If you pick up a core RPG book you will likely find a section on what is an RPG, how to roll dice, and hopefully some advice on running the actual RPG you are reading and maybe even a starting adventure. But what do you do to keep going month after month, decade after decade? How do you gamemaster for the long haul? And have fun doing it?
I run a table top RPG every other week unless a family emergency or planned family event occurs. I’ve kept this schedule for over thirty years. I game in person unless I’m forced not to, on the same day and at the same time, unless group dynamics change dramatically. I game with the same core group, although players occasionally shuffle in and out.
The only major disruption to this long-running trend was D&D 4E. D&D 4E split my long running D&D 3.5 group into two camps (liked 4E or wanted to stick with 3.5) and I eventually lost everyone in that group (although I’m still friends with three of them) and had to start over. Forming a new group is a topic for another day however.
Barring an emergency or planned absence, I show up every other week for game night ready to GM. I do this year after year and decade after decade. Even if I have to go virtual for a while, I show up ready to GM.
I start a campaign small, promising only a handful of adventures. If it goes well, I extend the campaign with more adventures. Which ties into the next thing I do.
I try my hardest not to end a campaign on a whim and try to bring each campaign to an actual conclusion (I sometimes fail at this, but I build up some grace with the group and if I go off the rails they trust me to get back on track).
I build on what came before. If the players liked a certain NPC, I bring them back. If a new monster design worked well (vampires (geeknative.com) in The One Ring!) I bring that monster back in a new challenge. If a PC wants some type of magic item, quest, or experience I try to bring it.
I get tired and can’t always write my own adventures or campaigns. I give myself all the help I need by falling back on other RPGs I own, reusing bits from previous adventures I’ve written, and repurposing parts of previous campaigns I’ve run. I currently like to run campaigns in a box (a core RPG with a supporting campaign and adventures).
If I’m able to work I’m able to GM. This means even if I’m tired or not feeling it. This is just my approach. Life is hard (really hard right now) but if I’m able to get all my other responsibilities done, I don’t want to lose gaming. If I was healthy enough for work and my chores are done, I get to the game table to game. Of course that means I must work hard at my job and get my chores done on time before game night!
I appreciate what I have. We are seven people creating something new collectively, in person when possible, every other week for years at a time. That is an amazing social event to be part of. I rarely forgot what a blessing this social, mental, and creative endeavor is in my life. I have friendships, some decades long and some with people otherwise quite different from me, that started when I met someone gaming. I try to never forget that.
Gaming has gone so well a married couple in our group opened their home to us for gaming. We eat a home cooked meal before every game which creates a powerful bond in the group.
Expert Ending
If you want to GM, GM on a regular basis whether in person in virtual. Whenever possible, don’t stop a campaign before a natural ending point. Show up ready and have your affairs in order so you can concentrate as best you can. Have lots of fun, enjoy all the friends, and count your many blessings. Don’t give up. Like we said in the 80s: no retreat, no surrender. Embrace the gaming lifestyle and game on!
Basic Beginning
I start with a base of taking care of my relationships and health first. Basically, gaming is important to me but on the list of all the important things in my life, it is the very last important thing. Everything else of importance (faith, health, family, friends, citizenship, job et cetera) come before gaming. With all the other important things taken care of first, I then work on gaming.I run a table top RPG every other week unless a family emergency or planned family event occurs. I’ve kept this schedule for over thirty years. I game in person unless I’m forced not to, on the same day and at the same time, unless group dynamics change dramatically. I game with the same core group, although players occasionally shuffle in and out.
The only major disruption to this long-running trend was D&D 4E. D&D 4E split my long running D&D 3.5 group into two camps (liked 4E or wanted to stick with 3.5) and I eventually lost everyone in that group (although I’m still friends with three of them) and had to start over. Forming a new group is a topic for another day however.
How, Though, Do You Game Every Other Week and Keep The Game Going?
Practical Answers
I run RPGs I like. I don’t run RPGs I don’t like.Barring an emergency or planned absence, I show up every other week for game night ready to GM. I do this year after year and decade after decade. Even if I have to go virtual for a while, I show up ready to GM.
I start a campaign small, promising only a handful of adventures. If it goes well, I extend the campaign with more adventures. Which ties into the next thing I do.
I try my hardest not to end a campaign on a whim and try to bring each campaign to an actual conclusion (I sometimes fail at this, but I build up some grace with the group and if I go off the rails they trust me to get back on track).
I build on what came before. If the players liked a certain NPC, I bring them back. If a new monster design worked well (vampires (geeknative.com) in The One Ring!) I bring that monster back in a new challenge. If a PC wants some type of magic item, quest, or experience I try to bring it.
I get tired and can’t always write my own adventures or campaigns. I give myself all the help I need by falling back on other RPGs I own, reusing bits from previous adventures I’ve written, and repurposing parts of previous campaigns I’ve run. I currently like to run campaigns in a box (a core RPG with a supporting campaign and adventures).
How, Though, Do You Game Every Other Week and Keep The Game Going?
Mindset Answers
Gaming is a lifestyle. My whole family tells me I’m weird, nearly daily. They smile when they say this. My wife even hung classy looking prints of Tolkien landscapes in our basement for my yearly home gaming convention, Charlie Con, now on year six (another topic for later).If I’m able to work I’m able to GM. This means even if I’m tired or not feeling it. This is just my approach. Life is hard (really hard right now) but if I’m able to get all my other responsibilities done, I don’t want to lose gaming. If I was healthy enough for work and my chores are done, I get to the game table to game. Of course that means I must work hard at my job and get my chores done on time before game night!
I appreciate what I have. We are seven people creating something new collectively, in person when possible, every other week for years at a time. That is an amazing social event to be part of. I rarely forgot what a blessing this social, mental, and creative endeavor is in my life. I have friendships, some decades long and some with people otherwise quite different from me, that started when I met someone gaming. I try to never forget that.
Gaming has gone so well a married couple in our group opened their home to us for gaming. We eat a home cooked meal before every game which creates a powerful bond in the group.
Expert Ending
If you want to GM, GM on a regular basis whether in person in virtual. Whenever possible, don’t stop a campaign before a natural ending point. Show up ready and have your affairs in order so you can concentrate as best you can. Have lots of fun, enjoy all the friends, and count your many blessings. Don’t give up. Like we said in the 80s: no retreat, no surrender. Embrace the gaming lifestyle and game on!
