Creative help needed

[Alan]

After quiting yet another MMORPG, im finding myself playing real life RPG's, found some nice people locally that play and reliving some of my youth around a table with dice.

I noticed theres a RPG system done by Decipher that has a rule set for the "Star Trek" universe, and having watched all of Enterprise, TNG, Voyager it sounds like a system I can relate to and run for the rest of the group.

But there falls the first query - The Plot.

Im just after some creative thought, a story that could take about 8 sessions to complete, it just really has to be based in the future, it doesnt have to be based on Trek at all (although that would be good for me hehe)

So.
- Any tips on how to be a good DM
- Any tips on how to structure a RPG game
- Any tips for involving more roleplay and "speaking in character"
- And... any ideas for a plot !!

ta

 

[Mey]

I play in a fairly large Pendragon campaign (10-12 players) (King Arthur/round table knights etc..)

In short the game is made of mini quests, with the reward being "Glory" the more glory the more well know you are / extra skill points you have. It's based on a year by year sort of rule set, so each year you get an Ageing point to stick on any stat or skill you like..

Anyway your questions

-Good GM - Control your party, I mean don't let them go off on a tangent, keep them focused on the game at hand, rather than talking about what they did the night before. Preparation, a good GM/DM is always prepared. Have you adventure/plot set out so you know exactly what you want to do.

-Structure - in the system I play, we have a small interlude where the players find out what’s happened around the game world, and get to tell the dm/gm what they want to do for that year (wintering). Then they get giving a quest, etc..

-Role-play - Play NPC character's that talk to the characters so that they have to talk back to you. Allow players to talk to each other, forming IC relationships etc..

Last but not Least make sure that your party has fun!

 

[Darksword]

set in the future you could have machines and stuff, like nominate someone to talk like a robot

then have like army ranks or something so u can boss people around <shrug>

wahts a real life rpg btw?

 

[Alan]

wahts a real life rpg btw?

urm imagine DAOC but without the computer

You use dice to make random numbers for combat
One person plays god and explains verbaly the environment
Players tend to act the part of the character, speaking in character

The great thing here is you have to use your imagination and you are not limited in actions, If I wanted to beat up the Dye merchant - i can. If i want to hold a tea party on the round table - i can

 

[Gengi]

Tears,
not entirely sure if this would help, but a long time ago when I were a lad I played MERP (Middle Earth Role Playing). It was our first, and only, foray into D&D as a small group of friends, and what I found very helpful was the Story Board book that you could buy.
Basically, the book gives you a plot, a number of characters you NEED for the plot to work out, and some direction as to where the Players have to go to continue the plot. If I recall correctly it also gave the GM/DM a Role or two to play to keep the game moving along.
See if there is something along those lines for the Star Trek universe game, it gives you a start and you can improvise from the books, you do not necessarily have to slavishly follow the development path of the book.

Later

Gengee

 

[Ezteq]

oooh sounds fun, the story board thingy sounds ace as a way to keep the game flowing anf keep folks focused, if you dont fancy buying a book of them i imagine making your own would be easy enough if your after ideas for storys some pretty basic ones can be modified to any genre you want for your game i.e

rescue mission, someone (princess, space commander whoever) has been kidknapped and you have to go through a whole bunch of ordeals to get to them
1) track them. this might involve speaking to different npc's to find information as to who took them, where and why. different quests could be made to gain a map to the location of the missing person.
2) follow map. have red herring path ways that might seem the easiest route but actually have more perils than the longer way (i dunno like mine fields, marauding alien grass hoppers or an asteroid belt)
3) once your in the same area as the person to be rescued you could maybe devise a system of tasks to release them, like you need to get past guards, obtain a key to the dungeon/cell or crack the code to release the door locks and defeat the boss man that abducted the person in the first place (say the abductee has certain information about the bad guys weakness so you need to free him/her 1st before you can beat the guy)
4) deliver abductee to safety to complete the mission

thats just a really basic idea but it could go for treasure hunts too, i used to love doind stuff like that designing maps and thinking of devious traps/quests and puzzles for people to solve its great fun and so nice to know that people still use their imagination rather than rely on something else to amuse them.
anyway have fun buddy

 

[Alan]

thanks for the feedback.

IVe got all the books (bar one thats on its way from the USA) so have a rule set to follow, skills, and races that people can pick - so pretty much the skeleton is there, just need a story to flesh it out.

And the one above sounds cool

Ive also heard a good GM/DM involves everyone in the game, so would like to ensure all players get to play some important part.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Don't call yourself a DM but a GM.

DM is for Dunnies and Drannies. And THAT'S nerd stuff

 

[old.Tohtori]

Ofcourse...you HAVE to make your players read this:

Even with his great, perhaps omnipotent power the dungeon master/game master(DM/GM) is not invulnerable. Under his tough shell he has feelings, sometimes even suprisingly sensitive ones.

A campaign, or a storyline(SL) made by the DM is like an own child, loved and protected.
And so it's understandable for the one single player who ruined the whole thing to recieve the full wrath of the DM. And then noone has fun, especially the ass who ruined the mood of the game.

In our gaming group was a healthy does of astrafobia, aka fear of lightning/thunder. Almost always the few words "Its beginning to thunder..." and a glance to the troublemakers general direction would be enough to calm the player down.Since the player didnt want to get a lightning bolt struck at the near ficinity of his character, that would calm him..atleast for a while.

But some just have to try and some even like to create characters over and over again. For their pleasure here are ten good ways to get the stormclouds to slowly gather up.

1:QUESTION THE DM`s KNOWLEDGE.

Dont hesitate to grab the smallest, tiniest, little detail. Find errors in his logic and descriptions. Are the dates exact: Is 20th of April 2025 really a tuesday? Go through charts and use the calculator. Can an orc really be that talented? Did the last throw include, with the race bonus, distance- and skillbonuses? How come a tank cant be turned to swish cheese with a laserpistol? How the DM can know that? On what page of the rules is that said? Hasnt the computer technology developed -at all- in the past 20 years? A PC must fit into a wristwatch!

2:EAT, DRINK AND BURB.

The homy rip rap of the chipbag, the pizzacrumbs on the table and the dripping cola drink on the characterform are an essential part of the game. If the DM complains about these just shout out that he`s trying to starve you to death. Or if the DM is at all fat or slim, tell him that its easy for him to complain cause he allready had his share or doesn`t eat at all. A good belch from the very bottom of your belly fits perfectly for a moodkiller, say..in the dark tunnel where the ambush is supposed to be.

3: REMEMBER, YOUR THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING.

-Ofcourse- everyone`s interested in you, or atleast they should be. And you -do- other things too and not just roleplay! Bring out your trendines and opinions on various subjects. Tell all your last nights movie- or barexperiences to everyone. -Surely- listening to that is far more interesting then the boring storyline where your character at the moment doesn`t have anything to do!

4:USE YOUR DICES IN VARIOUS WAYS

The dices are a great stressreliever, until they roll under a table or a couch. You can stack them, roll them around and line them up. You can even chew them, spit them and even swallow them. You can stick a die up your nose or into another hole. Lost dices can be searched from under the furniture. Increbidly multiusable device to be so random.

5:REMEMBER HUMOR

Try to make a funny joke out of everything the DM sayes, especially easy is to turn the names the DM has invented to some high class entertainment. A clever player will turn any line of the DM to a funny one to wich all of the other players laugh at while rolling on the floor: "Hey did you say that the orc has a ball and a chain? Did i hear correctly? The orc has his ball`s in a chain?...must be some big ball´s...hehheh..."

6: DEMAND ACTIVITY

If there`s a quiet moment in the game, yawn deeply and glance at your watch intensly. The DM`s job is to keep the adventure interesting and the players perky. If your character happens to have a quiet moment, naturally you have the right to express this in a way that everyone notices. Or if the storyline is boring to your opinion and there hasn`t been any good action in ten minutes. Ofcourse in a roleplaying game you MUST be active! Even a bit of micromanagement tends to make you yawn!

7:USE THE COMMUNICATION POSSIBILITIES

Playing must not seclude you out of the world outside. Closing into a dark gamingplace where noone can reach you for hours is atleast suspicious. So keep your cellular phone on and the ringvolume loud. Talk to mommy, daddy girl- or boyfriend for half an hour so you keep up with the events of the world. And who minds if, on a quiet moment, you play a few pinball`s?

8:SPREAD THE INFO OF YOUR GOOD HOBBY

Suddenly invite a few friends to watch you play. How else is the roleplaying community going to grow if you dont try to get your friends exited on it? Two or three nice and funny persons like yourself surely wont bother the gameplay. It`s only natural that they once or twice ask, laugh, read comics, start up the playstation or start a Magic The Gathering-game!

9:FOCUS ON THE MORE INTERESTING

This fits especially with the last part. If there`s even a slightly calmer moment on the game, or your character has nothing to do right now, why should you die of boredom? There`s plenty of stuff around you to refresh your mind: Magazines, books, Gameboy, TV, VCR, DVD and Susan from next door. It -can`t- bother anyone else if YOU read, watch a flick or try to score with the chick! Or what if you would play the 16th level of Quakenukeraider on the PC..the one where you -really- get to shoot!

10:TORPEDO THE SUPRISES OF THE GAME

This is a tricky one because you have to concentrate on the game a bit. But its power is at a good medium level. No matter what suprising or wonderful the DM tell`s, naturally you and your character knew that allready. So dont forget, after every event to mention: "I saw that one coming!" or "I knew that all along!" The DM will surely appreciate your witty mind and reward you hansomly with a thank you, experience or if he`s really nice... with a lightningbolt.