Trials and tribulations of a DH GM

[Olis]

So, basically, I've never GMed before and I've kickstarted an RPG night at the local club. You could say I'm somewhat of an eager bunny with this - I've had some DH and RT books sitting around for ages and I want to put them to use so I suggested the idea. At the moment I have three members (plus me) interested and I reckon starting (really) slow with DH is probably the best course of action. Does anyone have any tips or helpful pointers they could impart?

 

(Of course, power armour probably won't turn up for a few sessions at least but I will be making the stuff obscenely rare when it does. :ph34r:)

[Something Wycked]

Oh wow... DM'ing tips can fill a book. A book the size of War and Peace.

 

Some important basic stuff though:

 

1) Every player needs glory time- this is best accomplished by each character having a distinct skillset.

2) Each player should get relatively equal spotlight time. Spread the love!

3) Try to keep the characters in the same location as much as possible. If you have them split up, you'll have to switch back and forth between the groups until they join back up, and that means the people you're not focusing on at the moment have some downtime. Downtime can be boring.

4) If you plan on having a fair amount of combat, don't be afraid to buff the non-combat characters a bit. It can be annoying if you roll up an Adept with no combat skills and then spend a lot of time fighting. Don't worry about buffing the combat-oriented characters, though... the players will do that for you :woot:

5) New DM's often run things the way they "should" be, and end up punishing the characters for not following their plot line exactly. Don't be afraid of deviations- the players WILL find a way around your obstacles that you had never thought of and didn't prepare for. Just roll with it, ad-lib a bit, use it to expand the story before tugging them back into line with the plot.

6) Similarly, new DM's often punish characters for acting on sub-par ideas. Just because the characters sprint headlong into a certain doom scenario doesn't mean you should kill them off. Instead, try knocking them all unconscious (or something) and putting them in a situation where they've been captured and have to escape- or their Inquisitor has to bail them out, and is royally pissed.

 

I'm out of time, but I'll be around to post more tomorrow if you like :)

[eyescrossed]

4) If you plan on having a fair amount of combat, don't be afraid to buff the non-combat characters a bit

I disagree with this. Should you also buff a soldier's intelligence just because the campaign you're doing has a lot more investigation compared to combat?

 

Also, it's a lot more satisfying killing enemies when you shouldn't be able to kill them (ie: the story of the Adept, Grendel; he ended up killing a Bloodthirster - don't ask).

[Olis]

@Something Wycked - This is good, I probably need pointers like these to remind me how to nudge things along. I'm all up for any tips you're willing to give, bud. Cheers! :tu:

 

@eyescrossed - Don't worry, I know the subtlies about fudging numbers (I've played Inquisitor). Oh, and I also know all about "The Tale of Grendel". ;) I may or may not buff on the day - it'll depend on the situation, really. They will be facing really weak mooks mind you. And I'm going to be really stingy with loot. :P

 

 

What I've done so far (because I believe in prep): Drawn a very crude map, started writing up potential 'checkpoints' to the story (that they may or may not entirely miss) and pre-generated one of each class as a 'lazy option' for any one the players to pick should they decide to forgo character gen. These pre-gens will be put in an envelope only labelled by class. I've also earmarked significant pages and sections in the rulebook.

 

Comments and critique welcome.

[Brother Nihm]

A few tips,

 

-Establish motivations and personalities (try to stay away from clichés) of your NPCs, they need a reason to be where they are and do what they do. How much do they know? etc.

 

-Tie some of your important NPCs into the overall story, for example, in my Deathwatch campaign the battle brothers started out with a Watch Commander that disliked them, sent them on the worst missions available. Over time they have earned his trust, shared tales of past exploits, even become close to being friends with him. They are now stationed on a new watch fortress but still stay in contact with their old commander, seeking his advice in things etc. This also serves as an excellent hook for adventures involving him - which I can keep building on.

 

-You need to know what ALL the traits and talents of your NPCs and Enemies do as well as have a very firm grasp on the rules (this includes reading the erratas, coming up with houserules), so that you can run combat much smoother.

 

-Focus on the mood as well as the story. Make it appealing to the players. Tie everything in to the history of the location/planet. The Haarlock Campaign does a great job of laying the groundwork for how this can be achieved.

 

-Be careful when handing out rewards and ammo. I like to have my Acolytes operate in the field for months at a time (often years), which means that while in the field, they have no reliable income and have to come up with ideas and resources on their own. Giving players access to high powered weapony will often turn your sessions into Roll-play instead of Roleplay.

 

-Describe everything they should be aware of (sights, scents, sounds), and much more, but do it efficiently and with as few words as possible. This is the hardest one to master imho.

 

-Never deny a player something, but always advise them of the consequences of their actions. e.g. if the Scum wants to walk up to the annoying Govenor and threaten him, he better be prepared for trouble (and a very short life).

 

-Ensure that everyone is having fun.

 

Last but not last,

-Have an overall goal for your adventure/session. As has been mentioned the players will seldom get there via a way that you have planned for, so be ready to improvise on the spot. And try to steer them in the right direction when things get bogged down or they get too far off the track. Never take direct control, your job is the one of the artist and the director, not the policeman.

[Olis]

-You need to know what ALL the traits and talents of your NPCs and Enemies do as well as have a very firm grasp on the rules (this includes reading the erratas, coming up with houserules), so that you can run combat much smoother.

 

Ooh, that's a good one (the others are great too). I'll get a relevant sheet done. :P

 

Also, my extra D10's have arrived (yay). :P

[Octavulg]

A few tips:

 

-Make sure to kill a PC every session. Players get bored easily, and the opportunity to take on new roleplaying challenges regularly will appeal to them.

-Award bonus items for players who come up with good arguments why other PCs should be burnt as heretics.

-Preserve game balance - refuse to give each player more than one Lunar-class cruiser.

-In order to best evoke the grim darkness of the far future, play with all the lights off. At night. In the basement.

-If players are unhappy with combat results, switch to LARPing all combat. If players remain unhappy, use real swords. Realism is key - if the players can't believe the results, they won't enjoy the game!

-Inquisitors and Rogue Traders are colorful, over-the-top characters. Make sure to draw inspiration from similarly colorful, over-the-top characters, like The Wiggles, Barney the Dinosaur, and The Simpsons.

-Everyone likes being reminded that Space Marines are awesome - so when power armor shows up, make sure to give it to the character most likely to use violence on other characters. If none of the players are like that, just have a Space Marine kill them all. A reminder of what humanity's finest are capable of is always fun!

 

Good luck!

[Something Wycked]

4) If you plan on having a fair amount of combat, don't be afraid to buff the non-combat characters a bit

I disagree with this. Should you also buff a soldier's intelligence just because the campaign you're doing has a lot more investigation compared to combat?

Maybe. Depends on how much combat you throw his way :P

 

I did say "a bit", didn't I? :P I didn't say turn the Adept into a combat monster. It just gets annoying when your little laspistol does a point of damage if you even get lucky enough to hit with your miniscule 20% chance to succeed.

 

Point was, if you have a completely non-combat character and your game involves enough combat to justify it, its nice to throw him a bone so he doesn't feel completely useless for half of every session. Another solution is to give him something nice and adept-y to do while the other characters are fighting.

 

-Establish motivations and personalities (try to stay away from clichés) of your NPCs, they need a reason to be where they are and do what they do. How much do they know? etc.

This one is absolutely golden.

 

One of the most memorable characters I've ever encountered was a Gnome nicknamed Clucks- so named because he sucked on a rock all the time and while pushing it around in his mouth it often made a clucking sound. He was a cheeky little git, sarcastic and witty, and scared of everything.

 

Add some color to your NPCs and your players will love you for it :) Even the ones they're only going to trade a sentence or two with- they need to ask directions, and you have them spot a seedy looking character standing on the street corner. They approach and ask, the guy eyes them warily and is silent long enough that it seems like he might not answer, but then he gives them short, concise, accurate directions. And stares at them as they wander off.

 

He's not important to the story at all, but it might make them paranoid that they'd made a mistake or been spotted by the bad guys etc., just because you add a little flavor to their conversation with him :)

[Mutters]

Here's a side note that I use when GMing. If you find out you have any munchkins in the party (min/maxer, try to kill off NPCs) what I like to do is shoehorn them in with some guy that does sick amazing things and outshines them, then have the mary sue get absolutely demolished by the Big Bad or the Player's Employer. It backs the munchkin off of killing NPCs, and it sets up the Big Bad for a few scary cameos in the future.

[Olis]

Thanks guys.

 

@Mutters - I think the youngest guy we have is fifteen. He (hopefully) will be too old for munchkin shenaniganery. :P

 

@Something Wycked - Ah yes, motivations and personalities. I do have a worry that my creations will end up a little flat. Must remember: Add colour. Fingers crossed. :P

 

@Octavulg - Thanks for the advice, even if it was a little tongue in cheek! :) :D I'll take some of it on board though, there was a couple of good points there.

 

On a sidenote; I tried a little practice GMing on my brother (who was skeptical and hadn't a clue) and just went with total improv. No dice, no stats, no rules. It was weird at first but it made ten minutes disappear real quick. I think I might be okay at this. ;)

[Demoulius]

bah now i want to play this game to :jaw:

[Codicier Lucion]

I'd suggest tracking down and reading DM of the Rings and Darths and Droids. Based upon my own experiences they're more or less documentaries upon how running an RPG campaign will turn out.

[Octavulg]

The concepts behind the advice were meant to be good. The solutions... ^_^

 

I'd confirm a recommendation for DM of the Rings (the guy also writes rather good articles on gamemastering on his blog). I would not recommend Darths and Droids. They forgot that one of the things that makes DM of the Rings good is that it's quick.

[Olis]

Just a quick question - when I hand out xp at the end of a session, should I be stingy, like with the loot?

[Octavulg]

Stingy or generous, be even-handed.

 

It depends on how much you want your players to progress. If they're the sort of people who want new stuff and abilities all the time, more is probably better. If you want to fight Greater Daemons, more is probably better. If you prefer being semi-powerless shmucks, less is better.

[Olis]

I know it can be more interesting the less overpowered people's characters are (again, Inquisitor experience speaking here) so I'll probably keep things low-key, if not stingy, for now and I'll play it by ear from there.

 

Edit: Typo.

[ilnar]

Can't believe nones mentioned this yet,

try not to say no.

It sounds weird, but nothing fosters resentment between a new gaming group faster than being shot down when you have an idea.

It takes a lot of quick thinking, and a willingness to deviate from whatever mission plan you're following, but try and give your players as much freedom as you can

Of course, if they want to go find a brothel, say no, not even if they roll 1000 on a d1000

There's a fantastic excel sheet on the dark heresy forums somewhere, I'll try and remember to link it when I get home, it has all the stats and rules for EVERYTHING. It's absolutely invaluable.

 

Also don't be afraid to try a more narrative combat style, especially if your characters end up in a larger engagement. >50 a side and even the horde rules get clumsy.

let them add supportive fire to struggling units, or charge in to rescue an NPC. but don't try and roll for an entire battle.

 

As has been said, try and give people equal face time, if the techmarine is being overshadowed by the psykers, make sure they find a locked door or a data pad with some useful clues on. Let the damn ultramarine use his comander skills to boss around guardsmen ect ect.

Ohh, if you end up playing DW,don't be afraid of being REALY mean combat wise, it's almost impossible to kill the buggers.

[Octavulg]

Of course, if they want to go find a brothel, say no, not even if they roll 1000 on a d1000

 

They might ask again, though. Sufficient creativity can prevent even that.

 

Let 'em find a brothel. Just make sure it's a Genestealer Cult, or cannibals, or features a lot of burly well-oiled gentlemen (assuming that's objectionable to your players), or too expensive (and they break legs if you don't pay), or a front for a Dark Eldar slave trading ring...

[Olis]

Can't believe nones mentioned this yet,

try not to say no.

It sounds weird, but nothing fosters resentment between a new gaming group faster than being shot down when you have an idea.

It takes a lot of quick thinking, and a willingness to deviate from whatever mission plan you're following, but try and give your players as much freedom as you can

 

Of course, if they want to go find a brothel, say no, not even if they roll 1000 on a d1000

 

They might ask again, though. Sufficient creativity can prevent even that.

 

Let 'em find a brothel. Just make sure it's a Genestealer Cult, or cannibals, or features a lot of burly well-oiled gentlemen (assuming that's objectionable to your players), or too expensive (and they break legs if you don't pay), or a front for a Dark Eldar slave trading ring...

 

Indeed, brothers, I think 'No' isn't necessary for a GM's vocabulary. I'll need to be imaginative (or at least unusual and cruel) for my players' 'good ideas'. ;)

 

@ilnar - That excel sheet sounds like it'd be very useful, I'll gladly await a link or address. :P

[eyescrossed]

There's a fantastic excel sheet on the dark heresy forums somewhere

FFG forums or Dark Heresy specific?

[ilnar]

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_for...;efpag=0#510872

Linkeh

Lovely little aid.

There are some good character sheets up there too

[Olis]

Awesomesauce. Thankyou muchly, kind sir. :D

[Hiro_Protagonist]

Every once in a while roll some dice behind the screen.

 

When the players start to ask what you're rolling for tell them not to worry.

 

It makes them nervous and builds suspense. :D

[Olis]

Every once in a while roll some dice behind the screen.

 

When the players start to ask what you're rolling for tell them not to worry.

 

It makes them nervous and builds suspense. ;)

 

Ha! Brilliant! Why didn't I remember that advice? I've heard it a few times now...

 

GM *rolls dice*

Player 1 "What was that for?"

GM "Oh, nothing. You're fine. You're alright."

Player 2 "Is there anything dangerous nearby?"

GM "Not that you can see."

Player 1 "Seriously, what was that roll?"

GM "You don't need to know. Yet."

:D

 

Anyhoo, the game is tonight so if anything awesome/diabolical/insanely stupid happens I'll let you guys know (that's okay here right? It won't be an account of what happens, just a couple of highlights if we have any). :)

[Brother Nihm]

Perfectly fine,

 

Have fun and please let us know how it went.