Tell me about your experiences running games at a FLGS

[loverdrive]

Another nice thing to do is to shift all the character personal quest (if you even have them) tracking and progression onto the players -- there's 50+ players in our campaign with 20 of them playing more than once a week, so it's just not feasible for the GMs to keep track of them all.

The way I accomplished it:

1. At the end of a session, player asks the GM about advancing their personal goal (finding her ex-husband to murder him to death; studying ancient rituals; winning the heart of cute twinky elf town mage; etc; etc)
2. GM tells them what they'll need to find (strand of ex-husbands hair; a daemon's name; a pretty flower)
3. Before any of the next sessions, player can ask to incorporate that thing into the game on first come-first serve principle (GM can refuse if it's just not viable, but it's pretty rare IME)

It also serves as a nice incentive for the players to arrive on time, which is always good.

 

[MGibster]

I know a lot of people here have done similar things. What can you tell me about those experiences, including things you wish you knew before you started.

My FLGS holds a game day each quarter, charging $10 for a seat at the game. The player gets to keep $5 of that in store credit and their other $5 goes to the GM as their store credit. I might rack up $20-25 if I run a game, though it's not like the credit is what motivates me. It's noisy. There's plenty of space, but there are 5+ games being run, sometimes people playing Warhammer, and all those people talking adds up, so be prepared to repeat yourself and raise your voice.

Honestly, that's probably the best lesson I e learned from the experience: don't stress about the rules and just keep things moving. I'd say it's improved me as a GM enormously, tbh, and my players definitely enjoy and appreciate the flexibility.

I'll echo this. Games I've run in the last two years includes Fallout, Call of Cthulhu, and Deadlands. Most of the players have very limited experience with whatever game I'm running, and I explain to them I'm running a simplified version of the rules to help keep things easy. I also tend to keep the scenario relatively simple and straight forward so we don't spend a lot of time on red herrings.

I'll say that running games for complete strangers at my FLGS has been a lot of fun. I've met a lot of decent people and I had a pretty good time at all but two events (the Deadlands game I ran and the GURPS game I was a player at).

 

[jdrakeh]

I always love gaming (both playing and running) at The Yellow King in Colorado Springs and have never had any problems there. I even head down there a few times a month for a "hobby hangout" with friends (we build models, paint minis, work on writing, etc). The owner is a great guy, there's a good selection of food and drink, and if business is slow, we (my friends, myself, and the owner) will often break out a board game (we've played everything from Red Dragon Inn to Twilight Imperium). The noise level is never unbearable and outside interruptions are kept to a minimum. Over the past two years, I've played in a Planescape game, a Vampire 5e game, and a Werewolf 5e game there. All great.

 

[Jahydin]

I mostly run games with my close friends, but on occasion acquaintances- never total strangers.

For those that have ran public games for a long time, has anything about your DM style or player expectations changed over the years? Does it actually match the kind of game D&D 2024 is? I've always been dying to know...

 

[aramis erak]

I've been playing in a three-shot game at my FLGS and really, really liking it. Once it wraps up, I'm considering going to the owner and pitching him on having me run a trial game of either Pirate Borg or Shadowdark and, if that goes well, doing it on some kind of regular schedule.

I know a lot of people here have done similar things. What can you tell me about those experiences, including things you wish you knew before you started.

Thanks for your help!

I've been running games off and on for my FLGS since 1990 or so. The TSR Retail Play program at first.
Then some LUG Trek demos, and alternity demos. Not the only one, but one of a small stable.
Had only 2 problem players in Retail Play... one of whom was so off the rails the players asked for the no-PVP rule to be relaxed. The other, just not able to play without rules lawyering, and being constantly wrong... he couldn't cope with AD&D2 not being AD&D 1+Arduin Grimoire...

With the release of 5E, started running an AL table, and, again, only a few problem players.
1 problem player was unwilling to accept the rules restrictions of AL play. Damned near got himself banned.
1 player had a problem with the rest of the table... went to the coördinator at regional... and got told off. He eventually switched tables
1 player was constantly telling his girlfriend how to play - I made them sit apart and it stopped. he disappeared due to a rape conviction. She continued to play until she decided to transition.
1 lied about his dice. Called him on it privately, never saw him again.
1 player had visual issues reading dice. Was easy enough to just have the player next to him read his dice. Later found out he was suffering an astrocytoma near the visual cortex.

I still run my wed group at the store on wednesdays.

My season 2 and 3 AL table group, 4 of them are still playing with me - as my online sunday night group. When I moved from Alaska to Oregon (near Corvallis), we switched nights, and continued the AL adventure. Then played other things. Currently, Daggerheart, and thinking next may be L5R5 again.

My deal with the local FLGS' owner is my wed group is open table - anyone who shows up is welcome, and it'll be RPGs if I have 2 players or more. If I have just one, it'll be boardgames. Sometimes, the players present just aren't in RPG mood, so, again, boardgames. A handful of us are authorized to lock up the back room, and both RPG groups have a member so authorized.

Unfortunately, my Wed Group disintegrated in the spring. Had one player remaining - none of my others want to play with them. Have 2 currently.

Open Table is in fact a bit of an issue... when your get a personality conflict.

 

[Bae'zel]

I was a regular at a small shop where the owners asked me if I would DM on their dedicated game nights. Even offered me a discount as “payment” for my time.

Met a nice group of strangers. We hit it off and had a great time, but “game night” usually involved a few other tables of Magic players who were loud and obnoxious. Coupled with the fact that the shop never actually gave me any discounts, we packed up and played at one of my players’ house instead.

We ran a full campaign for over a year. So I guess that the local game shop was like a “speed dating gone right” for gaming. The shop closed down after we left.

 

[timbannock]

Prep more than you need, but keep it modular because you will absolutely throw a bunch of it out. Watch the clock and run more for dramatic timing and putting a lid on the scenario by the end of the session, unless you are running a dedicated, consistent group/campaign, which I've never been able to successfully do at an FLGS.

Promote the store's wares, whether it's stuff for the game (books, dice, cards, add-ons) or stuff for the people at the table (food, drinks, esp. water!!). If the store doesn't get value out of their play space, it will not last.

Take frequent breaks, because as I mentioned, water!! Being hydrated is important, even if you're just sitting down rolling dice. Encourage people who don't have to use the bathroom during those breaks to get up and move around, maybe peruse the store. "Hey, you should check out that new comic/game/dice set." Of course, people with mobility issues shouldn't be pushed away from the table.

Having a page or individual card on the table for each player with "good play" reminders is always good. "Player's Agenda" from PbtA games and the like. Because you WILL get problematic players, but they are most often problematic not because they are bad people, but because they haven't been properly taught sporting play and good manners. You may get folks with disabilities and who are on the spectrum and any number of other things that may be new to you, but that usually all have very simple, direct, easy-to-resolve ways of speaking with/to them about how to keep things enjoyable for everyone and inclusive for everyone. Read up on that sort of thing, especially from convention reports and threads on various forums. A welcoming table is key.

As a GM, you talk a lot, so you will have various moments of being tongue-tied, mispronouncing stuff, misgendering a character (like when a player is playing a character of a different gender than themself), or Freudian slips. It happens. Rather than pray no one notices, be the first to call attention to it and chide yourself appropriately. Apologize if and when necessary. If anyone's frustrated, annoyed, angry, or any other negative emotion, don't hesitate to call for a break and give everyone time to chill out or discuss as they wish/need.

 

[payn]

I find the FLGS too distracting for consistent campaign play. I would engage stuff like Pathfinder society and/or Adventure League. That way the commitment is low and you can have a steady group of folks joining, hanging out, and checking out if they like.

So, yeah typically an adventure that can wrap in 3-4 hours, revolving GMs, not your typical RPG expectations.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

1 player was constantly telling his girlfriend how to play - I made them sit apart and it stopped. he disappeared due to a rape conviction.