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4 Hours w/ RSD - Take Note
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<blockquote data-quote="Scurvy_Platypus" data-source="post: 5534325" data-attributes="member: 43283"><p>I've kinda got a mixed reaction here...</p><p></p><p>On the one hand, yeah GMs _need_ to have notes or something about the game as they go. Being an improvisational sort of GM, I've made it a habit to make notes as I go along, just so as to avoid some of the problems laid out.</p><p></p><p>And I make it a habit of having a PC cheat-sheet as well. As a player, I make sure I pre-figure a bunch of different bonuses (power attack, weapon whatevers, etc) so that I don't slow down the game for others.</p><p></p><p>But....</p><p></p><p>On the other hand, this is jacking up the GMs workload by quite a bit. Especially given how disdainful people seem to be about houserules, insisting instead on RAW (Rules as Written). 3.x is a _heavy_ system in terms of GM load. It's not the heaviest, but it's not uncommon to me to see people talking about spending 4-10 hours prepping their games.</p><p></p><p>At a minimum.</p><p></p><p>I think 4 hours of prep work for a 4 hour game is nuts. Folks love doing that, more power to them. It's a barrier though. It's one of the reasons why more people don't GM and aren't interested in GMing. 8 hours for game prep? You've gotta be kidding me. That's a whole other day of work, spent just working on the _prep_ side of my hobby.</p><p></p><p>So now, on top of the half to full day worth of work that a GM is supposed to spend prepping their game (because the implication is that if you're not prepping very much you're going to be running a crap game), and trying to manage everything else that's actually going on at the table (because people are obsessed with miniature-based play and playing the "full" game with RAW), the GM is also supposed to take time out and start making detailed notes?</p><p></p><p>Actually be responsible for keeping track of hit points of characters and keeping these away from players?</p><p></p><p>Ignoring the issue of GMing styles in terms of what information is available to players regarding metagame stuff (whether it's their character's hit points, or what monster they're facing, or whatever) I don't see how this sort of thing is actually going to make a GMs life _easier_ in the long run.</p><p></p><p>It'll work for a very particular sort of GM, sure. But just like the style of D&D that gets playtested and then sold as "D&D" isn't actually representative of the way everyone (or even a majority of people) play/run their game, this kind of advice won't work for everyone.</p><p></p><p>Or even a majority.</p><p></p><p>Simply put, D&D and 3.x cater to a "hardcore" gamer mentality. There's a series of barriers erected in terms of being both a player and a GM. And honestly, the hardcore GMs are already covered with lots of advice, suggestions from designers, all the other hardcore GMs, etc.</p><p></p><p>You know who _doesn't_ get much screen time?</p><p></p><p>The casual player. The casual GM.</p><p></p><p>People for whom D&D is fun enough and they might even be willing to play it as a regular deal, but they're fundamentally unwilling and/or unable to invest in the game the way that everyone is telling them they _must_. GMing doesn't automatically mean the person behind the screen is the hardcore type; making that assumption is a critical error on both the part of gamers as well as the producers of rpgs.</p><p></p><p>Simply put, D&D might be a fun past-time for some of these folks, but it's not their primary hobby and they're not interested in making it their primary hobby either.</p><p></p><p>This article is fine enough, for those GMs that are of the hardcore inclination but aren't as organised as they could/need to be.</p><p></p><p>For the casual GM though, it's simply another thing they need to add to the list of how they fail to be a "real" GM compared to everyone else, another reason why they should just stay as a player, another reason why rpgs are 20 minutes of fun packed into 4 hours.</p><p></p><p>My own meager contribution to the general idea of notetaking, is to leverage the technology that's often at the game table in the first place.</p><p></p><p>GMs are frequently relying on laptops to run their games (which I won't bother addressing right now), they're iPhones/iPads... all kinds of stuff that has built-in recording gear.</p><p></p><p>Screw note-taking. Note-taking during the game should only be for critical things; instead, just record the session and make notes from that recording when you're doing your prep for the _next_ game.</p><p></p><p>Essentially the notes that you take from the recording become a part of the session building, helping the GM to zero in and emphasize things that are important to the story or the style of game. They become the considered hooks for plot developments, addtional background material, and so forth.</p><p></p><p>You don't have to worry about the quality of the recording, you don't have to worry about optimal placement so you can hear every single person at the table; really you only need to be able to hear yourself as the GM clear enough. Everyone else is just icing on the cake.</p><p></p><p>If you're motivated enough, you can keep the recordings, or you can simply toss them after you're done with your session prep. Keeping them has an advantage of being a record in case there's ever need of one, as well as being able to go back and carefully mine them for ideas if need be, beyond simply acting as your scribe and session prep.</p><p></p><p>For the casual GM and player, a session recording can be helpful for reminding them of everything that took place. You're not going to bother listening to the entire 4 hours, heck no. You listen, skip ahead and go "Oh yeah, that's right..." A sentence summary here and there and you'll have the reminder notes needed as either a player or a GM.</p><p></p><p>For the hardcore GM, a recording is even better than trying to rely on notes scribbled in the heat of the game. You can go back and actually sit down and think through decisions that were made, figure out better approaches to the rules, note if you're missing critical details when it comes to running combats, etc.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Scurvy_Platypus, post: 5534325, member: 43283"] I've kinda got a mixed reaction here... On the one hand, yeah GMs _need_ to have notes or something about the game as they go. Being an improvisational sort of GM, I've made it a habit to make notes as I go along, just so as to avoid some of the problems laid out. And I make it a habit of having a PC cheat-sheet as well. As a player, I make sure I pre-figure a bunch of different bonuses (power attack, weapon whatevers, etc) so that I don't slow down the game for others. But.... On the other hand, this is jacking up the GMs workload by quite a bit. Especially given how disdainful people seem to be about houserules, insisting instead on RAW (Rules as Written). 3.x is a _heavy_ system in terms of GM load. It's not the heaviest, but it's not uncommon to me to see people talking about spending 4-10 hours prepping their games. At a minimum. I think 4 hours of prep work for a 4 hour game is nuts. Folks love doing that, more power to them. It's a barrier though. It's one of the reasons why more people don't GM and aren't interested in GMing. 8 hours for game prep? You've gotta be kidding me. That's a whole other day of work, spent just working on the _prep_ side of my hobby. So now, on top of the half to full day worth of work that a GM is supposed to spend prepping their game (because the implication is that if you're not prepping very much you're going to be running a crap game), and trying to manage everything else that's actually going on at the table (because people are obsessed with miniature-based play and playing the "full" game with RAW), the GM is also supposed to take time out and start making detailed notes? Actually be responsible for keeping track of hit points of characters and keeping these away from players? Ignoring the issue of GMing styles in terms of what information is available to players regarding metagame stuff (whether it's their character's hit points, or what monster they're facing, or whatever) I don't see how this sort of thing is actually going to make a GMs life _easier_ in the long run. It'll work for a very particular sort of GM, sure. But just like the style of D&D that gets playtested and then sold as "D&D" isn't actually representative of the way everyone (or even a majority of people) play/run their game, this kind of advice won't work for everyone. Or even a majority. Simply put, D&D and 3.x cater to a "hardcore" gamer mentality. There's a series of barriers erected in terms of being both a player and a GM. And honestly, the hardcore GMs are already covered with lots of advice, suggestions from designers, all the other hardcore GMs, etc. You know who _doesn't_ get much screen time? The casual player. The casual GM. People for whom D&D is fun enough and they might even be willing to play it as a regular deal, but they're fundamentally unwilling and/or unable to invest in the game the way that everyone is telling them they _must_. GMing doesn't automatically mean the person behind the screen is the hardcore type; making that assumption is a critical error on both the part of gamers as well as the producers of rpgs. Simply put, D&D might be a fun past-time for some of these folks, but it's not their primary hobby and they're not interested in making it their primary hobby either. This article is fine enough, for those GMs that are of the hardcore inclination but aren't as organised as they could/need to be. For the casual GM though, it's simply another thing they need to add to the list of how they fail to be a "real" GM compared to everyone else, another reason why they should just stay as a player, another reason why rpgs are 20 minutes of fun packed into 4 hours. My own meager contribution to the general idea of notetaking, is to leverage the technology that's often at the game table in the first place. GMs are frequently relying on laptops to run their games (which I won't bother addressing right now), they're iPhones/iPads... all kinds of stuff that has built-in recording gear. Screw note-taking. Note-taking during the game should only be for critical things; instead, just record the session and make notes from that recording when you're doing your prep for the _next_ game. Essentially the notes that you take from the recording become a part of the session building, helping the GM to zero in and emphasize things that are important to the story or the style of game. They become the considered hooks for plot developments, addtional background material, and so forth. You don't have to worry about the quality of the recording, you don't have to worry about optimal placement so you can hear every single person at the table; really you only need to be able to hear yourself as the GM clear enough. Everyone else is just icing on the cake. If you're motivated enough, you can keep the recordings, or you can simply toss them after you're done with your session prep. Keeping them has an advantage of being a record in case there's ever need of one, as well as being able to go back and carefully mine them for ideas if need be, beyond simply acting as your scribe and session prep. For the casual GM and player, a session recording can be helpful for reminding them of everything that took place. You're not going to bother listening to the entire 4 hours, heck no. You listen, skip ahead and go "Oh yeah, that's right..." A sentence summary here and there and you'll have the reminder notes needed as either a player or a GM. For the hardcore GM, a recording is even better than trying to rely on notes scribbled in the heat of the game. You can go back and actually sit down and think through decisions that were made, figure out better approaches to the rules, note if you're missing critical details when it comes to running combats, etc. [/QUOTE]
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