
I find it helpful to write a few sentences about where the session is starting and vaguely where I want it to end. I also prep an encounter of some kind, such as combat or a mystery, as well as an npc or two (more on that later). Lastly, I make a bullet point list of any plot point I want to reveal. Let me know if you’d like a more in-depth look at how I plan!
3. Have An NPC Ready
Npcs are one category I find beneficial to prep ahead of time. I like to keep a list of generic ones that can be plopped into a wide range of situations, but I’ll also make more unique or specific ones for certain sessions. You don’t have to come up with all of them yourself. There are lots of free charts and npc generators available out there to save you some time. I do recommend keeping a list of npcs you’ve already introduced though to avoid ending up with 17 barkeepers all named Tom. This is also useful if your party revisits a town or ask you a question about an old npc.
You can prep as little or as much information about npcs as you want, but I recommend figuring out: a name, their occupation, their alignment (such as lawful good), and a few random facts to give them life. Everything else is just a bonus. I prep a bit more for npcs I think will return for more than one session.
4. Prioritize Pacing
Pacing is an area that can quickly level up your games. It is also an area I personally still struggle with. If a session is too slow, your game can feel boring, but if it’s too fast it can overwhelm your players. Each group will enjoy slightly different paces, so trial and error are definitely necessary. Don’t be afraid to ask the players how they feel about the pace of a session.
I do have a few tips to help you troubleshoot. Let’s start with sessions that feel too fast. I find it helpful to keep track of initiative even for social encounters. I don’t make my players roll for it, but I do try to check in with each of them frequently. A simple, “How does Character respond?” will usually do. Giving each player a chance to respond to an event helps slow the pace down a bit.
If combat is what feels too fast, try taking more time to describe what is happening. Instead of just listing actions that have occurred, add in some details. You could describe the battle scene, or talk about the look on the enemy’s face. An extra sentence of description can help it feel a bit slower.
For sessions that seem too slow, it can be helpful to ask yourself a few questions. Are your players stuck on a puzzle or a mystery? It might be time to drop another hint. Does your party not know what to do next? Have an npc give them some guidance. Does everyone just seem a bit distracted? A short water break might be in order. You can also just ask your party what they think would help speed up sessions. They might point out things you hadn’t noticed. Good pacing takes practice, so hang in there!
5. Let Yourself Have Fun
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Ttrpgs are games. At the end of the day, you and your players should be having fun. It can be easy to get so caught up in all the details that you forget to let yourself enjoy the hobby. As long as you are being kind and respectful of the people around you, there is no wrong way to play. The great thing about ttrpgs is they can be adapted to suit your and your party’s needs.
Feel free to ignore rules that aren’t fun for your group or add in ones you find more interesting. Make weird characters (one of my groups has an npc who is a sentient wheel of cheese). Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for experimenting. If you take anything away from this post I hope it is this point. While it’s important to make the game enjoyable for your party, you deserve to enjoy the game too.
Thank you so much for reading!
Elliot J. West
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