Satine Phoenix DM Tips: New Players December 14, 2020Zoltar hello hello welcome to GM tips</p> <p>I’m your host sateen Phoenix co-creator</p> <p>of Mazur Khanna and a dungeon master on</p> <p>Fury’s reach today’s theme is new</p> <p>players</p> <p>[Music]</p> <p>but the different games available</p> <p>nowadays the different styles and rules</p> <p>and character sheets playing any RPG can</p> <p>seem daunting it’s our duty dear game</p> <p>masters to provide a safe environment</p> <p>for these new players some will have</p> <p>been video gamers than idea of RPGs and</p> <p>some might have no experience at all</p> <p>that shouldn’t stop any of them from</p> <p>learning my friend Christine woo asked</p> <p>me about Tandy and I ran her through a</p> <p>quick game with no character sheets or</p> <p>planning and only one died role I could</p> <p>have scheduled a game with her and</p> <p>walked her through the players handbook</p> <p>but that’s not the essence of RPGs in my</p> <p>opinion she had so much fun in that</p> <p>moment as she ended up getting the books</p> <p>and reading up on the game on her own</p> <p>because she connected with the heart of</p> <p>the game you know it isn’t easy for a</p> <p>lot of people to come out of their shell</p> <p>and perform in front of others but there</p> <p>seems to be a resurgence of people</p> <p>playing now I’ve seen a lot of new</p> <p>players stop playing after only 1 or 2</p> <p>sessions because of how overwhelming it</p> <p>can get or how they feel they’re too far</p> <p>behind to catch up that’s absolutely not</p> <p>the case let’s take a look at different</p> <p>ways to ease new players into our</p> <p>favorite hobby before the game talk to</p> <p>them and find out what kind of character</p> <p>they are interested in playing do</p> <p>explain to them the benefits of this</p> <p>kind of race class combination don’t</p> <p>overwhelm them by suggesting all the</p> <p>things you think are badass they’re</p> <p>there to play the characters from their</p> <p>fantasies once they get the hang of it</p> <p>introduce them to other combinations</p> <p>give them the basic information and</p> <p>abilities</p> <p>once they seem to understand the order</p> <p>of actions and get the hang of the way</p> <p>you and your friends roleplay then give</p> <p>them more abilities before the next</p> <p>session don’t overwhelm them by asking</p> <p>them to calculate tons of numbers help</p> <p>them by pre calculating and modifiers so</p> <p>they can experience the play and</p> <p>roleplay rather than spending gobs of</p> <p>time with their heads in the character</p> <p>sheet hand them the exact dice will need</p> <p>for rolling attack dice damaged eyes etc</p> <p>so they don’t get confused trying to</p> <p>find the right die</p> <p>I say this over and over and I’m gonna</p> <p>keep saying it until it seeps in</p> <p>tell the players your house rules so</p> <p>they know how to play with you let them</p> <p>know to trust you with environment and</p> <p>PCs and situations in the end all they</p> <p>really need to do is tell you what they</p> <p>want to do the game master guides them</p> <p>to what they should roll to make the</p> <p>intention happen during the game you and</p> <p>the other players are their guide the</p> <p>new player will learn from watching what</p> <p>other players do show them the</p> <p>possibilities by role-playing with the</p> <p>other characters and allowing them to</p> <p>see the players play then give them</p> <p>specific moments to try their hand at</p> <p>role-playing decide how much influence</p> <p>you want the other players to have in</p> <p>teaching the new player during the game</p> <p>this is considered medic gaming draw a</p> <p>lines that the players don’t take</p> <p>advantage of being able to met a game</p> <p>outside of this specific case in your</p> <p>game it can quickly get out of hand I’ve</p> <p>seen it on this note be careful how you</p> <p>reprimand other players rules are set</p> <p>for ease of play but aggressive</p> <p>reprimanding can also deter a new player</p> <p>from the game role-playing games are fun</p> <p>don’t lose track of that there are a lot</p> <p>of rules and boundaries that navigate</p> <p>and with lots of practice you’ll get</p> <p>better at it rules how much is too much</p> <p>rules heavier rules light they still</p> <p>need to be communicated I find that</p> <p>giving them a basic rule rundown of</p> <p>things they can do before the game</p> <p>starts and then gradually teaching them</p> <p>as they go is optimal</p> <p>a lot of people learn by being put in</p> <p>situations rather than having to</p> <p>memorize so be patient with them</p> <p>I could roll on but instead let’s</p> <p>discuss this with writer master of the</p> <p>gauntlet a musical improviser with robot</p> <p>teammate Chris Bramante hello thank you</p> <p>for coming for having me sateen you’re a</p> <p>fantastic game master</p> <p>thank you I saw it with my own eyes oh</p> <p>you were a fantastic player you are the</p> <p>man in charge of the gauntlet yes yes I</p> <p>was very impressed it’s very fun and</p> <p>lively and easy to play well I’m glad</p> <p>that it was yeah gauntlet is designed in</p> <p>order to let new players come in that</p> <p>day you can create your character but</p> <p>you don’t create a character sheet we</p> <p>have a character sheet already built for</p> <p>you and you just use your weapons and</p> <p>your you know your will and your</p> <p>fortitude but beyond that stats aren’t</p> <p>that important to the show it was really</p> <p>cool because you asked me what do you</p> <p>want to play what kind of character do</p> <p>you want to play and it was that was as</p> <p>simple as your character sheet seemed to</p> <p>be like oh I want to play a wizard or oh</p> <p>I want to play a paladin of some sort</p> <p>and you’re like okay well that idea fits</p> <p>into this character sheet and you had us</p> <p>make backstories and stuff but it was</p> <p>actually very simple so how did you come</p> <p>up with that easy character sheet so you</p> <p>have all the different classes each of</p> <p>them have kind of the best weapon that</p> <p>matches that class best is obviously</p> <p>subjective but what we did was we took</p> <p>three different kinds of weapons each</p> <p>person gets just to come in fill out</p> <p>your name as long as you know who you</p> <p>are</p> <p>everything’s there for you and just it’s</p> <p>a hack and slash I think is the term</p> <p>just a dungeon crawl you’re going from</p> <p>room to room you’re escaping you’re</p> <p>killing these creatures you’re</p> <p>collecting skulls which is why I’m the</p> <p>skull giver I montiek the skull giver</p> <p>and so I didn’t even do that because I’m</p> <p>pretty new to GME myself the first time</p> <p>I ever GM was live on Twitch that’s cool</p> <p>it was pretty nerve-wracking until it</p> <p>started happening until I sort of just</p> <p>sort of rolled back into my head</p> <p>you know eyes disappeared came back as a</p> <p>Monty ah command I thought</p> <p>but before that it all seemed kind of</p> <p>overwhelming but then it just gets</p> <p>natural as it goes on just like I</p> <p>suppose life is and so I want people who</p> <p>have never played to be able to just</p> <p>come and have fun and fantasize and</p> <p>improvise and do their thing and one of</p> <p>the ways you do that seems to be with</p> <p>having a light-hearted game yeah so you</p> <p>mentioned something before about you</p> <p>your view on comedy and your view on</p> <p>being playful with players can you talk</p> <p>about that</p> <p>one thing that I always think about</p> <p>comedy but also taking something</p> <p>seriously is I don’t want too much like</p> <p>meta fourth-wall breaking because I am a</p> <p>lord of the Rings fantasy head I love</p> <p>that stuff but I also don’t want things</p> <p>to be the same so what I try to bring to</p> <p>the gauntlet is this ridiculous almost</p> <p>Mel Brooks ian silliness exactly that’s</p> <p>exactly it was writer on Mel Brooks yeah</p> <p>thank you</p> <p>like I’ve be missed the no clops is one</p> <p>of the characters I like to play he was</p> <p>a cyclops and then he was blinded by</p> <p>neuron Dean the night boy so now he’s</p> <p>the no klopse</p> <p>just like dumb stuff that makes me laugh</p> <p>but I try to treat it as if it’s super</p> <p>serious and some of the times where I</p> <p>struggle in the show is if a performer</p> <p>doesn’t act like their life is in danger</p> <p>mm-hmm because I what I always feel</p> <p>about if you’re going to make believe</p> <p>you must believe and one of the most</p> <p>freeing concepts for me as an improviser</p> <p>was when a teacher told me don’t try to</p> <p>be funny don’t think that you’re funny</p> <p>don’t be thinking in that way choose a</p> <p>character be that character and then</p> <p>just believe that you are and then see</p> <p>what happens so for me that’s how I want</p> <p>to perform in a show so when we’re doing</p> <p>a live twitch stream it’s different</p> <p>because it’s a show it’s not</p> <p>just it’s not a long-form campaign you</p> <p>don’t have the time to really think it</p> <p>through in the way that you would when</p> <p>you’re getting together with a group</p> <p>without people expecting you to keep</p> <p>their attention so what I want to do is</p> <p>create a situation in which you can just</p> <p>tap in believe who you are know what</p> <p>your weapons are and how to use them and</p> <p>then just keep moving and keep going so</p> <p>the rules for the game Pathfinder</p> <p>Dungeons & Dragons or whatever they’re</p> <p>pretty intense</p> <p>yes how did you simplify it to</p> <p>communicate to the new players that come</p> <p>in on your come in to your game so that</p> <p>they would understand it easier what I</p> <p>do is if someone’s never played at all</p> <p>the way I describe it to them is think</p> <p>of this as verbal storytelling in which</p> <p>the dice is a conduit to chance</p> <p>that’s what that’s all it is we’re going</p> <p>to talk about what’s happening I believe</p> <p>it’s second is a GM you’re speaking in</p> <p>second person which is you this you that</p> <p>and usually once they understand that</p> <p>and then the basic concept of can I hit</p> <p>and what does it do mm-hmm and then</p> <p>describe what you’re doing walk us</p> <p>through it</p> <p>once they get that and we do a couple</p> <p>practice rolls like I have it in columns</p> <p>it’s like you’re always going to strike</p> <p>then you roll the die explain to them</p> <p>all they’re dice and at first you can</p> <p>kind of see like this like math and like</p> <p>the way that you’ve simplified it not</p> <p>just for the players but for you so that</p> <p>you get the players through the dungeon</p> <p>because one of the things I noticed that</p> <p>when we were playing your game is I</p> <p>didn’t even think about the rules the</p> <p>way you showed it to us it was what are</p> <p>you doing and we were just kind of</p> <p>moving and it it was second nature but</p> <p>that’s playing and that’s what</p> <p>role-playing games are is I’m doing this</p> <p>what are you doing this is what the</p> <p>other guy is doing and it’s just the</p> <p>that really fluid movement through the</p> <p>adventure yeah and your group is so</p> <p>fluid because you have a relationship</p> <p>together all right</p> <p>you came in there and it was I could</p> <p>even sense it was such a pared down</p> <p>version for you like Cayenne Midian and</p> <p>& my linh</p> <p>magic ARRA what a character it was just</p> <p>instantly you guys were just flowing</p> <p>through it and I try to bring in groups</p> <p>that at least have one person that they</p> <p>know because an established rapport</p> <p>takes it to the next level the times are</p> <p>I’ve brought in individuals that don’t</p> <p>know each other it’s definitely a roll</p> <p>of the dice in terms of will they</p> <p>connect or will they freeze up will they</p> <p>not engage and then even though they</p> <p>write out these bios of character</p> <p>explorations based off of questions I’ve</p> <p>asked them they don’t necessarily use</p> <p>the information because sometimes it</p> <p>feels like it’s probably just the brain</p> <p>as processing like am I doing this right</p> <p>yeah do you have anything else you want</p> <p>to say about this um</p> <p>yeah people I always want to make sure</p> <p>that that just the realm is kept within</p> <p>like if you want to do meta</p> <p>earth jokes you can do them but do them</p> <p>in this world like we had someone who</p> <p>initially wrote a sheet and they wanted</p> <p>to be a surfer in Santa Monica and the</p> <p>way I phrased it to them is even though</p> <p>Amontillado is over a thousand years old</p> <p>has died many times and has gone to all</p> <p>different sorts of dimension</p> <p>he knows what Santa Monica is but you</p> <p>guys don’t so he did a quick edit of it</p> <p>and then it was he was a turtle rider</p> <p>from Montes Anika oh gosh and so he can</p> <p>still do his comedic performance in that</p> <p>way but with making it true to this</p> <p>world which is a realm I called eros</p> <p>although now we’re in the alternate</p> <p>dimension of hey hey rose and then some</p> <p>people get sucked into the all horse</p> <p>version of that dimension which is hey</p> <p>rose fun funfun it all kind of just</p> <p>comes up as it’s happening</p> <p>yeah that’s gaming and that’s improv so</p> <p>I’m gonna ask you three questions three</p> <p>quests just same questions I ask every</p> <p>guest questions three answer you these</p> <p>questions three yeah let’s see if I can</p> <p>do it</p> <p>what is your pregame house rule the</p> <p>pregame house rule is to like each other</p> <p>to the players like each other you are</p> <p>all together you’re on the same team</p> <p>you’re not attacking each other you will</p> <p>never any point in the rules of this</p> <p>game draw a sword against another player</p> <p>so why have a sword of words these are</p> <p>your friends we try to do a few improv</p> <p>warm-ups beforehand make eye contact and</p> <p>then of course like I was saying believe</p> <p>believe that you are who you are the</p> <p>stakes are high you are not in Earth</p> <p>right now you are in darros that’s the</p> <p>rule let’s play awesome what is your</p> <p>favorite GM moment my favorite GM moment</p> <p>was when the chat created an emote of my</p> <p>head and I what that did to me was</p> <p>sometimes I feel like things make sense</p> <p>when you see that it makes sense to</p> <p>someone else so I grew up as a punk rock</p> <p>kid I used to sing in a punk band called</p> <p>the mashed potatoes I was never quite a</p> <p>metal or goth person but I always hung</p> <p>in those realms but big fan of the</p> <p>misfits growing up and so when I play in</p> <p>fantasy realms even though I am a</p> <p>pacifist in a very peaceful person who</p> <p>doesn’t even I don’t play violent video</p> <p>games the only time that any sort of</p> <p>violent urge just kind of naturally</p> <p>pours out is in fantasy roleplay games</p> <p>where it’s like oh I just described a</p> <p>gross flaying of an orc</p> <p>I guess that’s in there somewhere but</p> <p>when they created the emote as I am a</p> <p>montiek the Skull giver someone I was</p> <p>looking at the chat I always begin it</p> <p>with my little intro scream that you’ve</p> <p>entered the gauntlet and I looked at</p> <p>chat and all of a sudden there is me</p> <p>with the robe and my hair sticking out</p> <p>and then a skull for my face and I was</p> <p>like okay they understand what I’m</p> <p>trying to do and now I understand what I</p> <p>was even doing</p> <p>so it was a conversation and that the</p> <p>chat kind of helped me become what I</p> <p>wanted to become in there creating of</p> <p>that emote that’s awesome no a quick tip</p> <p>to the audience doesn’t have to have</p> <p>anything to do with what we talked about</p> <p>today oh great do I look to you or do I</p> <p>look to them you can look to whoever you</p> <p>want okay</p> <p>hi so look to you a quick tip would be</p> <p>something that robot teammates improv</p> <p>coach taught to us which is to dig your</p> <p>heels sometimes when we’re creating an</p> <p>improvised story live in front of a</p> <p>crowd things go off the rails the story</p> <p>we were the story we were intending to</p> <p>tell is not being told</p> <p>sometimes the instinct is discomfort and</p> <p>nervousness and looking to each other</p> <p>and you can sense this kind of like oh I</p> <p>wish I wasn’t here why are we doing this</p> <p>people are looking at us expecting to be</p> <p>entertained to be satisfied so what our</p> <p>coach taught us was especially when that</p> <p>happens double down even further even if</p> <p>it has gone fully crazy and angels are</p> <p>coming out of your ears and babies are</p> <p>singing and lasses dig your heels into</p> <p>the dirt as if it was exactly your plan</p> <p>and so that is something that I try to</p> <p>do in life and definitely do in GME</p> <p>that’s an excellent GM tip thank you</p> <p>thank you that is the end of our show</p> <p>for today</p> <p>thank you for watching GM tips on geek &</p> <p>sundry and thank you Chris for being</p> <p>here oh thank you for having me</p> <p>where can we find you on the Internet oh</p> <p>you know places I’m Chris Tremonti you</p> <p>can find me as a montiek on Twitter</p> <p>Instagram and YouTube as well as every</p> <p>Thursday on the gauntlet on twitch.tv</p> <p>slash hyper RPG you can find me on</p> <p>Fridays at 9:30 on geek & sundry twitch</p> <p>where we do gather your party with</p> <p>robots you mate and those are the places</p> <p>to find me it’s true I’ve seen them on</p> <p>those places as always I’m Satine</p> <p>Phoenix you can find me at Satine</p> <p>Phoenix and you can catch me every</p> <p>Sunday on twitch.tv slash maser kana and</p> <p>orphan echo and Tuesday is dungeon</p> <p>string Furies reach on twitch TV / D&D</p> <p>and on SOG is a sundry dread on project</p> <p>alpha comm Chris mmm</p> <p>are you ready to GMs out of here oh I</p> <p>hope so</p> <p>to all you creatures seeking quest your</p> <p>whims and wits now face a test the story</p> <p>needs you take the helm guide us through</p> <p>your mythic realm trust your dice expect</p> <p>surprise conceive believe and improvise</p> <p>construct a world consumed in conflict a</p> <p>Forgotten forest danken haunted</p> <p>imagination use it wanted confront the</p> <p>fire face the gauntlet find the</p> <p>adventure hiding within the time is now</p> <p>so just</p> <p>you</p> <p>[Music]</p> <p> Share this:TweetWhatsApp
