Joyful GMing: RPG Success Strategies

Running a table top RPG could be seen as: get and learn a rulebook, find players, make characters, write an adventure, run the adventure, and repeat the last two over and over. The challenge a GM is going to face is that all of those important steps are tactics. Well-executed tactics lead to accomplishing a GM’s strategy and achieving success.

Portal Steampunk Surreal - Free photo on Pixabay​

What is TTRPG Success?​

Success for a GM will have various nuances, but certain results are mandatory for success. After these critical conditions are considered, a GM can dig deeper and find unique outcomes he is seeking.

• Assumptions: The GM wants to continue to run games with no end date currently foreseen, the GM wants a regular game on a regular schedule, the GM wants a campaign (one set of ongoing adventures with a group of player characters interested in those connected events), and the GM wants to successfully end the campaign with a wrap up. After that, the GM and player can start a new campaign and repeat the process. With the assumptions considered, the victory conditions become clear. An individual GM may have more desired outcomes such as wanting to build a shared world or have events from one campaign resonate into the next campaign. But let’s stick to the barebones basics for now.
• Success: A series of ongoing campaigns with a group of interested players played on a regular cadence with a finale for each campaign. If this sounds easy to you, then I assume you haven’t talked to many GMs! Pursuing this success is a worthy endeavor, but it takes a lot to become a skilled GM and have more victories than defeats.

What is TTRPG Strategy?​

Most GMs probably agree on the basic tactics and the desired success when running TTRPGs. And yes, it is a lot of work, a lot of fun as well, but then why do so many hard-working GMs struggle to have more victories? Why do we discuss GM burnout, games ending due to a lack of interest or participation, or even games not being able to get started at all?

• Assumptions: The GM lives somewhere with enough people to get players who are willing to show up on a regular basis and contribute to playing a TTRPG. This assumption sounds easy, but it isn’t. If a GM is committed to success, he has to find players who are willing to show up on a regular basis and play to the best of their ability. The good news is, a GM can experiment to find the right mix of players. This is strategy.
• Strategy: The GM is ready and willing to do the work to achieve success. The GM must always be on the lookout for players who show up and play to the best of their ability to introduce into his campaign. The GM must then strive to lead those players to success. This strategy takes a bit of work. A GM will likely want to start at a public venue if they don’t want to invite strangers into their home. Here are some suggested guidelines.
  1. The GM will need to advertise to find players. Many game stores or libraries will help with this step.
  2. The GM picks the same night and time (every other Wednesday from 6 to 10 PM for example).
  3. The GM starts with one adventure but with a promise of another one to follow the next scheduled night.
  4. If the table does not fill up or repeat players do not start appearing, the GM may need to try a new game system.
  5. Once regular players start to show up, the GM will find his table being full for future game nights.
  6. The GM must then hone tactics, chase strategy, and strive for leading his players to success.
  7. A GM who develops a reputation for achieving success will find that players want to be part of his ongoing campaigns.

In all of my forty years of GMing, I have never had to invoke guideline 4 except with D&D 4E. I showed up at college and offered to run Warhammer Fantasy RPG. I never wanted for players and one of my players still gets together with me to game every once in a while. I married another one of the players!

As a GM I have had to start completely over at step 1 sometimes because of a move and one time because of D&D 4E. I still see some former players, so all was not lost. But I did have to form a new group in those instances. Starting with new players does not change the strategy, it just means more work to get going each time it happens.

Running the Race​

I wanted to cover this topic because many TTRPGs have excellent GM advice for that particular RPG. But GMs usually want to ply their trade for the long haul. With a bit of planning ahead, the GM can lead his players to strive toward victory. However, as originally discussed by Helmuth von Moltke the Elder and later paraphrased, "no plan survives first contact with the enemy." Or as Mike Tyson put it, "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." A GM has to bend and move with ever changing events to achieve success. Strategy will need to be modified, resilience built up and practiced, and GM brilliance and skill developed. Those are great topics for another day!

Your Turn: What is your long-term strategy as a GM?

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

This, to me, is the "classic" player-DM arrangement and what I was used to when I was younger. It works for some groups, but is part of the barriers to entry for folks into TTRPGs . . . that you have to find that dedicated DM to run games!

I'm not interested in that dynamic anymore and I'm lucky enough to have a current playgroup that isn't either. We rotate the DM spot to reduce that load . . . it's now my turn, and I'm trying to push us even further into a more collaborative approach, which my fellow gamers are open to, but don't have those muscles (yet)!

But all of that weight on the DM? Or worse, the "forever DM"? I don't have that kind of energy anymore in my old age!

I have heard of that type of campaign play. I've never been part of it myself.

I do find it interesting that finding a dedicated DM to run games is seen as a barrier to entry into the RPG hobby. I'd like to see that barrier come down. I'll have to think more about that idea.

 

[bloodtide]

Asking other GMs who run public games at either their local library or game store for suggestions that they've found helpful is worth pursuing as well. There are a lot people more who do this then I thought!

Some great advice here: Just try to play a game in public. At a library, rec center, game store or mall. You will get interrupted so many times by people that want to play. It is a great trap!

Otherwise, I recommend making players out of normal people

Being a DM is a very unique job, that one person in any social group that keeps everyone together. While most people want to do social things, they have no interest in lifting a finger to do it. They just want to show up and have fun. That is why there are 'masters of ceremony', that often have to move heaven and Earth to make any social even happen. And DMs are one type.

The big key to finding good players, for me, is to be very strict. I don't put up with anything. You miss a game for an idiotic reason, and your out of my game just like that. I have a strict time table for actions during the game, paying attention and so on. You might have to go through many players, but the good players that are left, are worth it.

 

[Lanefan]

Two of your root assumptions seem to be running at cross purposes:

Success for a GM will have various nuances, but certain results are mandatory for success. After these critical conditions are considered, a GM can dig deeper and find unique outcomes he is seeking.

• Assumptions: The GM wants to continue to run games with no end date currently foreseen, the GM wants a regular game on a regular schedule, the GM wants a campaign (one set of ongoing adventures with a group of player characters interested in those connected events), and the GM wants to successfully end the campaign with a wrap up. After that, the GM and player can start a new campaign and repeat the process. With the assumptions considered, the victory conditions become clear. An individual GM may have more desired outcomes such as wanting to build a shared world or have events from one campaign resonate into the next campaign. But let’s stick to the barebones basics for now.
• Success: A series of ongoing campaigns with a group of interested players played on a regular cadence with a finale for each campaign. If this sounds easy to you, then I assume you haven’t talked to many GMs! Pursuing this success is a worthy endeavor, but it takes a lot to become a skilled GM and have more victories than defeats.

The game (or campaign, the terms are interchangeable) either has a preordained end point/date or it doesn't, and planning to "end the campaign with a wrap-up" by default sets an end point.

Also, success can be measured as one ongoing-forever campaign with a group of interested players* with no such thing as a "finale". Instead, by the end of one embedded story arc one or two or three others have reared their heads, and on we go.

* - the specifics of whom may change as time goes on, player turnover within a long campaign is a thing but as long as the DM keeps at it, the game/campaign can keep going.

 

[Theory of Games]

It isn't so much finding perfection but leading players onwards towards ever more enjoyable adventures, improved game play, and continuing campaign success.

Lost me at "... leading players ..." How is that done?

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

Two of your root assumptions seem to be running at cross purposes:

The game (or campaign, the terms are interchangeable) either has a preordained end point/date or it doesn't, and planning to "end the campaign with a wrap-up" by default sets an end point.

Also, success can be measured as one ongoing-forever campaign with a group of interested players* with no such thing as a "finale". Instead, by the end of one embedded story arc one or two or three others have reared their heads, and on we go.

* - the specifics of whom may change as time goes on, player turnover within a long campaign is a thing but as long as the DM keeps at it, the game/campaign can keep going.

I disagree and expand on this point in the article. I actually agree with what you're saying. Running games will cover many campaigns over many years. Few GMs run one campaign for years although it does happen. Even then, a long campaign will have many arcs with end points and a new direction.

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

Lost me at "... leading players ..." How is that done?

That could be an entirely new article. I use servant leadership although there are many others to choose from: transactional, coaching, bureaucratic, democratic, and more. I would avoid autocratic leadership as that leads to horror stories on the internet.

In my case, I try to find RPGs that fit what my players like and that I also know I'll enjoy running. That can be hard to find, but I work at it. I make sure I show up and cancel rarely even if I don't always feel like running a session. I have adventures ready, dice and notes updated, and I'm ready to GM. I lead by making sure my players' needs and expections are met and/or working with them when what they think they want may not be for the best. Coaching is part of what I do as well, but not my main focus.

No one said being a leader is easy, but any GM wanting to run games a long time will by default become a leader. I like actively thinking about how I want to lead rather than winging it.

 

[shannonrampe]

One of my primary goals in creating a gaming group is to play with friends. With the exception of con games, I'd always rather play games with friends than with random strangers. But if your current friend group isn't interested in TTRPGs or you've just moved to a new place, you may not have a friend group available to play with.

A principal strategy I have leveraged when building new gaming groups is to pilot test player-groups with a series of one-shots. I post in local Discord groups advertising a game, describing specifically the type of game I like to run and the end goal - an ongoing campaign with new friends.

By setting expectations up front about the type of game I run, I have generally recruited players who like similar things to me. Playing in one-shots is a low-risk way for people to feel each other out and see if this is someone I like hanging out with. Most have worked out, a few have not, but the ones that did not we all figured out quickly that they weren't a good fit.

It puts the onus on you to organize the game, but I've found as an adult with a busy life, that unless someone makes it a priority to do stuff like this, it just doesn't happen - that includes making friends and playing TTRPGs on the regular.

 

[Sethvir1]

Just going to chime in here a bit. I've been playing since the late 70's and DM'd the odd one off for my original group off guys when we were first exploring AD&D. Current gaming group has had the same core of about 4 or 5 of us since 2008. We all take turns GMing. When one campaign finishes, there is always someone ready to jump into running for the group. We're run, 3.5, 5.0, PF1, PF2 and what we like to fondly call the abomination campaign. We all have our own style for game mastering and ways of running things and as long as a good story is being told, which is a joint effort between the DM and the players, we have a good time. When the primary GM is not available, one of the other DM's runs a session with the players in another campaign So generally we have two going at any given time, a primary and the intermittent. I check in with my players periodically to see how the players are feeling about the campaign and the direction. I've had to make a few adjustments along the way, but nothing significant. Of course the size of the group is generally about 7-9 players and most of the group has taken the lead GM role over the last 17 years. Most solid gaming group I've ever been involved with.

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

Just going to chime in here a bit. I've been playing since the late 70's and DM'd the odd one off for my original group off guys when we were first exploring AD&D. Current gaming group has had the same core of about 4 or 5 of us since 2008. We all take turns GMing. When one campaign finishes, there is always someone ready to jump into running for the group. We're run, 3.5, 5.0, PF1, PF2 and what we like to fondly call the abomination campaign. We all have our own style for game mastering and ways of running things and as long as a good story is being told, which is a joint effort between the DM and the players, we have a good time. When the primary GM is not available, one of the other DM's runs a session with the players in another campaign So generally we have two going at any given time, a primary and the intermittent. I check in with my players periodically to see how the players are feeling about the campaign and the direction. I've had to make a few adjustments along the way, but nothing significant. Of course the size of the group is generally about 7-9 players and most of the group has taken the lead GM role over the last 17 years. Most solid gaming group I've ever been involved with.

Sounds amazing. If you can find 7-9 GMs who also like playing and all of you share similar enough tastes to game for years? You have found the unicorn of gaming!

I think the vast majority of groups are a mix of GM(s) and players though. And although some GMs only want to run games many are willing to take a turn as a player. Most players I've met, though, don't want to GM. They may even have tried it before but just didn't like it. I don't think that is uncommon or even wrong. It is just the norm with your example being the enjoyable exception.

I hope as GMs we can encourage players to try GMing. We have to be patient though and that is where the coaching style of leadership comes in. No one is a great GM the first few times they run a game. It takes practice and having a mentor GM is really helpful. My big brother got me started GMing decades ago and the lessons learned stick with me.

Of course, I also think there are a minority of players who just shouldn't GM. Not everyone has the temperament to be a GM and that is ok too.

 

[Theory of Games]

I lead by making sure my players' needs and expections are met and/or working with them when what they think they want may not be for the best

How often do you play with strangers?