evening welcome to GM tips I’m Sachi
Phoenix co-creator of Mazur Khanna and a
dungeon master on Fury’s reach each
player sits at your table for a reason
to play but not all adventurers are
created equal I was at a table in
Australia Australia about ten years ago
where most of the players were adults
who hadn’t gamed in a really long time
we got together because we wanted to
play with other intelligent adults who
loved puzzles
after the first session it was clear we
really just wanted to kill things we
through the GM’s entire brain bending
campaign out the window I felt bad
because he spent so much time working on
it but that didn’t seem to bother him he
crafted the rest of the adventure to the
game we really wanted to play kill kill
kill leaving us with only a few puzzles
and riddles over the length of the
campaign he was able to read us fairly
quickly figuring out where our
boundaries were and what kind of
challenges would satisfy each of us this
brings us to today’s theme know your
audience
tips number one communicate not
everything is as it seems some players
have grand ideas of what they want in a
game and sometimes once they get it
realize it was better in theory I am
incredibly guilty of this as a player
and you as the fabulous game master you
are have taken your players enthusiastic
requests and built them the game of
their dreams after you run them through
the game checking on them ask them what
they liked about the game and what it
was about that moment they liked so much
listen to their answer if they like us
say they want a puzzle game but have the
most fun smashing bad guys try adjusting
next time and blending bits of the
elements they originally said they
wanted into the combat they admitted to
liking more this isn’t something that
happens often but what is good about
this as I often say is communication
maybe only in that space does your
player feel safe telling you how they
feel maybe they don’t want to disappoint
you or offend you by saying something
you won’t know until you ask
tip number two altering tone this tip is
broken down into multiple legs leg a
environment where you play can affect
the tone of your game it can affect what
and how you play the things you say and
how loud you say them what kind of game
is subject matter is reasonable at a
public place pace you have to take
things into consideration like the
players at different tables around you
are there kids nearby are you playing
with people you didn’t know well in this
environment you may have to adjust your
game to fit a more
rated pg-13 atmosphere aka
be careful who you’re cursing around
playing at yours or a friend’s house you
have more freedom to intensify the tone
of your game themes that might offend
anyone outside of your group are CBIZ
played at home another way you can alter
the tone is with sound lighting and NPC
a volume control leg B themes how
familiar you are with your players can
have an effect on the tone you choose to
run your game are you playing with a
group of adults who want to push their
limits playing with new players who are
adults
playing with new players who are kids
playing with kids you know and playing
with their friends who you don’t know
playing with friends who have definitive
topics that are not to be crossed each
of these groups have specific levels of
play you’ll have to adjust your game to
asking what they’re comfortable with is
a good first step
legs be progressive tone change based on
learning your players over time does one
player get uncomfortable when you
approach a topic or theme they get quiet
stop participating at the table or
suddenly stop showing up
sometimes you play as people who didn’t
realize what the boundaries were until
they were pushed if you notice someone
withdrawing and they don’t come to you
directly about why take them aside and
gently ask them there’s something about
the game that made them uncomfortable if
you put a theme into your game you know
is a bit taboo talk to your players
ahead of time and let them know before
you start playing tip number three play
well with others
we’ve talked a lot about it being your
game because you’re the GM but part of
being a good game master is being able
to play with your players take the time
to learn how they play their characters
the parts of the game they’re drawn to
and the parts that quiet them listen to
their comments and really hear them
there’s no adventure without the players
so take what they like into
consideration when making your campaign
I could role long but instead let’s
discuss this with voice actor director
and backs from critical role Liam
O’Brien little hello and thank you for
coming thank you for having me yeah in
our pre-interview we discussed knowing
your audience so we talked about
outgoing versus introverts would you
like to talk about that a little bit
sure so my experience DMing over the
past couple of years has been with two
sets of kids my own children start with
my kids and over the last year a little
bit with the with the players from
critical role so pretty wide spectrum
there but what I’ve learned in my time
coming back to the DM seat is it’s a
little bit like your first game it’s
kind of like first date
there’s certain I think there’s certain
habits that you bring to every game that
you DM but every group is totally
different and so starting on the first
game and then more and more each game
you learn about your audience your
players and what they’re like and I mean
everyone’s talked about how there’s
different kinds of players some people
are more theatrical some people are more
number crunching yeah and I think your
first game or two or five is about
figuring out what kind of player you
have so I DM for I have a 10 year old
boy and an 8 year old girl and I started
with my son and my daughter got curious
as well and they’re totally just like
they are in life they’re totally
different players my son is very shy and
kind of unsure about role playing in
general or has been and my daughter is a
big ham and cheese sandwich goofing
around you so I have two very very
different games running for the kids
based on the kinds of players and their
groups that I’ve learned them to be my
son and his group all both kids are
extremely smart I’m a dad
my son’s group is a little more number
crunchy they like the battlefield and
strategy and hiding behind a rock and
you do this and I do that you’re the
bottle cap on the stick yeah boy I
thought that would be more cerebral my
family in general just because I’m such
an egghead but I was wrong and you know
there there is definitely role playing
in over time I’ve kind of encouraged it
and and my son has sort of blossomed in
that sense because of the game because
it’s the best game while my daughter hit
the ground running they’re all her group
of eight-year-olds really like ambience
and mood and I’m running cursive Strad
for them and yeah I’m standing on the
edges from my audience but I’ve learned
that they like solving puzzles and they
like spooky things and they like that
they’re really into the story because
the boys just like like their power
fantasy of being a big bulky Dragonborns
and blasting things out of the water but
you still give a story oh yeah oh yeah
but do you find that they’re kind of
waiting for the next in like fighting
encounter or do they enjoy the different
and I don’t like it too but I’m I the
the girls are sort of always
role-playing and the boys kind of go in
waves and they like they’re obviously
they’re most excited when they’re
kicking something else or when I’m
having that thing kick their ass a
little bit and I think that’s you know I
compare that even to the handful of
games I’ve run from my own group you’re
you’re choosing what you’re trying to do
with your grid no no group is is the
same and so I think it part of the dams
job is to to cater to your to your your
group at the time because you’re playing
with them right not going at that yeah
you’re not not you’re not bringing some
sort of hard and fast set in stone like
religion archetype of the game yeah and
bow down and and you know follow the
religion dates you’re getting grouped
together you want them to have fun it
really is its catering it’s it’s it’s
serving them you have the boys group and
the girls group and you know your son
and your daughter but how do you how do
you Dungeon Master the other kids you
don’t know or do you feel like you’re
learning them as you go
yeah learning definitely learning as you
go the vampire game my daughter was
adamant I’m doing straud and I’m doing
you know this gothic horrific it can be
obviously not for them a story and I
knew that I had to scale it down and
scale it back and the beginning of that
adventure you go into death house it’s
just a house not called death house for
them but um I had to sort of like
fine-tune just how creepy and scary it
was you know they like Harry Potter they
like they like telling each other ghost
stories but I also can’t scared I can’t
send them home with nightmares so the
first game or two is like okay I’m going
to dial it down no I give me to dial
down even a little bit further because
one little girl in the group is even a
little more sensitive than the others
and so it informed how much levity I
needed to bring into the you know feed
in that vampire sandwich how did you
read that because that sounds like a
very sensitive thing to experience and
also like not panic as an adult business
life uh well I mean you’re just you’re
feeling it out in the room and it really
is building chemistry in the moment and
I could just tell I mean she let me know
she turned to her friend
so this is a little scary and I knew
like ah reading to turn the dial and
make this voice a little goofier or a
little less direct eye contact role
playing yeah with these little little
kids and they’re eight they’re very
smart eight-year-olds but again custom
custom-built to the group you have so in
these games you’ve dialed it back a bit
to cater to their sensitivities has
there been a point where you ramped it
back up because you feel that it’s okay
and at what point is it okay for you to
actually do that yeah I mean it comes
with time and they’re they’re growing up
growing up as I run these games and one
of my intentions for both these groups
and all these kids and I know their
families and I know them really well now
is to help them learn problem-solving
and and teach them how to like take
ownership of their decisions and their
decisions in life and I’m watching them
grow up and evolve and my son’s game is
a little further out than my daughter’s
I’ve been doing my son’s almost twice as
long and when I started with the boys
when they were nine had just turned nine
it was very simple and very easy and I
don’t want to you know I don’t want to
TPK any of these kids at any time but I
also didn’t want it I wanted them to
have happy memories of their beginnings
with Dungeons and Dragons and tabletop
gaming so things were very simple and
there’s a lot of problem-solving and
there was never any real threat per se
there’s not any threat now but um smash
cut to a year and a half later I had the
boys facing off against a dragon which
wish would cream them right but he was
just there to do some damage and leave
and I killed one I killed him the boys I
knew that there was I thought there was
going to be a temple nearby I knew that
there was no no issue but at the
beginning of the game I want them to
feel safe and feel like just a sense of
adventure and Wonder and get them to
understand how a Dungeons and Dragons
anything is and all tabletop gaming
sky’s the limit there’s no limit on your
imagination yeah now that they’re
getting older and they’re grappling with
more already a year later grappling with
more mature response and life I want
them to have that adrenaline rush and go
oh my gosh I could lose
at all and had that sense of
accomplishment or victory when they
overcome the impossible which which they
have the girls are you know six or eight
months behind I won’t be doing that for
a while yeah but I will eventually and
it’s been fascinating just like you
watch your kids grow up in general and
light to see them you know reading their
first words and graduating kindergarten
it’s it’s amazing to see these young
minds becoming more layered and complex
through this kind of storytelling and
you’re helping just like the stuff that
you’re doing
the stories are running them through
those are life lessons gives them the
courage to make the choices they have to
make in impossible situations I also
remember being younger and having like
one friend in particular his dad was the
cool dad and I got introduced to
Japanese animation and comic books and
robots and all this all that like now
chika that Miyazaki film yeah when I saw
it when I was in one tiny theater no one
note it was it was amazing and he that
guy opened my mind up to a lot of things
things such as my parents weren’t even
aware of and not that I’m imparting some
like secret truth to these children but
I feel like I’m letting them through a
doorway into Narnia for the first time
and I hope you know when they’re 20 30
40 to go oh man
that kids old man was so cool and here
they cool get me off on the road to all
this yeah maybe they can grow up to be
voice actors and entertainment Hulk what
does your pregame house role look like
uh well since most of my time is with
the kids I am reminding them every game
that the purpose obviously is not to win
and if they need to be constantly
working together and lifting each other
up and just I help them remember focus
because everybody wants to be the hero
all the time so it’s always alright
remember your this is your mom to shine
and now it’s his and now it is I’m going
to use that that’s not just for kids
that’s for everybody
what was your favorite Jam only I will
give you two one from the kids one from
the grown-ups my favorite kid moment is
my daughter so proud of her
was playing a druid in a game that I do
just for my son and daughter and she
used grasping vines to drag some fool
into a bonfire to waste and so I was
really proud of her little monster side
and then in my most recent one shot for
critical role I had them find Liam
O’Brien none of that in a dark dystopian
Los Angeles future and I spoke at a
speed gun spelled boys through them and
he said many things but he also told
them what they all meant to him and it
was something that I had been planning
for about six months eight months maybe
and I had thought of that moment first
and everything else in that game which
came before it was built from that final
moment so eight months passing by to
live on internet uh starting to sound
like the war games computer and watching
their faces kind of break and laugh and
and then go you know blank was was
amazing
it’s what that’s what Jamie is about
yeah quick tip for the audience I would
say my number one thing for jams from my
own experience is to embrace uncertainty
I still have the urge to plan an over
plan and I never get to it all anyway
and it’s not what my kids or I think any
players remember it’s a little bit of
magic the mistakes the the unexpected
twists that happen by accident that’s
our show for today
Thank You Liam for hanging out with us
where can we find you on the Internet
you can find me at voice of O’Brien and
Twitter and more importantly every
Thursday night on critical role here at
geek and sundry
as always I’m Satine Phoenix at Satine
Phoenix and you can ask me questions
with the hashtag ask Satine you can
watch more of these super-fun jam tips
on geek and son
and find me as always Sundays on laser
connoisseurs and echo and dungeon
mastering Furies reach with rudy’ on
twitch.tv slash D&D Neum would you
please GM associative here you find
yourself watching a YouTube video you’ve
lost track of time
is it been minutes hours weeks of your
life and you find yourself wondering
have you been watching GM tips
whereas GM tips been watching you
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