Advice for a GM

[Mickeroo]

I am going to be starting a campaign in about a week and was wondering if you guys had any advice, for both before and during the game. I ran a demo for the group (Poisionous AMbition) and everyone said they had a really good time, but I fear that my own ideas will just not be as good as Luke's. Some of the main points I need help with:
1) In PA, it was a one shot deal. How do I make conflict between the characters that lasts for a while? Since in PA, conflict ended with death. I was thinking of a social class thing, because some people would be nobility in this game and some would be essentially street trash. I'm just not sure how to make it work.
2) How do I keep the focus on them more so then me? I like the demo scenarios because they're less GM oriented. In PA, all the focus was on the players, same with the Gift or Nest of Webs. (Or at least that's how I felt)
3) Is it a good idea to have some sort of universal group goal? Like, kill the evil necromancer in the North? Or should I let everyone develop thier own goals?
4) I have a lot of new players in the group, and some are pretty shy. How do I make(or encourage) them participate more without embarassing them?
5) How do I keep it more role playing and less roll playing?(Meaning, more story, less combat)

If you can help with ANY of these, please let me know. Or, if you have any other random advice, PLEASE, let me know. I really want things to go well. Thank you all in advance for your help.

P.S. Should I post info about the actual game in the games, campaigns and stories section? I don't know how interested people are.

*EDIT* 6) How do I keep the game going long term? Most of our games fade out after a few sessions.

[Thor]

I. Goals are good. Don't start without a goal. Let the players have input in what the goal will be.

Some examples from recent games:
1. Discover and Reclaim the High King's Hall.
2. Destroy or Discredit our rivals and become a power in this city once more.
3. Get this castle built on the borderlands before the Orc hordes come pouring over the mountains.
4. Stop the cult from completing the evil ritual that will blot out the sun.
5. Get vengeance on the one that betrayed and murdered our Daimyo so we can discharge our obligation and commit seppuku.

For best results, the players should have just as much of a say in this goal as the GM does. Don't worry about making it huge and epic if you don't want to. If you get the castle built after 6 or 8 sessions, or even 2 or 3, and you're still into the characters, pick a new goal. If you've done your job during the past few sessions, there are probably a few different avenues the players are interested in pursuing.

II. Hold a character creation session. Before you start making up characters, discuss the goal. What does it mean to each of the players? What sort of challenges and obstacles do they want to face in reaching the goal? What roles do they feel will be necessary to complete the goal?

Once you have all that, discuss the particular role that each player wants to fill. What are his purposes for pursuing the goal? How does he fit in with the others?

Bring it all together with Beliefs. Specifically, a character's Second Belief should nail how he sees himself in relation to the goal. Characters don't need to have the SAME belief, but they should all point in the same general direction. The Third Belief is for longer range goals (i.e., I will become the greatest Sorcerer that ever lived). Those are the seeds for future stories.

III. You, as the GM, MUST look at each character's Beliefs and Instincts long and hard (copy them down in your notebook if you aren't holding onto the character sheets). Don't think in terms of plot. Think in terms of Situations. Try to make sure that each session you run, you have at least one situation (i.e., conflict or obstacle) that plays on at least one Belief of each character. Do the same for Instincts.

For instance, let's say a player in my campaign has the Beliefs: 1. My uncle is a kicked dog, useless but unpredictable -- watch him. 2. My sister is the key to my first step up the political ladder -- climb her! 3. I shall rule this city from the Black Wizard's Tower as Master Assassin.

I better make damn sure to give the player an opportunity to hit at least one of those Beliefs each and every session. I'll be framing situations where he comes upon his uncle's machinations (possibly even evidence that he's not as kicked as the player things), situations that involve the Black Wizard's Tower and opportunities to make his name as an Assassin, and situations that involve encounters with his sister. She's obviously politically plugged in, let's see how far the character is willing to go in using her!

You can do the same thing for Instincts. In some ways they're even better at suggesting Situations because they're designed to function as macros in situations. If I've given my dwarf an Instinct about cave-ins, I've as much as told you that I'd like to deal with a cave-in at some point in the game.

IV. Don't worry about fostering intra-party conflict especially. It will arise naturally, especially if Beliefs come into conflict. If my dwarf is seeking out the High King's Hall because he wants to bring forth a new High King and end divisions between the clans, and your character is seeking out the High King's Hall for artifacts that will give your clan an advantage in a feud with another clan, there WILL be sparks. As a GM, you CAN help bring this about by keeping an eye on Beliefs, looking for places where there could be friction, and framing situations designed to bring those Beliefs into conflict.

V. There are a number of reasons why players hang back and don't participate. Some you can do something about and some you can't. Keep an eye on their Beliefs and make sure to throw in juicy situations related to those Beliefs. They SHOULD get involved at that point; afterall they wouldn't have made that into a Belief if they weren't interested in it.

If that doesn't solve the problem, take them aside and talk to them about it. Don't make it confrontational, but find out why they're not participating. If they have a legitmate issue, address it if you can. If they're just not there to game, but to hang out with friends, you have to ask yourself it that's a distraction or not. If it isn't, by all means let them play. If it is, talk to them about hanging out in another venue, but not at the game.

[Mickeroo]

Wow...that was really more of a reply then I could have hoped for. Thank you so much.

I have one more question though: Sit or stand? I notice that at cons, Luke seems to be standing up a lot more then sitting and I thought it added energy to the game. I tried it once and it went really well, but that may have just been because I was playing a pre-made scenario. What are everyone's thoughts on it?

[luke]

GMing is a bit like a performance. A good performer has to get comfortable in his skin -- feel what his limits are, push the areas he's good and try to gloss the area's he's not.

For me, running the games at cons is a high energy affair. I'm competing with A LOT of other distractions and we have a limited time to play. Therefore, I've found it best to keep the energy at the table fairly high and upbeat so we can chew through the scenarios.

At home, I try to keep my body language more appropriate to each scene/situation. I don't bounce around the table when the players are having a serious discussion.

However, being on my feet is also another side effect of good GMing habits. I'm really interested in what is going on in the game. I want to be a part of the conversations, even if I'm not participating. So I get up and go over. I sit in, I listen.

When players aren't involved, and I'm not particularly needed in a scene, I'll drift over to other players who also aren't involved. I ask them what they are thinking, and make suggestions/brainstorm for future scenes.

And, when it comes time for the action to kick into high gear, I'm up out of my chair acting it out. I've got no shame. I'll mime action (you've all seen me) to no end. It helps me visualize. It helps me keep the flow. The dice are the final arbiter, but they've got to be interpreted.

These are just a few of my techniques. They aren't useful in every situation, neither are they good for every GM, but I've been reasonably successful running with them.


Also, Mike, you mentioned your group size is 8-9 players? That's a lot to start out with in an unfamilar system. I recommend 4 players and a GM for a starting group with BW. 8-9 players doesn't really pay off unless the players are playing against each other or kind of running part of the show themselves. You might want to consider breaking your group down into two halves and running them separately for a couple of months. I know it sounds insane, but it'll help you get your chops up. Once your nice and tight with the system and GMing in general, you can merge them into carnival extravaganza of roleplaying fury.

-L

PS What Thor said.

[Mickeroo]

Again, thank you for the advice. As for the group size, which is looking like 8 people, there would be a couple of problems with splitting it up. 1) I don't really have the time to play multiple games. 2) I definatly don't have the time to plan out two games and I don't think anyone else both wants to and is able to GM. 3) The memebers have certain people that they would really like to play with, and if I split it along those lines, one group will be filled with really shy players and I'm afraid that not a lot will get done there.
As for not knowing the system, I have played it before and I'm spending a lot of time reading and re-reading the revised books. We won't be starting the actual campaing for about 2 weeks and I figure that's a good enough time to get accustomed to the rules.
I don't mean to seem like I'm arguing your point, but I just don't think it could work with my group. Thanks for pointing that out though, and I'll try to counter it somehow, probably by putting more focus on the player to player interaction. If it doesn't work out, at least I'm now aware of that option though. Thanks again for the advice.

PS: Abzu, did you get my respond email? Is it all good?

[Kublai]

Thor said it well enough. Good Beliefs, moreso than traits or instincts, will foster good story.

I would be terrified to run a long campaign for that many people! Good luck to you! The most I ever ran was a few sessions with 7 people. Usually I prefer 3-5.

Oh, and I'm a sitter. I sit.

[luke]

Hi Mike,

One danger to be aware of when running a big game like that: the shy players will turtle up. It's hard to maintain the focus and balance screen time so all the players get an equal chance. What usually happens is that the shy players retreat to the background and let the experienced/active players do the heavy lifting.

One way to offset that is to tweak the game into a PvP scenario and put the shy players in demanding roles. Something like the Gift, for example, could easily be spun out across multiple sessions.

I find that even after running BW for 7 years now, I have a hard time keeping an 8 player game engaging. The scenario has to be carefully structured. And the characters all have to have a stake in every scene. And once you have a group of 8 characters pounding away on the opposition, you've got to up the ante and provide some heady opposition: Giants, mad sorcerers, Ancient Seneschals, etc.

-L

[Ozark Tim]

If I may make so bold as to peep in:

You mentioned that the first game you ran for the group was Poisonous Ambition, and that you want this current campaign to involve player conflict. The thing I'd be wary of is the tendency of some players to resort to deadly violence quite easily in PvP situations. This was an especially bad problem for me with inexperienced and/or young players who would get frustrated with debate and want to 'throw down'.

So as to avoid an inconvenient bloodbath ending your campaign, you might want to create a situation that makes them need each other. Some might have information or skills or whatever that make them indispensable to the progress of the story. Or make sure that if a fight erupts there are plenty of chances to end it before someone gets killed, tussles are good but death can be bad.

If a player does get uppity and kill another player and you want to quell that sort of behavior in the future, be sure to describe the death and its effects in detail. Horrify the players with what they have done, or at least make sure they appreciate the import of one PC murdering another.

[Mickeroo]

I like a challenege and this looks like it's going to be one. Hmmm...I'm scared...but I will use it as an opportunity to have some of my ideas (for a project of mine) tested. I am the little engine that could...I can do it...