One of the truest things ever to be said about being a GM is when it comes down to it, 75 percent or more of the job comes down to one's ability to improvise. But it's equally true in order to run a successful game, an often substantial amount of planning is required as well. In the end, a GM has to decide how comfortable they feel with BS'ing their way through a few sessions, and prepare accordingly.
In the year 1018, S.E at the age of sixteen, Her Imperial Majesty, princess Delanna Cemarlin, ascended to the Coral Throne. Greentips had struck the city of Oldern without warning, swiftly entering the palace killing the imperial family and servants. The princess was the youngest child of the Imperial House to survive. Her only hindrance to the throne came from Houses Eldgrimur and Telwren; they tried unsuccessfully to persuade her illegitimate half brother, Rheath Aevar to declare himself Emperor.
Deep inside what looks to be a concrete bunker, the evil mastermind Dr. Trask gloats over the restrained form of Agent 25. "I'm so sorry you won't be able to see my fireworks Agent 25. I can assure you they will be quite spectacular."
There's game theory, there's gaming theory and there's theory of gaming. Never forget that. Forgetting can land you all sorts of places you don't want to be.
No matter what game you may be playing, there is a certain set of equipment regarded as universal for players of any tabletop RPG. You know what I'm talking about: warm bodies to serve as players and one slightly more fanatically devoted warm body to GM the whole show, a relatively quiet and private space with a table and enough room to seat everyone, the one or more sourcebooks needed to run the game system itself, character sheets for everyone involved, and (of course) dice of all varieties.
It started out simply enough. One of our gaming crew had a roommate, Bob, who was thinking of getting involved in role-playing games. He had all the hallmarks of a potential RPG-er: he loved Lord of the Rings and was a fan of William Gibson, but most of all, he loved Star Wars. We were all interested in starting up a new game, so we sat down with Bob to find out just what kind of game he might be interested in.
The most underused sense in gaming is smell. This is not unnatural. The human axis of experience does not revolve around smell. Smell is the background music of our lives, never the action taking place on the screen. A particular smell may send us towards memory or thought, much the way different musical themes will do the same thing in a movie or opera. Consequently, this is what makes it so hard to implement in a game. In real life smell goes unnoticed so often that it only is noticed if there is a darn good reason for it to be. Bringing it up in a game can seem unnatural.
Talk to any Game Master and they will likely tell you the most important step for a successful campaign is introducing the Player Characters to each other. There are a variety of ways to do this, but over the years I have found certain elements are key to getting it right. Most beginning GMs underestimate the importance of the first session, and tend to overlook important warning signs. Many pitfalls and missteps can be avoided with a little preparation and a bit of forethought. So with this in mind, I have outlined a few things that have worked for me in the past.
I'm a fiend for miniatures conversions. Very little passes over my painting desk without having been tweaked or outright twisted. I'd like to share a little of that magic with you.
It is time to add new words to your gamer lexicon. Both these terms (Gaymer or Dice Queen) refer to a LGBT, which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Trans-gendered, who is interested in RPGs, LARPs, CCGs, Miniatures and the many different games that make up the gaming community.
