GM's Journal #2

Due to various "away from the table" circumstances my players were generally disgruntled on my Saturday and Monday night games. While we did play, they weren't particularly cohesive and so I am afraid my commentary would be two dimensional and boring.
Instead I will be doing a Journal entry and fill in where needed on the next session's blog entries.

So I think we're coming to the end of the character's stories in my science fiction campaign. The setting will march on endlessly I think, though with each campaign arc it changes in a big way.
'Cybernetic' will forever be my first born. It practically has its own Bestiary, what with all the NPC enemies and allies I've created for it over the years. I've got an extensive history written down in the days since I first started development (though not as complete as I would like), with an extensive infrastructure, and most of the kinks worked out about how the government works with various arms operating in relative cohesion in a way that immerses the player and lets them really experience a believable world.

Not that I'm patting myself on the back to be obnoxious, I just get nostalgic every time I open up the old archives filled with notes and characters and NPC's that never made it out of development. When I see all the corporations that were fleshed out but haven't yet been relevant to the story or secret endings to character's stories that only their player and I know, it makes me feel accomplished like I actually built something important that makes people happy (whether it *actually* makes people happy or not remains up to them). 90% of the things I've created no one will hear about because there would practically be no reason for any party member that would ask about it (though occasionally they do and the look on their face when they discover the level detail I've put into my setting warms my heart).

For all the praise I heap on Cybernetic, my fantasy setting is swiftly stealing a place in my heart. I'm not sure I've said this here already but I love history, love everything about it, and the middle ages especially. The political intrigue of the various Kingdoms and Empires, not to mention the rulers interactions with the nobles who claimed ownership of the people that lived in their fiefdoms.
The Dual Throne is a more mature setting I think. Not like blood and guts "mature", but the ideas and problems laid before the player are less cut and dry. Life was a barbaric struggle against the wild and disease (and illiteracy), women were needed at home pumping out babies in a never ending stream to replace the fallen, and the nobility couldn't give less of a damn more about the peasantry unless they actively just rounded them all up and killed them to save them the hassle of doing it slowly and crushing their souls. There is a rising middle class that has been able to stake a living in the cities and townships that dot the land. Lastly, I could never forget the remnants of the tribal culture that still stalks throughout the land, resisting change and the trappings of a rapidly modernizing civilization, hoping and fighting for a return to the old ways of hunter gatherer, nomadic society.

That said, I haven't been as on top of pushing for character growth with my fantasy group as I should be and it definitely contributed to the overall lack of fun this past Monday. Only one of them is self-motivated to develop their character's story on their own. The others aren't so much, which there is nothing wrong with, they are new to the game, still unsure of what is a good idea and what is just plain old silly enough to earn them ridicule, so this lack of motivation doesn't surprise nor annoy. This is an attitude most players take, in my experience, and isn't incurable. All it takes is a guiding hand and a couple of springboard ideas and they'll come back at you with some really cool stuff that will keep you writing new plot lines for days (not to mention they'll love getting to do a bunch of stuff and having their turn as the main protagonist.
I should have known Monday group would need some special attention, but I remained ignorant of it due to the other two days having an abundance of experienced roleplayers who play the game solely for the character development and I got lazy, expecting the newbies to do the stuff the old timers took time themselves to learn.
So my GM advice to any aspiring Game Master is to pay attention and try to discern those who want to see some character development but aren't confident or just lack the start-up motivation. Everyone wants their time in the spotlight and to see their character grow as a person, though they sometimes don't even know that this is the issue until it is addressed. No one likes to be forgotten and relegated to a glorified NPC role, the game simply isn't fun and don't be surprised if they just stop coming.
A GM has to be attentive, honest, accommodating, and above all, patient. Be ready to answer questions and go back and forth helping people build their characters. Let them make mistakes on character optimization (that part will hurt you in the soul if you're proficient at character creation, but it has to be done so that they'll bond with their character), cater to what they want but don't just be a "yes man" make them earn it and they'll appreciate you more for it, and if they go off your plot rails or exploit a weakness or just get plain old lucky and survive where they shouldn't or fly of the story rails? Reward them, your players beat you and you should be gracious and thankful that you get to play with a group of people that don't fall for every retarded trap you throw their way, that they can think laterally and survive where others die. Even if there would be no conceivable reason for a ton of gold or some other tangible reward to be immediately gifted to them, at least write down that you owe them down the line and bring that cosmic good luck token to bare when they need it.

I think that about wraps up tonight's post. I'm sorry in advance for any typos...it's like 4am and I am dog tired. I'm also sorry that this has been two unfunny posts in a row. Next time *should* be comedic!