GM Round Table

Howdy all, I'm brand new to GM'ing and i'm doing great for the group that i have. However, it would be painfully obvious to more experienced players that i'm very new to GM'ing. I also can base on good confidence i'm not the only one whose in this situation right now. So i wanted to make a thread where Other GM's Experienced and New can introduce themselves and create a mentor-student type relationship on further developing GM capabilities for the benefit of those playing under them.[Side note - i suck at grammer i know this lol]

-Edit due to information i've gathered- As for how this Post is going to work, it's going to be an introductory for GM's so you can find people who are similar to yourself or completely opposite to bounce ideas off of. What is expected in your intro. Name Mentor or student Style of GM - Gamist Narrative Simulation [GNS] What you dislike about Campaigns What you like about campaigns [see below for example.] Please do not post videos in this forum. the difference between Narrative simulation and gamist from how i understand it.  Narrative is where you are completely in character all time, Combat is very vivid not just the critical strikes. Conversations and the enviroment can easily be pictured. This is not only an excellent way to get full immersion it also is very important to those who intend to use the campaign as a foundation for a novel. Gamist This is where the rules and dice play more importance over everything else than previous, the chance and stats are the foundation of your campaign and the plot and interactions with characters come after. This is sought after by those who are just starting out, it's more about getting used to the rules and using them as the crux of your ever adapting story. Simulation - to be absolutely honest idk how to describe this very well so i will get the person who taught me to describe it to me so i can copy and paste.

Trent Nero aka Kia Nero Student Narrative Gamist I dislike the undead focus to campaigns I enjoy depth in the story of everything, World country npc's and Player characters.

Iserith Mentor Style: Collaboration, improvisation, "Yes, and..." techniques; narrativist exploration with strong focus on premise and theme. Dislikes: DM-to-player blocking (and vice versa), player-to-player blocking, slow pacing, aimless roleplaying (i.e. lacking a dramatic question), too much focus on simulation. Likes: Collaborative storytelling, emergent fiction, character and group development, action and tension, tactical play, meaningful choice.

André Alonso aka GamerAse Student A mix between [RP] and [Combat], with the occasional skill challenge thrown in for good measure.I I dislike campaigns and GM's whose stories don't take the characters into account. Say you have characters with interesting backgrounds: INCORPORATE those into your story! I like being able to create pretty much anything on the fly, and I enjoy preparing many different scenarios that I will present the party with depending on their choices. This been said... I am putting together a campaign right now, I'm gonna run it for some friends, and tips would be greatly appreciated.

Moved to Off-topic. - Gauss

Name: Fallon Mentor Style of GM - Combat Encounters Major, Social Encounters Minor What you dislike about Campaigns: Rail Road Stories, Character Psychology/logic/ motivation that falls under Deus Ex Machina, DMs running focus stealing npcs alongside the party, lack of control or ability to problem solve, Worlds/ scenarios where the party cannot make meaningful inferences about what to do next. What you like about campaigns: Freedom, Interested cultured worlds, environments that tell a story visually (Without having to be saddled with a long informational blurb, Interesting NPCs that have fears/goals/desires, dynamic problems social/combat/encounter based.

Name: Lou The Mad Mentor Style of GM - Player Choice Focus and Non-Linear Game Sessions (Major), Puzzle Gaming/Novel Problem Solving (Minor) What I dislike GET THE  NUCLEAR HATES OVER in Campaigns: Railroading, Canon-whoring, Use of pre-packaged adventure modules/campaigns, A lack of roleplaying,Boring Characters (both PC and NPC) What you like about Campaigns: Inventive players, the players making their own adventure, characters who put roleplaying and the narrative over brute game mechanics

Name: MichaelB Mentor  Style of GM - RP/Combat each powers the other What you dislike about Campaigns: No shows, Power Players, Rolling 1s What you like about campaigns: The shared story, building the campaign, tweaking the story, the puns and shared jokes that always creep in.  I like prepared adventures because many have never been looked at by the players. Save me time to focus on building in Roll20 and running the game.

Name:    Pierre S. Mentor Style of GM:   Sci-fi Storytelling, Powers of Description (all the wonders of a fiction setting and you're sticking the PCs in stone-paved dungeons with corridors exactly 10 feet wide?   What up with that?),  the "Curve-Ball" (friends turn against the PCs, enemies of PCs not actually evil, "we had it all wrong" etc.) and invoking Believable Science. What you dislike about campaigns:   The talkative player who draws focus away from the game, players slow to get the "spirit" of the particular game. What you like about campaigns:   Players genuinely interested in roaming around your universe, meeting interesting foreign people, and killing them.  Players gelling into a coordinated ensemble of actors like in FIREFLY or ALIEN.  Hearing once, "Hey, turn off that video-game, the GAME is starting!"   [This is a test.  This phrase was added 2016.01.08.  Kilroy was here.  I cannot do any paragraph-breaks but I can type on and on and on and on in the same paragraph.  It all will save even if new replies are not allowed.]   I think I can type in a new paragraph but it goes below the box and is not visible as I type. d dkdkkThis is test.  I can do par

Name : Soren Mentor or student : Mentor Style of GM'ing : Running turning-wheel campaigns where players decide their own involvement. More focus on investigation and story line than actual combat. I always steer the campaign in the direction of what I can feel the players are interested in. What you dislike about campaigns:  Nothing specifically about campaigns. I dislike it when players ruin the fun for other players. Abusing rules and overly argumentative players. Players who speak of their characters in third person singular (My character does this, my character doesn't like that). What you like about campaigns:  Basically the opposite of the above. When long term story arcs come together for a good conclusion. The epic moments players sometimes provide. The moments when players say "We should have seen it coming, the clues were there all along". When the players get immersed and involved with their characters and follow their motivation. Single best advice for new GM's : Remember it's all about keeping the players interested and involved. Loose that and the game falls apart.

Name : Jeremiah Mentor or student : Mentor Style of GM'ing : Focus on the players! I always ask what the players want most in a game and try to provide the most engaging gaming experience possible. I try to make sure I have a good story and interesting NPCs at all times, even if the party likes to focus on combat. I like to have a story planned out in advance, but I let the players actions dictate the course of the story. I adapt and change things on the fly if the players don't do things like I had expected.  What you dislike about campaigns:  I dislike linear, "rail-roaded" campaigns (unless it's a one-shot). I also dislike players who don't pay attention to the game or who don't at least attempt to play "in character." The thing I hate most, though, are power-gamers who focus only on breaking the system and building invincible PCs What you like about campaigns:  Engaging storyline, interesting and recurring NPCs, good player-to-player and player-to-NPC interaction, players kicking butt, players being heroic, players coming back strong after getting their butts kicked, players having FUN!