GMing: It's Not an Easy Job

by John Pederson <[email protected]>

Some things to know about GMing: First and foremost, if the PC's screw up, miss something, or fail to successfully complete the mission, LET THEM!!! And DON'T TELL THEM THAT THEY'VE MISSED SOMETHING! In other words, if the game happens to go off the track that was created for it, LET IT HAPPEN. If the players fail the mission, the games are most often set up so that someone else saves the world in their place. Learn to deal with the possibility that the 'heroes' of the game won't always win. Even the hero (or anti-hero, as the case may be) will sometimes fail.The sooner that you, as the GM, figure this out, the sooner you'll get over it.

Second, role-play the NPCs. This is probably the only RPing you'll get to do as GM. Relish it, and remember; like PCs, NPCs have personalities and motivations, people just like any other. Remember to play them that way. Also be sure to let the players RP. Encourage it if you have to. Remember that the first two letters of RPG stand for Role-Play. Unless the RP is getting in the way of the game or you're under some sort of time constraints, don't force them to stop. As an extension, don't push the players in any direction unless you absolutely have to. There are only two required points in any adventure: the beginning and the end. In between these two, anything can happen. Also, be sure to use APPROPRIATE contacts during the game. If the PC has no contacts within a particular city, don't give them access to pertinent information on that city through that contact without good reason. Along the same reasoning, a squatter isn't likely to know the latest goings-on among the corporate elite. The Friend of a Friend rules from the Shadowrun Companion would be advisable to cover such holes, if possible. As a GM, feel free to improvise, but never force the player to make a decision which goes against the character's person. Pretty much, allow them to do almost anything they want, unless you can come up with a plausible reason for not allowing it (game balance counts as a plausible reason). That goes DOUBLE for magic. Unless you are ABSOLUTELY sure you can manage it, don't run a character with the PCs. I'm talking about having your own runner to accompany the players on their jobs. I say this because the character will either wind up standing around and not contributing to that team except in providing an extra body and guns, or the character will wind up as a Deus Ex Machina plot device, knowing everything and saving the PCs at the last possible minute. Unless you are absolutely sure that you can keep In-character and Out-Of-Character knowledge separate, don't do run this kind of character.

Be familiar with the rules. If you don't have time to read them before hand, you should at least have them book-marked. Important points include the spellcasting procedure, the procedures for conjuring, the instructions for a combat turn, as well as the page(s) on which weapons ranges are marked, modifiers for almost anything, info on vehicle combat, etc. If you have a screen, it would be a good idea to use it. The FASA-produced GM's Screen is a good suggestion, though the charts are not entirely up-to-date, the Matrix ones especially. If you need info from books that another player has, ALWAYS ASK. NEVER just pick it up and start reading, even if it is simply laying on the table. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. NEVER lay someone else's book(s) flat on the table. This tears up the binding of the book and shortens the book's lifespan. If this becomes a problem, you may find yourself replacing books handled this way. So, if you borrow a book, treat it better than your own, unless you really enjoy spending your hard-earned money on things that you won't get to play with, when you could have bought them for yourself.

Don't antagonize the players. Don't insult them, don't pick on them, don't complain about them where they'll hear it. It's bad manners, it reflects poorly upon you as a person. This goes double for antagonizing the GM. It can (and will!) result in penalties. If you wish to complain so much about how poorly someone GMs, you can run the game yourself. No one should have to put up with constant complaints from someone who doesn't understand the position they are in.

A note for players: try to be thankful for your GM. He spends a lot of time and effort trying to keep you entertained. Be willing to forgive and forget the occasional flub on his part. It's alright to correct and argue with him, if you disagree with his stance. But keep the arguments for the time after the game is over. Arguing during the game will only cause a scene and interrupt the game. For the love of God, WAIT on the arguing. Anger will keep. 'The moment' will not.

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All articles at The Shapeshifter's Lair are copyright by their original author(s). Shadowrun is a Registered Trademark of FASA Corporation. Original Shadowrun material Copyright 1994 by FASA Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Used without permission. Any use of FASA Corporation's copyrighted material or trademarks in this file should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks.

John Pederson, [email protected] or [email protected]

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