Traps to Avoïd and Errors to Proscribe
Many traps are waiting for beginner Game Masters as experienced Game Masters. Errors may be voluntary or unintentional, but the Game Master remains a normal being and... fallible! This pages intends to relate errors that vwe commited or that we saw during 15 years. We hope it will help you!
Errors linked to Scenarios :
When he creates his scenario, the GM can commit voluntary or involuntary errors which may jeopardize the game. Here are some of them, try to take them into account :
1) The scenario is so detailed and the NPCs actions are so determined that the Players can't do anything. They
are relegated to the status of onlookers.
2) The scenario is not enough prepared for a Game Master who is not familiar with improvisation.
3) The "Investigation" scenario where Players have no indication or worse, no evidence to confound the culprit.
A great frustration will result of it!
4) The "Action" scenario with so much events that Players have no time to react! They suffer the events!
Too much action kills action!
5) The "Action" scenario is played by mental Characters! Then Players are slaughtered!
6) The "Atmosphere" scenario is so interrupted that the atmosphere is broken.
7) The "Intrigue in the Court" scenario is inhabited by too much NPCs. Players won't know what to do!
8) The "Intrigue in the Court" scenario is so complicated that Players are unable to disentangle it.
Errors linked to Animation :
During the game, the GM can make many mistakes which can transform a well-prepared scenario into a subtle torture for Players. The following list is not comprehensive and will be completed :
1) The Game Master suppose that Players will success a Test (for instance, a Perception Test) to find the solution.
The great problem is that probability is not a factor! Results may vary and a group of 10 Players may fail this Test!
2) The misunderstanding : The Game Master describe the situation but Players understand something else!
Don't hesitate to draw a map to avoid this situation or you'll be forced to go back and this is a problem. So, try to
be clear!
3) The Game Master musn't be tyrannical but he musn't be led by his Players!
4) The description of the situation is incoherent and the Game Master stick to it. A good Game Master must admit
his errors but if he thinks that he's right, he owns the final decision!
5) NPCs are more important than Players! The Game Master plays alone! TEll him and if he doesn't listen,
boycott him!
6) The Game Master lingers on a detail and the Players believe that this detail is very important. Then they speed in
the wrong way, so be careful!
7) The Game Master centers the scenario around one Player, forgetting the others. It can be done when it's connected
to the Player's Background, but don't do it too frequently.
Errors linked to Non-Player Characters :
NPC are likely to provoke great mistakes. The following examples will show you how :
1) The NPC is too powerful or too powerless. Must we continue?
2) The "Great Enemy" NPC knows everything about everyone and everything. This is the most frequent error. The
Game Master must imagine what can the NPC do and forget the informations it can't know!
3) The "Great Enemy" always manage to escape or, worse, lets the Players at the death's door or spare their lifes
without reason. This is really humiliating for Players.
4) The "Great Enemy" NPC entrenched himself in his fortress full of traps and monsters where it is difficult to walk
without activating a trap. It is totally unrealistic, because even monsters may die on traps!
5) The "Great Enemy" NPC is stronger than Player Characters. He doesn't need any guards! On the other hands
if he has many guards, he might be weaker than the Player Characters (do you think it is necessary to have guards
if you're able to kill somebody with one glance?). The "Great Enemy" NPC is frequently a "Brain" and not always
a brute!
5) The "Ally" NPC is a useless and just embarassed Players.
6) The "Ally" NPC does everything (even coffee!) and he's third times stronger than Players, he finds all the
indications and slaughters the enemies. Why are the Players here?
Errors linked to the Rules :
Rules may be source of errors, the most frequently voluntary :
1) The Game Master knows the rules superficially or doesn't know them at all! No comment!
2) The Game Master sticks to the rules and is unable to extrapolate! During a game, he dives in the rulebook and
wields it as a shield against his Players! Rules never describe all the situation and it's the duty of the Game Master
to extrapolate.
3) The Game Master loses his time in calculation of bonus, malus, and so on and so forth...
4) A rule cannot be managed and generate incoherences! Don't hesitate to suppress it with agreement from Players.
Unclassifiable Errors :
To conclude these "recommendations", here are unclassifiable errors :
1) The Game Master is tired. The scenario is slack. Don't hesitate to let the place or suppress the Game!
2) The Game Master doesn't write the informations he gives during an improvisation. At the end of the Game
he's totally lost!
3) The Game Master names an erroneous culprit!
4) The Game Master don't want to negociate! One solution : General strike!
5) The Game Master is too tyrannical. Whaterver his Players do, he wants to follow what he wrote. A good Game
Master must be able to throw his notes, vecause at least, the most important is what the Players do! The Game
Master must adapt himself to his Players and not the contrary . This is a typical error of Game Masters!
As a conclusion, enlivening a game implies flexibility and the Game Master must remember that Players never consider the facts like him. An idea that he had may be obscure to his Players. Don't forget to play when you're a Game Master. "Going through the Looking Glass" allows the Game Master to see errors and to correct his own. And don't forget : Nobody's Perfect!
Questions or testimony? Send us an e-mail!
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