This is the third of three posts outlining the most important elements of roleplaying games: the players; the rules, and trusting randomness of dice-rolls; and the game-master.
I realized it wasn’t my place to tell you how I think I am trustworthy as a GM, only that players need to trust the GM to do the job…and then describe the elements of that job as I see them.
So, stripped down to the basics, what do I think are the most important skills for a Game-Master to have?
- Knowing the rules (yes, even in rules-light games) and the ‘world’
- Putting together like-minded players (crucial!)
- Crafting a story that fits the world and the players …and perhaps most importantly:
- Being able and willing to alter the story to fit player actions
That’s it. Each is so simple…and yet each is worthy of a post all on its own, which they will get in due time, I’m sure.
But instead of tearing those three apart here, I’m going to focus on a different skill. A rule that’s not a rule, but more of a thread that has to run through all of what I listed above:
A Game Master needs to understand the ‘physics’ of the game.
Uh…what do I mean by ‘physics’?
I often shorthand it to ‘once a ball (or plot point, character choice, rule interpretation) is in play it must continue uninterrupted until it encounters another ‘ball’. Then it must interact according to the rules and spirit of the intended actions… and in this case, it’s also gotta be good Trek!
And there lay the most important talent that I think a GM must have: they must make good choices, stitching together rules, lore, players and story.
I wish that for your table, and for your life! May you always make good choices, and find good trouble 🙂
