I see being a game master as very similar to the path that Neo took in the Matrix. He started on the top of his game (pardon the pun) and eventually learned that his reality was a lie.
Morpheus tried to “wake him up” multiple times, starting with the Jump Program.
As Cipher mentioned, however, “everyone falls the first time.” Neo was not an exception to this. He began getting better when they started loading programs into his brain, as he finally felt like he knew something.
“I know Kung Fu.”
Neo
Morpheus knew better and responded:
As much as I want to just watch that scene again and again, I will summarize and get the point of this post.
Being a game master (or GM) is a responsibility that many don’t understand when they start, myself included. It takes many games (and many mistakes) to learn the one truth of being a GM:
We are all here to play a game together and have fun.
It took several things to show this to me. The most important was that *I* was not having fun, as I felt that this wasn’t my role. I had a job to do and that was run the game for the players and make it fun for them. This let to me wanting to quit, feeling like I was never good enough, or worrying too much about balancing out the game. No effort was put into my enjoyment during the game, as noone was really concerned with it.
Which meant everyone had less fun.
Please don’t read this the wrong way. I love running games more than playing in them now, but back then, my mind was clouded by my own limitations. I was dealing with the Morpheus in my head, while I was learning to be “the One.”
Then one day, it happened.
I was running a game and I stopped caring about the prep, the rules, the system at all and just let things happen. I think I was just tired or not feeling well, but I just gave up on systems.
All of the same things were happening in the game, meaning the players rolled their dice, calculated damage, etc, but *I* stopped all that bookkeeping and focused on when things should happen to move the story forward.
When the player got a really good roll for a character, you could see in their eyes that they felt awesome. So, I simply stepped out of the way and let them.
Listen to that again: I let them be awesome.
Who really cares when the antagonist is defeated as long as it is awesome when they are? Like on TV or in the movies, they are done when it is best for the story.
From that moment onward, my prep for games became all about learning ways to streamline the systems I was forced to use *cough* d20 *cough* and slowly gained reputation among my friends as a homebrewer extreme. It was once said to someone about my game, “Oh, we play D&D in name only, as our GM homebrews the shit out of it.”
I am talking about high levels, improvisational magic, and fast and furious combat, as much as I could. I wanted the game to be exciting, not a math exercise, unless that is what a player wanted. Every action should matter, as much as possible, in every scene.
I wish I could point to one particular thing that made this mental shift occur, but I cannot. I can point to many small examples that prepared me for epiphany, both as a player and a GM, in and out of games, but there is no recipe for enlightenment.
Chop Wood, Carry Water, as it is said.
The reason I am writing this is to help GM’s find this moment in their own games. It may not happen for everyone, and maybe this will be a completely unique experience for my only, but I don’t think so.
I will leave you with this final thought. Remember that as much as it is your role to provide entertainment to the players, it is also your role (and theirs) to ensure you are having fun as well. As they say in Dungeon World, be a fan of your players.
But also, be a fan of yourself. Enjoy watching the players hit milestones for their characters, and remember the real rules for GMing (thanks John):
- There are no rules.
- Cheat anyway
And one last GIF. Thanks for listening. I hope it helps.
Walking the Path,
Chris.
