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Game Master's Laboratory
228 members • Free
44 contributions to Game Master's Laboratory
4h •
How Do You Get Players Started?
I am sold on moving the games I GM to a more proactive style and I am lucky enough to have plenty of players that would like to play at my tables. My question is how do you get players on board with the proactive style? - Do you ask them to read the book? Just the first chapter? - Do you just discuss/pitch it at the table? - Do you suggest looking for players already on board or converting the players already in my orbit? Any thoughts or experiences are welcome.
0 likes • 34m
@Ryan Childs It seems to me that a proactive campaign requires something different from the players and a change of behavior or attitute about the game. I am asking how people who have run these acomplished the change.
2d •
Handouts!
“And my top game mastering tip is… Handouts! I love handouts!” - Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan. Post your cool handout experiences and ideas here!
0 likes • 8h
My favorite handouts were little scrolls made by a player that he said his character had spilled into everyones bags in the event of his death. He also had one for several NPCs. His PC died in a major fight, essentially sacrificing himself to defeat the BBEG. He had them ready and everyone read them together. The RP after reading the notes was insane.
5d •
Dr. Dhrolin's Dictionary of Dinosaurs - Campaign Idea (PF2e)
I picked up a crazy roleplaying supplement this summer and am working up ideas on using it for a new proactive campaign. Ultimate nerd supplment: there are journal references on the creature descriptions. Anyway, so far here is the pitch ... In a desperate attempt to stop an imenent appocolypse a powerful NPC conducts a ritual to send a group back in time to stop it. Something goes wrong and the characters end up forward in time in postapocolyptic dinosaur land where they can potentially discover what happened, correct/improve the ritual, and go home to stop it (or they can stay in dinoland). My sense is that because the failed ritual is fixed (out of PC control), this should be the campaign starting point. I would give them the background that there is an impending apocolypse and a plan to correct it, that something went wrong and they end up in a strange place with strange creatures. I would not tell them about forward or back in time? The PCs would then make characters and goals from that information. I might write some ideas on clues they might find, but should focus on the factions, npcs, and locations in dinoland, and be prepared for them not to head home. Am I thinking about setup for a proactive campaign about right?
1 like • 3d
@Ryan Childs I would start with a brief narration of the ritual failing and start play in dinoworld. My group has enjoyed doing little "play ins" to explore their characters history about 4-6 sessions in. At this point they are more firm on who they want their character to be and we use these to explore how they got there and flesh out details. We have done both one-on-one sessions as well as group sessions where I write the session with the player.
6d •
When it comes to pay to play...
How much would be willing to spend/currently spend per month for one or more hobbies?
1 like • 5d
I probably average about $150 USD per month, but most of the players in my games are closer to $20-30. My costs are a mix of buying books, patreon, setting up my gaming table (TV mounted in table), etc. I have never tried pay to play games and am very skeptical of them.
1 like • 6d
It is my favorite system, but my schedule is full right now. Good luck.
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@eric-person-8885
he/him - player and GM of TTRPGs since the early 80s - playing mostly pathfinder at the moment
Active 33m ago
Joined May 14, 2025
California
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