Delve Into Roleplaying Games

For several years now, I've been an active, public RPG host. I've even gone so far as to organize monthly events, bringing RPG game masters together to run multiple tables of games that were open to the public. My focus became teaching people to play RPGs. Some pretty big changes have happened over the time I've spent running public games. RPGs have exploded in popularity, yet a shortage of GMs has also emerged. The growing consumer base seems to be outpacing individuals facilitating and running games. So I'm always interested helping people get into RPGs. It's great fun introducing those who have never played a roleplaying game to the hobby. But I really enjoy getting new GMs going--more GMs, more people get to play, my hobby grows. Be A Game Master If it's crossed your mind, do it. GMing isn't about being an RPG expert, but the willingness to host. Offer to get together with others and try out an RPG. That's it. Don't get hung up on the "GM" title--you're just helping people do what they are already wanting to explore. How RPGs Work As GM, you come up with topics of conversation, presented as scenes and situations. Players are your discussion group about the topic, asking them what they do in circumstances presented. Outcomes of what players do are determined by rules--or by what YOU, the GM, decide happens. Often both rules and GM decisions are used. Example-- You might ask people sitting at a table, "What would you do if you woke up deep underwater, wearing a diving suit with audio communication in its face mask, and someone's voice was screaming for help?" The game is a conversation about the topic "A scream for help heard deep under water." If someone says "Well I try to find them, of course," you might immediately think It's dark underwater, but wouldn't it be cool if the only thing they could see were some sunken ruins... So you continue the conversation, giving a result to their described action: "You begin feeling your way around, it's so dark down here, but you see a faint luminescence. It's coming from some kind of passage, a corridor in an ancient-looking temple resting here far beneath the water." Another person chimes in: "Wait, are we together?" Since you thought of this for the people at the table, you say "Sure. You guys were all diving together, and then something happened. But I did say it was dark, and what can be seen are these strange temple ruins. So yeah, you don't see each other. But you do hear someone screaming in your face mask communicator." One of the more clever at the table says "Oh, I use the communicator to talk to the others. Maybe whoever's screaming can tell me what's happening?" "Absolutely," you say, "all of you hear the transmission and realize you can talk to each other. And the person that was screaming manages to blurt out that they're inside the ruins, that they found 'the resting place,' and something grasped at their leg from the shadows. They're kind of hysterical, saying, 'I'm lost, I can't find...' and then there's a bunch of static, the voice is gone." Now you, the GM, might notice that one person at the table hasn't said anything yet. As a good host, you include them in the conversation with a direct question. "Jason, what would you be doing with all this?" "Ok," Jason's quiet, but a thinker, his eyebrows squish together, "if we're divers, and we were coming down here to look around these ruins, we would have brought lights with us. Maybe we were using them when we blacked out and dropped them. Can I carefully search around me?" You think, Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense. But if they dropped them on the way down, their lights could be anywhere. Since they may be hard to find, I'll use a rule for searching around. "Yeah, you start sifting through the debris down here, roll two six-sided dice. This is kinda difficult, so maybe if you roll a 5 or 6 on one of those dice, you find a light that sits face down in the sediment." And so on. Think about interesting scenes, situations that offer choices with benefits, details offering risk or uncertainty, and make sure players can use rules and information to gain things. As GM, your goal is for players to have fun. Players tell you what's fun by saying what their characters do, so listen to them, give them the fruits of their characters' labors. Choose A Roleplaying Game Now do some online browsing, or take a trip to the local game or book store. Do some "judging a book by its cover." Select a few that catch your attention with art, game description, theme, or fiction content. From these, consider page count, check for any recommended rulebooks or components they suggest, and flip through their basic rules for how intuitive and appealing they are to you. Compact RPGs Get You Going If you're new to RPGs, or just looking for an easy intro to GMing, consider compact formats. Hundreds, if not thousands, of these games come in a 6-inch by 9-inch digest size. Compact RPGs can also be found in full-sized, 8-inch by 11-inch books, but with much smaller page counts than their more mainstream counterparts. Watch Videos Look up actual game sessions being played online for RPGs you're considering. Watch and listen to the conversation between GM and players. The GM describes scenes and situations, the players talk about what they do, and at some point rules and other game elements will come up. Game info helps determine the results of things players do. Your Session Once settling on an RPG to try out, decide what the session will be about. Most RPGs have introductory scenarios, sometimes called "adventures." But you can also just do some "open play," either with a situation that interests you or by letting players tell you what their characters have come together to do. Make sure everyone knows this is a "learning session," with the goal being about everyone learning the game and having some fun.