19 Tips I Wish I Knew When I Started GMing - Running RPGs

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Advice for newer Game Masters wishing to avoid all the mistakes I've learned the hard way. PATREON (Tip Jar): https://www.patreon.com/SSkorkowsky A heartfelt thank you to my 206 Patrons for their continued support in making this channel possible. ______ CHECK OUT MY NOVELS If you want to support my channel, or just want to read an action-packed Urban Fantasy about modern-day monster hunters and their sentient weapons, check out my four-novel Valducan series (observant viewers might notice Dämoren subtly placed behind me). They feature gun fights, sword fights, chases, monsters, and a smattering of horror. Audio book editions narrated by the badass R.C. Bray: https://amzn.to/3rehNnJ I also write pulpy Sword & Sorcery thief adventures in my Tales of the Black Raven series. It's 21 short stories packed with action, intrigue, and daring heroics. Audio editions read by R.C. Bray. https://amzn.to/3faj4cX And if you want a kickass and dark revenge story about a modern-day sorceress hunting across the multiverse for lost Carcosa, my novel Ashes of Onyx is available in print, ebook, and audio book: https://amzn.to/3sfh1IA If you enjoyed my stories, please leave a rating or review on Amazon, Audible, and/or Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4088554.Seth_Skorkowsky __________ MY PUBLISHED RPG ADVENTURES A Mother's Love (Call of Cthulhu 7e). This collection of adventures win the 2020 Gold ENnie Award for Best Digital Adventure Book: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/299661/New-Tales-of-the-Miskatonic-Valley?affiliate_id=1017650 Mysteries on Arcturus Station (Mongoose Traveller 2e). This is two adventures. One is written by me, and the other is my update to J. Andrew Keith's brilliant Murder on Arcturus Station: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/350034/Solomani-Adventure-1-Mysteries-on-Arcturus-Station?affiliate_id=1017650 And while I didn't write it (Marc Miller has that distinction), I did greatly expand and update the classic Traveller adventure Death Station to Mongoose 2e, which is TOTALLY FREE: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/380659/Death-Station?affiliate_id=1017650 __________ GOT DICE? Check out the Q-Workshop Seth Skorkowsky RPG Icons Dice, a 10-die set that I designed with Q-Workshop: https://q-workshop.com/en/221-rpg-icons-seth-skorkowsky __________ FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER I mostly ramble about movies, tabletop roleplaying games, and random other things as they occur to me: https://twitter.com/SSkorkowsky __________ I HAVE A PODCAST Check out the Modern Mythos Podcast where veteran RPG writer Jon Hook and I discuss gaming, especially Call of Cthulhu: https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/?fbclid=IwAR1_wArr3cKQhXj5GNv52s2Q-_gdM9yyq-0O-_dugpOYp3CsevyZiir5mBU You can find the podcast on YouTube as well (You should totally subscribe): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA __________ Guest starring Todd and Mike #ttrpg 00:00 Intro 00:46 Common Sense 01:25 Find Your Own Voice 02:54 You Can't Learn All the Rules 03:00 Confidence in Judgement Calls 03:38 Communication & Consistency 04:12 Over-Prep is better than Under-Prep 04:40 Overpreparation can be Worse 05:48 You'll Always Have to Improvise 06:21 Players will do the Unexpected 06:46 Make Situations not Solutions 08:16 Too Much of a Good Thing 11:36 Meaningless Rolls Suck 15:10 Don't Ask For a Roll You Can't Accept 17:42 Redefine Success & Failure 19:02 It's About the PCs Not the World 19:41 Players Care Less About The World Than You 19:57 Encourage Roleplay Through Example 20:56 Players Might Have Different Tastes Than You 22:24 Don't Be Afraid to Suck 23:38 Outro