+++
date = '2026-05-24T16:00:00-06:00'
draft = false
title = "So you wanna GM?"
tags = ['ttrpg', 'tutorial']
+++

## Being the Game Master

One of the biggest problems I face when playing **TTRPG**, is the disparity of people that want to play **TTRPGs** and the lack of people who sign up to be **GMs**.
When I ask people if they want to be a **GM**, they often express fears of screwing up at running or not being able to run a game due to all the things
a **GM** has to track.

I firmly believe that anyone can be a **GM** due to endless resources and tools available, allowing anyone to **GM** regardless of experience or physical resources.
In this post I'm going to go over my revelations as a GM over the past few years and hopefully share some tips and tricks that came in handy for me.

## What's a GM need?

![board game](board.jpg)

What does a **GM** need to start running a **TTRPG**? All the books? A table to play on? What I usually find the main thing you need is players. I own a lot of books and they are a costly investment. A new player might be tempted to run and grab the **Dungeon Master's Handbook** from **Wizards of the Coast**, or any similar reading material for the game you are looking to play. 

While this is a usefull source of information, it is still plagued by some rather annoying issues, mainly that it is a book. You will also find that a lot of the information necessary to run a game is already available to you for free in the form of Wiki pages and self published information by the corresponding company. For instance, if you need the stat block of a monster from **DnD** you can simply google it, such as: **"DnD Lich"** which gave me [this Roll20 page](https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Lich#content)

### Minimalism is enough

> "Don't I need a bunch of maps, minis and such?"

My usual toolkit is quite simple. When I am running games I usually bring a **blank dry-erase map**, a bag full of **flat marbles** and a couple **map books**. In many ways this kit itself is also overkill, I have played games where all the **GM** had was a standard school journal, a pencil and some pieces from a board game. This leads me to my first main point.

What really matters most is people; can't have a cooperative RPG without players (usually).

When I first started running games I started with a pair of friends which gave us a dinner table with 3 folks to play games.
You will find that when you start to run **DnD**, some clearly distinct types of players will show up. There are those that love to **role-play** and are super invested in story, there are those that love the crunchy number heavy aspects of games. 

### Matching playstyles

My biggest failing as a **GM** is trying to please everyone, some playstyles dont jive well. If you are interested in running a **full campaign**, I recommend first starting with a couple **one-shots** to acclimate and in some ways "interview" players for a role. **One-shots** work well because they are zero stake adventures that can take anywhere from an hour to three. Ultimately, the goal of a **TTRPG** is to tell a story, in many ways games like **DnD**, **Pathfinder**, etc are cooperative storytelling games. This is why it is important to find players that play well together.

## How do I tell a story?

![books](books.jpg)

Storytelling may not come easily to some, in many aspects getting good at **TTRPG** games will require some learning regarding improv. My recommendation for someone who has never run a **TTRPG** game before is to first try a guided **one-shot**. A classic **one-shot** that I have run in the past is [The Wolves of Welton](https://winghornpress.com/adventures/wolves-of-welton/), which is a short low level **one-shot** about magic talking wolves. My personal strategy to telling a compelling story is to allow the act of cooperative storytelling and improv to guide me to a conclusion.

### Example of my process

An example of my process for telling a story is I first come up with an interesting hook. It is important to start campaigns and one-shots with hooks, some reason for the party to do what they are doing. If it is a **one-shot** it is a lot more flexible since you can easily say for example: *"You are a traveling group, and you are desperate for food, thankfully there is a kindly monk up ahead in the road selling food."*.
This sets the stage for your group of players to first, act like a group. We also set the expectations of the group, their immediate problem is their players are starving, this quickly gives their character motivation.

### The bread-crumb trail

You then start to create a **bread crumb trail**, we offer this in the form of a friendly monk who has food for sale. This is an essential start to any game, you need to give players the who, the what, and the why, exactly as you would in a story. This is ever more important when running a campaign as you need to provide a hook that sets up the entire campaign, for this reason, I heavily recommend if you want to get started running **TTRPG** campaigns, use a prebuilt one as it will handle the story telling aspects of the who, what and why.

## Game master toolkit

![dice](dice.jpg)

There are some key cheats that every **GM** can take advantage of when running a game. Consider them part of your standard **GM** tookit.

### When to roll

You should only ever make players roll for something when there is a possibility of a **meaningful failure**. For example, if a player wants to pick open a door, can they fail in a meaningful way? Such as, their picks break, they alert a guard, etc? Then have a roll. Do not make players roll to do mundane tasks that they can eventually succeed at without consequence.

Dice rolls should never be **tedious**, we want them to help shape and tell a story, **not inconvenience players**.

### Success is temporary, faliure is forever

As much fun as it is for players to always succeed, the most memorable moments are when things went horribly wrong. Don't go out of your way to actively punish players, but encourage risk, play the devils advocate.

This will reward the cooperative story telling and push the plot along creating memorable journeys for you and your players.

### Carrot and a stick

Sometimes it is impossible to avoid **railroading** your players, which is when you force your players to play a game that is on the tracks.

I try to push players in the right direction using the **Carrot and Stick** method. If you need players to go somewhere, don't take away their agency, instead lure them there with a very juicy **Carrot**.

For example, if you need players to go to a specific place, secretly **plant a seed**, perhaps something precious is secretly stolen from the players. When they go to look for their precious item, the instead find a note detailing where they can go to pay a ransom.

### Cooperative story telling

A lot of **GM's** see **TTRPGs** as a **player vs GM** situation, and while many **TTRPGs** may focus on that in some aspect, I think its more important to be a **storytelling platform**.

The attitude that you are actively against the players hinders the cooperative atmosphere that gives players the chance to explore and come up with ideas. I try to focus less on how I can screw over my players, and more how I can challenge them and build an enjoyable story for everyone.

You are not the sole storyteller, the players are there to help. If you give players enough agency, they will actively tell the story with you, it is ultimately just your job to coordinate and make sure the story makes sense.

## Jump in headfirst

Ultimately the best way to learn to **GM** is to do. Find a couple friends, grab a couple pieces of paper, do some reading and start a game.

You can spend forever planning and trying to get every aspect ready, but what really pays off is just playing the game. Players are there to support you, and help you tell the story.
