[MUD-Dev] FAQ for gm-types?

[Charles Hughes]

I've been a pen & paper RPG GM since 1980.  (Yeah, pretty
much continuously, with a few short breaks now and then.)

On Tuesday, November 23, 1999 2:52 PM, Dundee 
[SMTP:SkeptAck at antisocial.com] wrote:
> I'm looking for some sort of resource that I could direct our GMs to,
> where they could get an idea what it is they are supposed to
> be doing.
[snip]
> Anyway, I saw a couple of people that I really liked, in terms of how
> they played, different characters that they played, and so on.  So
> I thought they'd make good GMs - setting up and running quests
> for other players.
[snip]
> They haven't got a clue.  I don't know if it's due to their RPG
> background being UO/EQ rather than a real RPG, or if some
> mud-experience would have helped them.
[snip]
> Doesn't seem to be happening though, and I think it might be that they
> just don't know what they're supposed to be doing.
[snip]
> Does anyone know of any good resources to which I might direct them?

I don't think there are any "How to be a good GM" resources really.
There are some articles, a few posts, and maybe even a website
or two. You'd be able to find those by using a search engine.
But there is nothing like a book on how to be a good GM or how
to design a good adventure. I'd say the closest thing would be
articles on writing stories.

The problem really is that a good role-player is not a GM. They're
accustomed to playing and controlling just one character, not
the dozens that a GM needs.  Your role-players really have no
clue how to set up a quest/adventure.  They require planning
and design.  It's hard work.  I'm good at it, but I've been doing
it for almost 20 years.  When I first started out I really sucked.
Sometimes I still really suck.

You might find a better use for the role-players - instead of
making them GMs, design the quest yourself and let them
role-play the mobs.




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