The GM’s Manifesto

A game is all about decisions. That is essentially what every game is, whether it's a traditional game like poker, or a board game, or an RPG.

A role-playing game’s play happens via discussion. The GM describes things, the players ask questions, the GM elaborates, the players describe things, the GM asks questions, the players elaborate, and the process repeats. It’s a back-and-forth—asking questions and answering them. During this exchange, the GM and the players make decisions. This is what’s fun about RPGs.

Therefore, your job is to create interesting decisions for the players. Some advice to this end:

• Create environments that incite interesting decisions

• Create characters and factions with interesting motivations

• Describe the environment fully, engaging sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch

• Act in good faith by speaking generously

• Referee player actions fairly

Create meaningful exploration

Decisions in an RPG should be interesting, not arbitrary. It is essential that, during the Crawl, you provide meaningful choices so that exploration is both fun and engaging.

An empty hallway with two branching paths doesn’t give the players enough information to make an informed or interesting choice. A coin flip could determine the “best” way to go. However, you could put Cant graffiti on the walls of the right path that reads: “Undead ahead! Do not enter! Turn back! All is lost!” If the players listen at the left path, they could hear the distinctively peacock-esque cry of the cockatrice. Now the players have information to make a decision: would they rather face a cockatrice or the undead? What are they most prepared for? Could they lure the undead towards the cockatrice?

Broadcast dangers. Hide treasures behind clues that make players feel clever. Create meaningful choices so that your players can make informed decisions.

Create engaging personas

The Underworld and the City should both be full of memorable characters with their own interesting motivations. Each of the GM’s characters has a personality defined by their likes, dislikes, wants, and needs.

In the same way that dangers should be broadcast, so should your characters’ personalities. By clearly showing what a character’s likes and dislikes are, players will be given opportunities to role-play meaningfully.

The Underworld is deadly enough that not every single denizen needs to be hostile. The Disposition rules (p. 99) make sure that players have a fair shake when encountering new characters. Give players opportunities to gather information, make unlikely allies, and take part in factional intrigue.

Engage the senses

Meaningful exploration only works when the players have a good sense of what is going on. Players need you to tell them as much information as possible about the environment they are acting within. Paint pictures with your descriptions, actually sketch out rooms when mental pictures are difficult to conjure, and be vivid about all five senses. Don’t leave out any salient details about things that players can see, hear, feel, or smell.

Speak generously

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that half-secrets and hints are interesting. Information-sharing games are only fun when information is actually shared. Maybe the information comes with a price (“You’re not sure if the dragon is truly sleeping or only faking it. You’ll have to move closer to get a better look at him…”), but when it comes time to pay the piper, give the players as much information as you can. “Gotcha” moments are not fun.

This is particularly true when players bid lore. If you accept a lore bid, you have a social obligation to speak generously to the player and give as much information as is appropriate.

Be a fair arbiter

Let player decisions carry weight. If the players come up with ideas that should work, you don’t even need to touch the cards. Their plan can simply work. What makes sense comes before the rules.

At the same time, don’t pull punches. Victories are only valuable if defeat is a real possibility. You are neither the players’ antagonist nor their friend. One of your roles is to be a neutral interpreter of the physics of the imaginary world.

There are random elements. Interpret them judiciously. As much as possible, make the mechanics visible. Say what you’re doing, what the players are testing fate for, and what the results will be.

As the GM, you can give difficult situations to the players with no idea how to solve them yourself. The players will surprise you with their ingenuity and problem-solving skills. When they come up with something surprising and cool that should work, let it work.

“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”

– Dune, Frank Herbert

Arbitrating Rules (sidebar)

Questions (sidebar)

What should be done if there is a rules dispute during gameplay? One of the GM's duties is to settle these questions and decide how the rule should be played. If you're still learning the game, you might want to look them up every time until the flow of narrative and mechanics feels natural. If you have the rules down pretty well but encounter a speedbump, we offer this suggestion: decide in favor of the players and look up the rule later. Don't slow down a fun combat with page turning. Just make a temporary rule that is beneficial for the players and ask your best rules lawyer at the table to look it up after the combat is over.