John Crichton
First Post
Let me start by saying that I have been very unhappy with my performance as a GM lately. In the last year I have tried to start up about 3-4 different campaigns, multiple one-shots (for different settings, not just D&D). There have been flashes of brillance but compared to my pre-D20 days they have been few and far in between. I have considered taking and extended break (for a half-year or more) and have taken a few 2-month long GM-ing breaks to recharge. But when I come back the sessions just seem to fall a bit flat. I have even contemplated quitting for a while.
And then last night happened.
I was going to run something that I started last week where 2 of the 3 PC's died. One player couldn't make it this week so things were already thrown a bit out of whack (when someone can't attend, I don't run). The 2 remaining guys wanted to play something but I hadn't prepared much of anything. I was in the mood to run something but had nothing prepared for just the 2 of them except a campaign 4 months old that has been on the back-burner and I was not going to run that.
So to make an (already) long story short, I decided to run something similar that I tried many years ago to get a friend into tabletop RPG's. I gave them blank sheets of paper, asked them if they wouldn't mind basically playing a version of themselves, told them to take out a basic set of dice and a pencil. Then I turned all the lights off so the only light left on was from my computer monitor which was turned away from them.
I asked them what they would be doing at this same time next year about 5 pm. They said, "Probably on the way here to do some roleplaying." So I told them to write down what they would have on them at the time and read it off to me. I added a flashlight to one of their lists and tossed a flashlight to him so they could see their dice rolls. Then we started to play. Based off their description, I started the game at 5pm, with them en route to my place. I clicked on some ambient-type music with a sort of creepy feel and started to play.
A few hours later (about 4 am) we stopped and everything felt right. They players were hooked like I've never seen before. Smiles on their faces, the one who hated last week's session grinned and said, "We have to play this next week." Not only was it the reaction that I got that felt right, but the amount of creativity and fun I had while running. Haven't felt that in years. Didn't use a battlemat. Didn't use premade character sheets. Didn't even use a GM's screen.
Not that I will be running every session in the future like this but it was a great refresher and I hope will lead to more.
Has anyone else had something like this happen? Please share!! 
And then last night happened.
I was going to run something that I started last week where 2 of the 3 PC's died. One player couldn't make it this week so things were already thrown a bit out of whack (when someone can't attend, I don't run). The 2 remaining guys wanted to play something but I hadn't prepared much of anything. I was in the mood to run something but had nothing prepared for just the 2 of them except a campaign 4 months old that has been on the back-burner and I was not going to run that.
So to make an (already) long story short, I decided to run something similar that I tried many years ago to get a friend into tabletop RPG's. I gave them blank sheets of paper, asked them if they wouldn't mind basically playing a version of themselves, told them to take out a basic set of dice and a pencil. Then I turned all the lights off so the only light left on was from my computer monitor which was turned away from them.
I asked them what they would be doing at this same time next year about 5 pm. They said, "Probably on the way here to do some roleplaying." So I told them to write down what they would have on them at the time and read it off to me. I added a flashlight to one of their lists and tossed a flashlight to him so they could see their dice rolls. Then we started to play. Based off their description, I started the game at 5pm, with them en route to my place. I clicked on some ambient-type music with a sort of creepy feel and started to play.
A few hours later (about 4 am) we stopped and everything felt right. They players were hooked like I've never seen before. Smiles on their faces, the one who hated last week's session grinned and said, "We have to play this next week." Not only was it the reaction that I got that felt right, but the amount of creativity and fun I had while running. Haven't felt that in years. Didn't use a battlemat. Didn't use premade character sheets. Didn't even use a GM's screen.
Not that I will be running every session in the future like this but it was a great refresher and I hope will lead to more.
Has anyone else had something like this happen? Please share!! 
And it is always bad when NPC's burst into flames. 
