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GM Screen
GameMastery Guide
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Starting Characters
After the Game
Source
GameMastery Guide pg. 62
Between sessions, players still have plenty of opportunities to contribute to a game’s success. Engaging in good record keeping, maintaining up-to-date characters, participating in game-related projects, and giving feedback all help games run smoothly, take work off your shoulders, and keep a campaign fun even between sessions.
Keeping Current
Source
GameMastery Guide pg. 62
As soon as a session ends, all players should consult their notes to ensure that all experience points, treasure, and important information has been accurately recorded. Some groups appoint one player to track treasure, another to list NPC names and descriptions, and yet another to note plot and adventure hooks. These duties might rotate, but every player should understand her responsibilities to the group, lest valuable details or resources be lost. Often players keep their own notes, sometimes in character, and these narratives form contrasting viewpoints that can make for fun campaign journals. Additional documentation, such as map sketches, tallies of slain enemies, folders of item cards, and lists of shared adventuring gear, helps keep the players focused and adds to the fun.
Players should also ensure that their character sheets stay up to date, adding and removing equipment, accounting for long-term effects, and updating character level adjustments as soon as possible. Decide ahead of time if you have any specific preferences regarding leveling, such as not allowing the players to level in the middle of the session, or insisting that they roll their hit points in front of a witness. Players should always arrive for a session with an up-to-date character sheet so valuable game time isn’t consumed by last-minute preparation.
Feedback
Source
GameMastery Guide pg. 62
Gaming groups thrive on feedback. Enthusiastic players spur the GM to continue creating exciting adventures and make the daunting task of running a game worthwhile, while the GM complimenting a player on his roleplaying, strategy, or teamwork can help educate and make the party more cohesive. A GM or player who compliments others also inspires others to share positive feedback and are most likely to be taken seriously when offering criticism.
Constructive criticism is just as important as positive reinforcement, but it should be handled more carefully. When possible, raise any individual issues with players in private. Phrasing such criticism as a request for assistance often makes the process easier. For example, if a player is getting caustic toward a teammate over the latter’s limited rules knowledge, you might ask that he help educate the neophyte player. Similarly, if one player’s character is constantly disrupting the game by heading off in different directions, you could ask that player to help you keep the group on track—many players understand the difficulties of GMing, and may play differently if they see themselves as sharing that responsibility.
Creativity Between Sessions
Source
GameMastery Guide pg. 62
Just because the session ends, that doesn’t mean the game can’t follow a player home. Many players make their most meaningful contributions to a game between sessions. Literary-minded or artistic players often keep some manner of in-character campaign journal or sketchbook, depicting the party’s exploits from their characters’ point of view. This might take the form of notes, an actual penand- ink diary, or posts to an online journal or forum, and can be anything from letters to another character, reports to a related organization, a scholarly work, or a bardic epic. Making such records accessible to the other players (or even the wider gaming community) allows others to share in the group’s adventures.
Although campaign journals serve as the most common creative activity between sessions, no GM should underestimate the imagination of her players. Artistic players might create sketches of their characters, portraits of their enemies, or illustrations of their exploits, while more craft-focused players might help the GM make maps or props of important items, or might fashion costumes or adornments based on their characters. If you have a player looking for such a project, consider bringing them in on one of the creative aspects you don’t have time for, whether it’s painting miniatures, making maps, or creating a playlist for the game’s soundtrack.
It’s not just artists and writers who can help the GM between sessions, either. If you have a trusted player who’s particularly adept with the rules (or maybe even GMs himself ), feel free to use him as a resource, perhaps vetting rules supplements proposed by other players and advising you on tricky balance issues, or educating other players in particularly confusing aspects of the game.