Basically I'm running a campaign and having never run one before I was wondering how much I should prepare for my players at the start of it.
First time GM needs help
Hi BTJ,
my "rule-of-thumb" is "prepare the next evening and have an idea for the overnext". As a measure of time, I assume that every "scene" might be worse around 20 minutes of playtime (it normaly is not, but others things come up so it works just fine). So, if I want to prepare an evening with four hours of gameplay, I try to prepare 12 scenes...
What is a scene?
While a scene is normally a thing of "one location" I started to define it as "one problem". "Gaining access to the hideout" is a scene. "Investigating the drug traffic and have a meeting with an informant" is a scene. Combat (if not REALLY short an easy) tend to be "two scenes".
What is need for a scene to be prepared?
Short atmospheric description of surrounding (three to five short notes)
Names of NPC around (perhaps with stats)
A set of most likely action the pc will take (or have to take) to solve the "problem" and the rules requiered
But "campaign is not campaign". What are you actually running, what are you and your guys (or perhaps gals) play like (funny? role-play heavy? action oriented?)
It depends, is this the first time your whole group has played an RPG or have you played before, but this is the first time you have run a game?
I'd recommend a pre-written adventure to start off with, its easier to get a grasp of how to run a game, learn mechanics and such if the adventure is already done for you. Edge of Darkness is a great introductory adventure for Dark Heresy and is available from the FFG website.
As a GM, the things I have on me are:
- All the books
- Pencil and paper
- A summary of the rules
- A list of generic names
- A bunch of dice
I also take my laptop which has:
- Details of the current campaign
- A huge list of npc's for the current campaign
Being a GM can be hard work, but it is very rewarding
My thoughts...
Your first session should be character creation. You should be prepared to explain the setting and main rules of the system.
You might want to have a rough idea of the world your game will be starting out on and the general tone of your campaign. For example, a game centering on intrigue on a hive world will be different than a game focused on combat on a feral world.
Something I have found very successful in many games is finish the character creation session with a quick "teaser"... a short scenario that demands the characters use some skills and have a little fight. I find it helps everyone see how the system and their characters work. A favorite of mine is some variant on the theme of "escort messenger from point A to point B while being chased by thugs."
Once you've done that, plan the first real adventure. If you're using a pre-made adventure, read it through at least twice. I find it helps me if I make some notes, just to keep track of things. If you're creating your own adventure, make notes about general plot, the main antagonists, their motives and goals. Beyond the "big picture," I usually try to one plan one session in advance in any detail so that I can adjust things to fit what my players do. That's a skill that improves with practice.
My biggest tip, have fun.
I agree emphatically with suggestions that you should use a published scenario first time around. Tailoring little extras in your game specific to the PCs themselves is really worthwhile, if you can spare the time. For example, before the PCs are actually picked up to be briefed I have often prepared a "what are you doing right now" introduction, which has presented each player with a short individual role-play tailored to their character (e.g. a Tech Priest adopted by a Magos Mentor, who basically wants his understudy to keep him informed of the actions and purposes of the Inquisition or a Ministorum Journeyman venturing into the underhive hunting heretics with an eviscorator). This gives them more of a sense that they are busy in their lives beyond their service to the Ordos, but that they have stepped away from the mundane for all of that.
During the actual scenario it is also a good idea to have some subsidiary notes to sharpen up what the scenario offers. I think that extra notes on NPCs and locations are essential. More than anything else, the role-play system should really flesh out the 41st Millenium; what is it like to live there? How do people dress, speak and interact? What customs and places are individual to the world, orbital or facility that the PCs are on? Here is an opportunity to fashion new words and ways of describing things - I quite often simply scribble down individual phrases onto a sheet of lined paper next to the scenario, and other important details like the PCs wounds, names, insanity points etc... close by, so that everything is in one place.
Finally, if you are relatively new to the 40K universe then it is always worthwhile reading a bit of Abnett to get you in the right descriptive frame for Dark Heresy. Good luck!
Probably should have given a it more info, in the OP, It's online over on a new forum, and I'm only just playing my first game of DH. The players are all new/relatively new to the game as well and I was thinking of starting with illumination for two reasons, the first being that I'm currently playing it myself and don't want to ruin it, and secondly one of the payers in my campaign is playing that very same game. After that I kinda wanted to run my own scenarios based on a plot I wrote up for an Inquisitor campaign.
If you are going to start running a Forum RPG.. From my experience you need to prepare more than a usual session of pen and paper. A real story, places, scenarios, npc's.. Actually, here are a few good links just about this topic.
I'd also recommend to check out this FRPG to see how the GM does his thing, players etc
Cheers!
Running a game on online forums is alot more challenging for a GM.
All of my favourite GMs use detailed descritions and lots of little mundane details to really flesh out scenes and encounters and often make frequent use of dramatic techniques to bring a scene into greater focus. By "dramatic techniques" I mean physical roleplay... Changing your voice, using props when possible, pantomiming NPC body language when it is not absurd to do so, using "in character" quirks and verbal expressions and so on. With this in mind I have adopted alot of these techniques when I am "behind the screen". For the most part these tools are not available to an online GM, so try to brush up on your prose. Clear and evocative writing is going to be a vital tool for the success of such a game.
Pick up a few books by one of your favourite authors and study their writing style a little. What is it that makes you enjoy their writing? What in particular works? What about their style doesn't quite fit and how can you change it around to suit your vision? How do they paint a vivid scene? What is it they do to grip you with suspense?
Personal recomendations: Frank Herbert, Dan Abnett, Tom Clancy (his fiction, obviously), Robert Thurston, William Gibson, E.E. "Doc" Smith
Avoid at all costs: L. Ron Hubbard, Walter L. Williams