Newb GM Questions

This is a place for G.M.s and GM wannabes to share ideas and their own methods of play. It is not a locked forum so be aware your players may be watching!

Moderators: Immortals, Supreme Beings, Old Ones

User avatar
Nekira Sudacne
Monk
Posts: 15608
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2003 7:22 pm
Comment: The Munchkin Fairy
Location: 2nd Degree Black Belt of Post Fu
Contact:

Unread post by Nekira Sudacne »

Simple advice: demand brand new-first level characters. No one and nothing resued from some other GM.
Sometimes, you're like a beacon of light in the darkness, giving me some hope for humankind. ~ Killer Cyborg

You can have something done good, fast and cheap. If you want it done good and fast, it's not going to be cheap. If you want it done fast and cheap it won't be good. If you want something done good and cheap it won't be done fast. ~ Dark Brandon
User avatar
drewkitty ~..~
Monk
Posts: 17782
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2000 1:01 am
Location: Eastvale, calif
Contact:

Unread post by drewkitty ~..~ »

Nekira Sudacne wrote:Simple advice: demand brand new-first level characters. No one and nothing resued from some other GM.


And demand that they submit chars for apruvale. If that have the gall to submitt a char that would let them act like munchkins, get out the paper shredder and shred the chars in front of them. They might get the idea then.
May you be blessed with the ability to change course when you are off the mark.
Each question should be give the canon answer 1st, then you can proclaim your house rules.
Reading and writing (literacy) is how people on BBS interact.
Mouser13
Megaversal® Ambassador
Posts: 616
Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2004 5:46 pm
Location: Omaha, NE

Unread post by Mouser13 »

drewkitty ~..~ wrote:
Nekira Sudacne wrote:Simple advice: demand brand new-first level characters. No one and nothing resued from some other GM.


And demand that they submit chars for apruvale. If that have the gall to submitt a char that would let them act like munchkins, get out the paper shredder and shred the chars in front of them. They might get the idea then.


Well, I don't know if I would do it I have ripe characters before it doesn't work.
User avatar
drewkitty ~..~
Monk
Posts: 17782
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2000 1:01 am
Location: Eastvale, calif
Contact:

Unread post by drewkitty ~..~ »

Mouser13 wrote:
drewkitty ~..~ wrote:
Nekira Sudacne wrote:Simple advice: demand brand new-first level characters. No one and nothing resued from some other GM.


And demand that they submit chars for apruvale. If that have the gall to submitt a char that would let them act like munchkins, get out the paper shredder and shred the chars in front of them. They might get the idea then.


Well, I don't know if I would do it I have ripe characters before it doesn't work.


This would be for those players that are more suborn then a mule, that, like a mule, need a wack to the fore head with a 2x4 to get its attention and moving the way you want it to.

Most players get the idea when you hand the char sheet back to them and say "rejected".
May you be blessed with the ability to change course when you are off the mark.
Each question should be give the canon answer 1st, then you can proclaim your house rules.
Reading and writing (literacy) is how people on BBS interact.
User avatar
Warwolf
Palladium Books® Freelance Writer
Posts: 2772
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 2:25 pm
Comment: I am the Alpha of the Omega...
...The First of The Last...
...and this is the beginning of your end.
Location: South of the Devil's Gate (St. Louis, MO)

Unread post by Warwolf »

What setting (or combination thereof) are you going to run?
Yeah, everytime I see a blazingly obvious moron walking the streets... I think, "score one for the creationists..." ~ DLDC
Warwolf is right... you can sig that. ~ TGK
I refuse to participate in a battle of wits with an unarmed man. ~ Me
User avatar
Tinker Dragoon
Supreme Being
Posts: 2433
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2001 2:01 am
Location: On the threshold of a dream

Unread post by Tinker Dragoon »

This message has been moved to the GM's Forum, where the topic is more applicable and appropriate. If you have a problem with how this post was handled please direct all inquires to deific.nmi@gmail.com, including the url to the post in question.
There you go man, keep as cool as you can.
Face piles of trials with smiles. It riles
them to believe that you perceive the web they weave
and keep on thinking free.

-- The Moody Blues, In the Beginning
User avatar
drakinn
Explorer
Posts: 198
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 12:59 am
Location: Spokane WA

Here is some advise from someone who has been there

Unread post by drakinn »

Simple advice: demand brand new-first level characters. No one and nothing resued from some other GM.


I agree you need to either only take character made up under you and your watchful eye or give them just enough rope to hang themselves then kick ass and take names. teach them that everything is vulnerable and can be taken.

it is better to break them than it is to kill them.

have fun
Skilled Warriors of old
Their wariness was as that of one crossing a river in winter;
Their caution was as that of one in fear of all around;
Their gravity was as that of a guest
Their relaxation was as that of ice at the melting point

Tao Te Ching
User avatar
drakinn
Explorer
Posts: 198
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 12:59 am
Location: Spokane WA

oh yeah by the way

Unread post by drakinn »

Tell them if they don't like it to take their dice and go play lame a$$ D&D.
Skilled Warriors of old
Their wariness was as that of one crossing a river in winter;
Their caution was as that of one in fear of all around;
Their gravity was as that of a guest
Their relaxation was as that of ice at the melting point

Tao Te Ching
User avatar
Vrykolas2k
Champion
Posts: 3175
Joined: Mon May 03, 2004 8:58 pm
Location: A snow-covered forest, littered with the bones of my slain enemies...
Contact:

Unread post by Vrykolas2k »

I allow characters from other campaigns, if they're sane/ balanced, things of that sort. And if the players are ass-hats, I kill their characters.
Eyes without life, maggot-ridden corpses, mountains of skulls... these are a few of my favourite things.

I am the first angel, loved once above all others...

Light a man a fire, and he's warm for a day; light a man on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.

Turning the other cheek just gets you slapped harder.

The Smiling Bandit (Strikes Again!! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!)
User avatar
Killer Cyborg
Priest
Posts: 28185
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2001 2:01 am
Comment: "Your Eloquence with a sledge hammer is a beautiful thing..." -Zer0 Kay
Location: In the ocean, punching oncoming waves
Contact:

Re: Newb GM Questions

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

Rybrator wrote:A few of them had flying devices (brooms and carpets) from previous GMs that they demanded to be able to us.


THIS is where you first screwed up.

Another guy had a variation of Molotov Cocktails. They would walk into a town, set aflame and fly off before anyone could hurt them.


Why?
Were they evil?

I rolled up assassins and other bad guys, but they got pissed if anyone managed to land a blow.


viewtopic.php?p=1636419#1636419


I finally quit because it was so frustrating.[

I'm being asked to GM again, but I need to know exactly how stern I should be. I've already mentioned that I am not afraid to kill people if they earn it with their actions. But there are other issues I'm not sure how to address.

Do I not allow flying devices, regardless what they're inventory says?


As a GM, don't allow ANYTHING that you don't want in your game.
They don't like it; tough. They can play somewhere else.

Think about it.
The system is in place, but YOU are the one designing (or, at least, running) the specific scenario, and YOU are the one to decide whether or not something is acceptable within that scenario.
If you were referee in a backyard football game, and one team wanted to bring cars, would you let them?
NO!
Not even if the other ref they used to play with let them get away with it.

In combat, if everyone in the group has 3 atk per melee, and the NPC has 6, does he get 2 every round, or, after 3 rounds, does everyone just stand there while he whacks them for another 3 rounds?


Yup.
They can use their automatic parry to defend themselves, and they can even Dodge an attack, but if they Dodge then it eats up an attack from their next round of combat.
(BTW, generally speaking, a "round" takes until everybody runs out of attacks. A "turn" is one person's attack.)

What is a realistic availablity for kerosene type lamps or combustable alcohols (which I KNOW is going to come up again)?


What setting are you in?
I'm assuming PFRPG.
I'd say that that sort of stuff would be pretty uncommon.
Not too tough to get, but not too easy either.
A lot of places are just going to be using torches, lard-lamps, candles, etc. for light; oil or pure alcohol would be expensive.
Annual Best Poster of the Year Awards (2012)

"Your Eloquence with a sledge hammer is a beautiful thing..." -Zer0 Kay

"That rifle on the wall of the laborer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there." -George Orwell

Check out my Author Page on Amazon!
User avatar
bigbobsr6000
Hero
Posts: 1585
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:25 pm
Location: "Out there,...man,..really out there..."

Unread post by bigbobsr6000 »

Be hard, strong, by the book. You are the god of the your realm what you say goes. But, be fair accross the board. It is easier to be a bit more lax latter in the game sessions than it is to start soft and then try to be hard.

One rule of thumb I use is: "If a PC can have it, my villian NPC can have it or one times infinite worse, so be careful what you ask for."

The #1 supreme rule: "What the GM giveth, the GM can taketh away."

I have rifted parties to location that when they arrive all they have is their clothes on thier backs with zero equipment. :demon:

Big Bob........................... :D
Mephisto: You have some morbid fantasies. I like it (okay)
pblackcrow:"If anyone deserves this it's you! (thwak) LOL...All in fun."
Natasha: Bob you're deadly. I like it.
Misfit KotLD: You're Gamer Bi-Polar.
Sanford: Excellent concept, Big Bob!
sasha: I think Bob gets the JUST A GAME award....for life.
Jerell: You sir, are ruthless, and that is why I like you.
Locked

Return to “G.M.s Forum”