Daggerheart "Description on Demand" a GM DON'T

[Emerikol]

I think some GMs excel when they have done a lot of prep, while other GMs excel when they riff off the play at the table. Some of us even excel with zero or near zero prep.

As it relates to Daggerheart, Daggerheart expressly advises GMs to hold on lightly and not overprepare.

I think a GM can excel if he finds a group of like minded people and is passionate enough about doing a good job.

I've never played in a game of D&D where I couldn't spot a zero or near zero prepper and inevitably the game went off the rails. I usually just don't come back to such games. I'm sure though that there are people who want exactly that approach. What we need is better advocacy for a very clear session 0 before play starts. Before the group even gathers in fact.,

 

[Reynard]

What we need is better advocacy for a very clear session 0 before play starts. Before the group even gathers in fact.,

There has never been a time in the hobby more open to and demanding of Session 0, so if folks aren't having one, they are doing it on purpose. Even D&D tells you to have one.

 

[Emerikol]

There has never been a time in the hobby more open to and demanding of Session 0, so if folks aren't having one, they are doing it on purse. Even D&D tells you to have one.

This was true even in the 1980's. Cal Tech had hit and alternate ways of playing D&D on a fundamental level had arrived. We used to call those groups "Dungeons and Beavers" which I believe was a Gygax comment. My group took 5 heavy playing years to reach 15th level. Some of these groups were doing it over a summer. So even then playstyle was different.

 

[TwoSix]

There has never been a time in the hobby more open to and demanding of Session 0, so if folks aren't having one, they are doing it on purpose. Even D&D tells you to have one.

I know some people are in situations where they just have to sign up for a GM's game and hope for the best, but that just seems awful to me. My groups talk about "Who's DMing next? What system? What kind of game are we doing?" for weeks before we start a new game.

If I had to join groups where there wasn't something like a session zero, I'd be out of the hobby already.

 

[darjr]

Just to make sure I'm on the right page, PbtA and similar games are designed particularly for players who want to share in the world/scene creation during play and focus on pushing the story and not character advantage?

Not all of them.

 

[zakael19]

Oh, and to quote from the DH Book a bit, here's the GM guidance around this. You'll note it presents a range of possibility here, and things beyond character-POV or background bits are "a step further."

"ASK QUESTIONS AND INCORPORATE THEANSWERS

In Daggerheart, the GM doesn’t have to do all the heavy lifting in terms of worldbuilding; we encourage you to share narrative authority with the players. Many players will be drawn more fully into the story when you empower them to add their own touches and details to your shared world.

When the party enters a character’s hometown, you might invite that player to describe the local market. Rather than narrating a character’s deadly blow on a critical success, you can ask the player to take the spotlight and detail their triumph. In dramatic or even commonplace moments, you might ask questions about a character’s motivations, emotions, and history, then connect the answers to the current moment.

Some groups may want to go even further, closing the gap in narrative authority between players and GM by letting players take authorship over entire regions or nations. Your players’ involvement shows their interest in the story—do your best to respect their investment and fold their contributions into the tale. As the GM, it’s your job to maintain the integrity of the world and make adjustments when needed, but ensuring that the players’ ideas are included results in a narrative that supports the whole group’s creativity."

Edit, and to @Reynard 's statements in here multiple times:

"HOLD ON GENTLY

Improvisational storytelling isn’t always perfect, and that’s okay. Hold on gently to the fiction, enough so that you don’t lose the pieces that matter, but not so tightly that the narrative has no room to breathe. Let yourself make mistakes and make changes. Smooth the edges and shape them to fit the story. You’ll be the final arbiter and editor, but don’t worry if you need to go back and revisit or retroactively change something that came before."

This is, at its core, a game about heroic and dramatic joint-storytelling.

 

[CleverNickName]

A good DM is not making it up on the spot. A good DM details the adventure and the world ahead of time.

Today I learned that I'm not a good DM.

 

[TwoSix]

Today I learned that I'm not a good DM.

Maybe there's a support group.

I would set one up, but that's too much prep.

 

[darjr]

Today I learned that I'm not a good DM.

I knew it!

I would have added “for a particular style” but if wishes were fishes.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Honestly, I wish more trad games had that level of advice and degree of intentionality. It's nothing but a good in RPG design IMO.

No kidding. I have long wished that there weren't so many "sly winks" in games like D&D, where you're pretty sure you know what they intend with a rule, but it's very vague even so. Just tell us what you want it to be! We would still be able to change or ignore it, after all!