Gamemastering

I thought I'd let you know what I'm working on right now. This is the rough draft for the outline for the first time I've written Gamemastering instructions. Bowing to my fans, I am incorporating as much as I can from the 'Time for Another Woe,' 'Star Wars' and 'No Myth Gamemastering' articles on the Forge.

The 'Master of the Game' Does What?

What Goes Into Gaming

• Socializing
  
• Attraction to This Game
  
• 'The Right Way to Play'
  
• 'The Right Thing to Play'
  
• Group Preferences
  
• Genre Expectations
  
• Consistency, Verisimilitude, Suspension of Disbelief

These are what are actually foremost in the Gamemaster's technique, not 'What Happens' in the game.

What Everyone Does:
Genre Expectations | Mechanix -> Players -> Personae -> Sets 'What They Get to Do'
Genre Expectations | Mechanix -> Gamemaster -> 'The Big Idea'
What Personae Do -> Play Starts
That's right, the Players go first. Though they can ask for:

• 'The Big Idea' -> Gamemaster -> Complication
  
• Personae Background -> Gamemaster -> Complication
  
• Genre Expectations -> Gamemaster -> Complication

Keys to GMing
Gamemastering is Reactive.
The (flow of the) make-believe is created and controlled entirely by the players.
This frees the gamemaster to emphasize the Group Preferences, instead of attempting to control or 'believe in' the shared make-believe.

GMing Basics
Gaming is about 'the journey' not 'the destination.'
Not Gamemastering -> Players Short Circuit to their Goals
Gamemastering -> Complications -> Play
No Stakes -> Gamemaster -> 'The Big Idea' Perspective
Group Preferences -> Genre Expectations -> Characterization
Genre Expectations -> Gamemaster -> Complications | Characterization
Personae Sine Qua Non | 'The Big Idea' -> Gamemastering

The Actual Practice
Personae Sine Qua Non | Pacing -> Push Play in Any Direction (Not 'Forward')
The Gamemaster should spend more attention on Pacing and Tension and get all his ideas from the players.
None of it is a matter of planning but simply responding to Player choices and continually turning up the Tension level and the Pacing.
That's really all there is to it.

Complications Are?
Gamemaster -> Mainly Single Complication -> Scene
Scenes -//-> People | Places | Things
Scenes | Complications -> In-Game [Relationships (Individuals | Organizations) | Plans | Needs]
Complication (Success | Failure) -> Future Complications | Closer to 'The Big Idea'
Complication Failure -//-> Block 'The Big Idea'
Gamemaster -//-> Relevance | Stakes | Complication Outcomes
Past Personae Actions | Genre Expectations | Player Choices -> Next Complication | Future Complications
Conflict -//-> Complication
Complication -> Conflict -> Resolved Conflict -> Complication Outcome
Complication Outcome -> Escalated | Altered | Converted
Complication -//-> Resolved | Decreased | Uninteresting | Dead End

Preparations
Group Preferences | Group Inspirations -> Personae Sine Qua Non | Genre Expectations -> Gamemastering Prep
Personae Sine Qua Non | Genre Expecations -> Play Focus (see Flag Framing)
'Do less prep for Play than Players do on any one Persona.'
Start Playing -> Warm-Ups

Always Do the Expected
When You Don't -> Player Interest

How to Progress
'The Big Idea' -//-> Specific | 'Concrete'
Group Preferences | Genre Expectations -> Characterization | 'The Big Idea' (ONLY when it finally happens)
Genre Expectations -> Play | Scene to Scene -> Complications -> Closer to 'The Big Idea'
Nothing 'At Stake' -> Gamemastering -> Changing the Unspecified -> Into Play -> Closer to 'The Big Idea'
Ya gotta have 'bad stuff' or the game is boring; better yet just have the false impression of bad stuff 'decorate' the 'Dynamic Setting.' A 'Dynamic Setting' is the place in the Genre Expectations where just about anything you can imagine happens but is made cool by 'the odds.'
Just turn to them and say, "Okay, who wants to get captured so we can have a 'daring escape?'" I mean it. Literally ask them.

GM Sources
Gamemaster -//-> 'What happens' | 'How it turns out'
Group Preferences -> Characterization -> Gamemastering | Complications
Personae Actions | 'The Big Idea' -> Gamemastering

Just Let Them Do It
Group Preferences -> Genre Expectations
Unexpected Personae Actions -> Gamemastering | Channeling -> 'The Big Idea'
It causes this magical sensation that the players' actions are realizing a game just like they wanted.
There really isn't any reason to block a direction the players want to go, simply move 'The Big Idea' so that it is 'in their way.'
If the players seem to do something impractical or stupid, help them find a way out.

Players are stuck?

1. Use bait. Parade whatever seems appropriate to either the Players, their Personae or the Genre Expectations, around in front of them. Make it valuable to the point of being irresistible and just barely out of reach. Make it seem so close they can taste it, but seemingly just a tiny bit of work to get. Don't pounce when they go for it, just keep stringing them along. They'll come out; you can bet they will, just try it. Then, when it just about loses their interest / gets boring, just give it too them. (See The Secret.)
   
2. Or honesty might work; "Hey guys, I don't have anything planned here, you mind if we move it along?" Not feeling creative? You do have a bunch of other human beings there with you just brimming with imagination; leave it to them.

Mystiques -> Bait -> Player Interest
Spare the rod; this is role-playing gaming.

Trompe le Joueur
The only consistency necessary is that within the minds of the players.
Fully Realized Setting -//-> Consistency
'All Consistency is Pretend;' that's right, it is only as consistent as it seems.
Players' minds are fickle, it's much easier to fool them than to 'fully realize' anything.
The real trick is to make it look like their personae are 'trapped' and let them improvise a way out; it gives the game that Tense 'will we make it or not' feel without actually taking the game away from the players.
Always let the players make up something on the spot, let them squirm a while and then just let them go; trust me, it works.

The Secret - 'Give Them Enough Rope'
A big problem is the idea that if the players 'get their hands on' something great, it'll ruin everything.
What about 'power' abuse? Don't give them time for it. If you give them something they like because it is so powerful, I expect they're not the only ones who think so. Somebody else's gonna want it. 'Isn't that illegal?' Or maybe it needs batteries; batteries are bait, not 'the rod;' spoil the players.

The Trick
If anything, what you do as the gamemaster is 'uncreate' things; you blow up the farm.
When you do, you aren't 'hurting' the Persona because the Player is 'avoiding the plot,' because there isn't any plot. The farm wasn't technically in the Persona's Sine Qua Non, it was only implied; Its destruction does not rob the player of anything except an excuse to impede play.
You can even blow up planets on the fly, you're the gamemaster.

Relevance
Players -> Personae Actions -> Game History
Group Preferences -> Genre Expectations -> Relevance | Player 'Buy In' | Emotional Attachment/Gratification
Cycle -> Player Choices -> Personae Actions -> (Gamemastering ->) Further Complications -> Increased Relevance - Repeat
Players -//-> Relevance
Relevance -> Gamemastering
Tension Peaks -> Resolve Game -> Cool Down -> Sort Out the Outcomes ==>> Discuss ('What is Next' | 'What Should be Next')

Hard-to-Swallow
You can add more, but you don't need to:

• Maps
  
• Setting
  
• Fixtures
  
• Plots

Frontloading ==>> 'On the Table'
Frontloading -//-> Mystiques | Intrigue
Personae -> Further Complications -> Plenty of Mystiques | Approaches 'The Big Idea'

That's all for now, ciao!

Fang Langford