GMing Styles

[Mordlyth]

Hey Folks, I've been running a Fantasy Hero game for a couple weeks now, and everything is going well for the most part. Of course, there have been a few hitches concerning a player who seems unable to handle a non-scripted campaign. This had led me to post this thread, so that I can see how other GM's run their Hero System games.

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My style -

I come from a very long history of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons gaming (though I'm not old enough to have played in the Arduin settings), and that experience has shaded my GMing style in noticable ways. First off, I view GMing as a means of entertainment for me. This may sound rather selfish, but I enjoy creating worlds and cultures, drawing maps and creating layers of plots in the world surrounding the players. I present a world to my players, then sit back and watch their antics. I use flow charts to determine how adventures run, and those events that are overlooked or ignored have their own resolution, which may or may not be of benefit to the world and/or the players.

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This player I have seems unable to work on his own, expecting me to lead him about by his proverbial nose. Is my GMing style unsuitable to Hero System? Feedback and other styles would be nice.

[Monolith]

Originally posted by Mordlyth
This player I have seems unable to work on his own, expecting me to lead him about by his proverbial nose. Is my GMing style unsuitable to Hero System? Feedback and other styles would be nice.

My GMing style is very similar to yours, so I do not think it is unsuitable to the HERO System. Some players are just more astute than others, and different players are looking for different things within the game. Some players want intrigue and puzzles, some want role-playing and drama, and some just want to crush their enemies. As a GM all you can do is try to be as fun for the majority as possible. Sometimes the minority needs to has to learn that what they want cannot always be at the center of attention; and sometimes you just need to cut those types of players loose because they just do not fit.

[SkyKnight]

An interesting question. Let me see what I can do to not answer it. I don't GM anymore, so I'll share some random observations in order to try to look more intelligent than I actually am.

First, GM style is largely independent of game system. Whether you are using the linear, GM driven style or a nonlinear, player driven style, it shouldn't make much difference what rules you are using.

Here are a few observations on both GMs and players for both styles.

1) A dependence on linear stories may stem from computer RPGs. Players get used to following 1 blatant clue to the next. If there is any uncertainty, you can always buy the player's guide to tell you where to go next. This is not necessarily a bad way to pattern a game, but it is a limited use of real life role playing.

2) Some games seem player driven, yet have a few very specific courses of action that will actually succeed. This can be frustrating for all parties involved as it seems to the players that nothing they do matters. These games are simply a linear adventure without the clues. Don't do this.

3) Different players get satisfaction from different things. Some players will happily set their own goals, but others want the challenges thrown at them. Those types like to win or lose (really, they prefer to win) and know that the challenge is done.

You may have to provide some more obvious hooks for your player, if you want him to get more involved in the game.

[Derek Hiemforth]

It may also just be a matter of the new player getting used to this style of play. Nudge him along a bit when necessary, and I suspect you'll find it necessary less and less often as he "gets the hang of it."

[NuSoardGraphite]

I've tried both heavily "scripted" game scenarios (they never work out) and completely "off-the-cuff" scenarios (they work better than heavily scripted games, but can still go into undesireable territory).

What I've found in my 20 years of Gm-ing is that the best method is a compromise between the two extremes.

When I'm planning a game, I come up with a coherent plot with an obvious goal for the PC's. The background is heavily detailed leading up to the point where the PC's enter the action. From that point on, the PC's determine their fate, with the badguys reacting appropriately to the PC's actions. I've found that when the PC's have a definable goal in front of them, it tends to move the action along at a nice pace.

That doesn't mean that Players don't go off on tangents...they most certainly will, and you must be prepared to handle that (and from what it sounds like, you should have no problem with this) but don't forget to occasionaly have the main plot kick the PC's in the arse so they don't forget their focus.

[Killer Shrike]

Hey Chris; glad to hear you hooked up with a group.

Heres the thing, figure out what kind of a campaign you are trying to run.


If you are trying to run a genre or setting based campaign in an effort to explore the genre/setting itself, ie try out conventions of the genre/setting, and develop a fuller understanding of the driving elements or 'bits' which make that genre/setting click then you are going to have a hard time with players that want to be lead around by the nose.

By its very nature, this sort of game tends to be a bit more 'generic' or derivative of source material. Also, the mechanics of the game system generally take second fiddle to replcating/depicting the source material. If you've ever found yourself wanting to 'bend the system' a little to better model/enable an effect that will be prevalent in the campaign, its probably falling into this category at least in part.

This type of campaign can be fun from an archetypical point of view. Everyone gains experience that is generally applicable, and in many case find thier roleplaying skills enhanced quite a bit. A thorough understanding of the mores of a genre translates nicely into other campaigns, and also provides a solid framework for player character backgrounds, motivations, and goals. Knowledge of a favored setting can provide a backdrop for a number of campaigns for years to come.

The downside is that players that want clues handed to them revolving around a scripted plot are generally not interested in exploring a genre or setting for its own sake, they basically want to play a 'Pick-a-path' book with friends; their primary interest is in making thier way through a predesigned maze and getting the piece of cheese at the end.
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Another option is to run a story-driven campaign with episodic adventures organized with enough continuity to provide an overall narrative thread. Typically such story driven campaigns tend to revolve around basic concepts or universal themes and just happen to be set in a particular genre. The Star Wars movies are an ecample of this type of game; the background and world design is a backdrop and an enabler for a larger story based on universal themes.

Since there is some overarching concept you can provide some more hooks to the players to allow them to follow the story along. This satisfies the rat-in-a-maze players, but will infuriate many 'Im an In-DUH-vidual' players that for some reason, maybe empowerment issues, get off on being contrary. This sort of player will sabotage your story arc in a wide variety of ways if they think even for a second that there is even the smallest amount of coersion or prodding going on to move the story in a certain direction. Most of the time players like this do absolutely nothing when left to thier own devices, but will be riled into thier saboteurial ways as soon as you as the GM try to forward the story along.

However, with a good group and a good GM, this can be one of the most satisfying types of campaigns to play in because there is a sense of a bigger picture, and an enhanced degree of versimilitude. The characters have a place in a larger world. Most long running campaigns are of this sort, at least in part. With a group that is not on the same sheet of music, this can be one of the most painful types of games to run for all concerned.

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You can also run a 'quest' or 'mission' based campaign. This is a campaign that is either based around 1 big quest/mission or is a serial chain of one quest/mission after the next.

This is a popular style for games and is basically the original archetype for RPGs in general. It has many advantages for a roleplaying game, including a clearcut objective, a common motivational force, and a prize/built-in closure all rolled into one. Of course, it has some downsides as well. Such a campaign is vulnerable to cookie-cutter syndrome, contrivance, and of course its simply been done....a lot. Its also generally the most heavily scripted of game types, with either specific mapped encounters or randomized encounters or a combination of both.

Some of these games are site based, others are not, and still others are mixed (go thru one site, at the end you are pointed to the next site), but at thier heart they are all basically the same. Go from Point A to Point B or Accomplish Goal A.

Obviously, the rat-in-a-maze players will most enjoy this because its basically mindless at its basest form, and the most significant decision likely to come up is whether to turn left or right, or whether to spring the deathtrap by hitting it with a sword or wait for the Rogue to return from scouting ahead to open it. The downside is that more experienced or free willed players will chafe at the contrivance inherent in this type of a game.

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There are other types of games, including mixtures of the above 3, but these 3 archetypes are very broad and common. I would suggest you at least identify which one your campaign is most like, and perhaps adjust it towards one of the other archetypes based upon your assessment of your players preference as a whole.

However, If you have a player that consistently or majorly interferes with the campaign you are trying to run, give them a heads up and a session to work on it, and then put them out of the group if they dont pan out. Similarly, dump any player that consistently challenges your authority as the GM to the detriment of the game or your own enjoyment. They'll be happier in some other group, and you'll be happier without them around to make the already burdensome job of GM a chore. You cant let 1 player drag your entire group down.

In the long run you'll have a better campaign for it.

[Mordlyth]

Yep, KS, I did hook up with a Hero group. I still play D&D once a week, but it seemed a shame to let the 5th Ed. book simply collect dust on my shelf. I just threw some quick racial packages together, convinced a couple of my gaming buddies to try the new Hero, and am using my home-grown campaign as background. But anyway....have to watch myself or I can go on forever.

Thanks for the info, KS! Definately something to think about, but what I was really looking for was to just hear what styles others are using/or have used in their current games. The recent complexities with my player simply prompted me to ponder what styles others are currently using or have used for the Hero system. (I was weened on open-ended games, so it's nice to see what else is out there. )

[Killer Shrike]

Check; well, all styles can be used with the HERO SYstem, but because it is more time consuming to develop stuff for the HERO System, its a little harder to 'wing things' until you have a good body of material assembled from which to draw from. Thus, some amount of preplanning would be optimal, IMO.

[doppelganger]

Originally posted by Mordlyth

This player I have seems unable to work on his own, expecting me to lead him about by his proverbial nose. Is my GMing style unsuitable to Hero System? Feedback and other styles would be nice.

Have you actually discussed this difference of playing style with your player?

Sit down with him and talk how you would like the campaign to run. Explain that you prefer a sort of extemporaneous, make your own goals campaign. Encourage him to explore the world, listen to rumors, make NPC friends and pick his own path to follow. If he really resists changing styles, talk him into a one session trial and really bring the world to life for him. Make it bright and real and easy to fall into.

That simple friend to friend conversation will probably help you get the play style you want to get more than 10 pages of advice online. Give it a shot.