From time to time throughout the course of the game, it may happen that some unusual event occurs, one that threatens to bring the action to a screeching halt. How to handle these situations is one of the important jobs of a gamemaster.
The best way to avoid irregularities is to know the players in the group and to discuss any conventions (
table rules) before the adventure even begins. Such conventions include what to do when problems with dice occur (
such as what happens when they fall off a table or don’t land properly on a rolling surface), what will happen to a player’s character should the player not be able to attend a gaming session (
either the character can be run by another player or as an NPC played by the GM, the character is absent for the current reason because of some sort of plot reason, or the character simply “fades into the background” for the current mission), and any proposed changes to the rules. Changes to the rules should not be brought up (
and certainly shouldn’t go into effect) except at either the beginning or end of a gaming session. References that can be used during the course of the adventure should also be selected at the time the adventure begins.
Another way to avoid irregularities from coming up in the first place is to know as much as you can about the adventure at hand. A GM should know the player characters, including as much of their basic stats as possible. From this, they should be able to know how tough of an encounter is too tough, and when to back off a little. They should know the likes and dislikes of the players, and try to cater to their likes as much as possible. They should know what is going on in the campaign and in the current adventure, and as many of the related materials as is possible. Finally, a GM should know the rules, and to know what to do when a particular situation comes up. A GM will be able to handle a situation quickly, with only minimal interruption to the game, if they know as much as possible before hand.
Keeping the
balance of the game is a tricky job that every GM must deal with. No one character should be significantly stronger than the others (
the only exception to this might be when one character has had training and another hasn't, as what is normal for a regular game of Starflight; training the Navigator and leaving the other crewmembers untrained is a common practice). If one character can zap the bad guys with a single blow, none of the others get a chance to fight. A character that is significantly more advanced than the other PCs will lead the group to disaster quickly, as they must deal with challenges that are too difficult for the rest of the group. Attempts to keep balance includes the PCs in the group, as well as any NPCs the characters must encounter. If a character becomes unbalanced, there are two ways to deal with the problem. First is an in-game solution. Have the high-end character catch some terminal illness that reduces their abilities to match the rest of the group. Create enemies (or a type of technology) that can resist the abilities of the gifted player. Be careful when doing this, however, not to mention or to give away that these type of events are occurring to correct the game’s balance. Otherwise, the player might become deeply offended. Handling the problem out of game is riskier, but can also work. Simply explain to the player that you feel their character is too powerful, and ask them to tone it down. If they refuse, however, an in-game solution is unlikely to work, as it will seem contrived. Better to try the in-game solutions first.
A job that will probably come up in a gamemaster’s career is teaching players new to the game how to play. New players shouldn’t worry too much about the game’s intricacies, but it is important to tell them about the core d% rule (
roll d% and hope for a high number, as discussed in Chapter 1.1), how modifiers work, and any other basic rules that apply to understanding their character. Gamemasters should read up on Chapter 2 and know the rules for creating a new character. They should then sit down with the new player and ask them what kind of character they want, and walk them through the creation process. When their character is complete, they may have to artificially
inflate the character (give them some added hero level points) in order to get them caught up with the group, though this practice should be limited. As long as the new character ends up a little lower than the rest of the group, the inflation method will work well enough. As for any intricacies in the game, they can usually be taught on a case-by-case-basis. New players and new characters will need to be integrated into both player and character group. Simple introductions suffice for player groups. For characters, some plot device that introduces the character to the group works best.
It may also happen that, through people becoming bored, angry, busy, dislocated, or for whatever reason that players can no longer continue the game. This is fine, and will happen from time to time. It’s up to the GM what to do with a player’s character. The character can either continue as an NPC, written out of the plot of an ongoing campaign, held as a reserve character, killed off, or any number of possible solutions. Sometimes a GM may choose to assign multiple characters to a player if the character group gets too small (
in general, the game becomes easier and a lot more realistic if multiple characters are involved). They must be sure, however, that the player is up to the task of controlling multiple characters before doing so. Otherwise, this solution can create more problems than it solves.
GMs, admittedly, have a lot of different jobs to do and each must be performed well if the game is to be a success. From time to time, however, it is possible that the GM will have problems with their adventure, either in describing something that’s going on or in having their players go off track. If the problem is with a description, the GM can make a second attempt at an explanation, or can attempt a more visual solution, such as drawing a sketch, or finding a picture of what is being described. Making a map or other prop is a good way to describe things, and it has the added bonus of giving the characters an object to connect with a description. Such visual aids can be prepared at anytime during an adventure, though they are perhaps best created before the adventure begins, particularly if the GM thinks there’s a good chance that they won’t be able to adequately describe part of their adventure in words.
Other times, however, the problem is with players doing things that you don’t anticipate. Either players aren’t playing in character, or the group has done something that threatens to de-rail the story. In this event, the GM needs to think up a series of events that will get them back onto the story's path. Any such contingency planning will work, even the inclusion of a minor sub-plot. If the GM is at a loss for ideas, they can try listening to what the characters are talking about, and going off of that. If all else fails and the story is completely de-railed, the GM should be gracious enough to admit it to the player group and ask for time to think up some way to get back on track. In the meantime, the players can go do other things, such as going out for movies or for snacks. While this isn’t even playing the game, it’s better to have the group doing something rather than waiting for hours while the GM is thinking.
A less pleasant job for a gamemaster to have to do is to keep the players on track with the game. Sometimes the players will become more engrossed in their own jokes or off-topic conversations than they are in the game, which detracts from the game. As the GM, you should decide for yourself how much is too much and try not to let the session slip away with idle talk. Do this gently, though, and try to get the input of the other players and see if they agree that the game is getting off-track, to avoid hurting feelings and making the players unhappy.
Above all, a GM must be willing to work with the players on any issue that comes up. If a GM shows that they are willing to work with the players, if they’re consistent in applying the rules, if they don’t take sides in an argument, and they are clear that any actions are not being vindictive, then the players will likely begin to trust the GM and their decisions. When that happens, everyone can relax in the knowledge that any major problem that does occur can be ironed out smoothly and quickly.
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