Had a fantastic time at the larp this past weekend. I was very pleased I had gone. Saw some great friends I rarely get to see, got to spend time with the hilarity that is the rest of my Defenders and be reminded I'm truly part of the crew, though I do have to say one of the folks who's sorta fringe part of our crew has to stop trying to set up my little Cleric, though there were funny moments with that too. There were in character ups, downs and in-betweens, lots of in character emotional moments. The folks who run the game really did a fantastic job this event.
Speaking of running games, I wanted to bring up something that I was actually speaking about with a friend of mine today. We were discussing a little bit a game he's running for some of his friends who live farish away and how he "MAY be a Dastardly DM," and trust me with some of the things he was describing that MAY be is a definite. However it got me thinking about the fact that most of the good GM's, DM's and ST's I've ever had definitely are a little dastardly. I know I myself have been that way when I've run games as well. I think in order to keep people's attention and be considered a good GM you really have to be.
You want to mix a little bit of the mischief that you may have and in some cases some of your darker sparks, to keep your players guessing. Perhaps even make it so that they question which IS the right thing to do and who IS the right NPC to deal with and talk to. It makes people think, and usually prevents the game from turning into a complete hack and slash. Or in many cases it keeps it from being a "fluffy bunny" adventure the whole way along.
I can honestly say that if I were spoon fed an adventure I would get bored. Also if the GM were to constantly help us, was too nice to us, I would eventually give in to my own mischievous nature and start trying to cause trouble of some sort. An issue I've actually run into in the past is having a GM or ST not let us make our own decisions. The plot "HAS to go this way, there is no option." To me that is just someone who can't adapt and show some creativity past what they've already decided is going to happen.
The whole point of table top rpgs is to have a good time playing a character that is in a world that's not your own, usually with people you're already friends with and to relax and enjoy. When you have someone running the game who is excessive on any side of the dimension it goes from fun to, eh. GMing is all about finding that balance and rolling with the punches your players throw at you. I'm not saying EVERY game has to be you as a GM being evil all the time ever. But not keeping things too much one way or too much the other is something you really have to do.
It is something that has to be learned. I can remember back in the day the very first Changeling the Dreaming game I ever ran, for those not in the know, it's an old school World of Darkness game about fae, I can honestly say I didn't give in enough to my mischievous side and my players got bored before too long. They stopped showing up and the game just kinda ended. Over the years I have absolutely learned from my mistakes and though it's been a little while since I've run anything I can say now I would probably do an ok job of keeping the attention of my players with just enough dash of big bad overlying plot and rolling with the punches of what they decide to do.
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