There are some easy rookie mistakes new GM's tend to make. These are not because they are bad GM's, simply that they don't know the best way to handle things since they lack experience.

An experienced driver knows how to drive fast, but when you get behind the wheel the first time a good instructor doesn't take you onto the autobahn with it's unlimited speed limit. Or onto a race track with other drivers on it all going 180 MPH.

Similarly new GM's should avoid certain things when first starting out. Eventually you will figure out when exceptions can be made, but avoiding them at the beginning will help you run things more smoothly.

This is supposed to be a place for new GM's to get tips from older more experienced GM's, and as such I think we should start here.

Here are a few things that I think new GM's should avoid:

1: NEVER play a character as the GM. The difference between a GM PC and an NPC, is leveling. If the character is sticking with a group of PC's and levels along with them, gets treasure, etc. That's a GM PC. NPC's should never divide XP, loot, or be a major directing force. NPC's are there to fulfill story points, plot devices, provide flavor to the story, and/or provide help on an as needed basis for the story. They should be helping the PC's but not holding their hands.

You may wonder why a GM PC is bad, it comes down to this. You already know what's going to happen, and how to defeat the monster, trap, puzzle, etc. Plus it is nearly impossible for a GM to not favor his personal PC. This will tend to alienate a large number of players. And lastly, separating IC knowledge from OOC knowledge is difficult for a lot of players, it's nearly impossible when you are the GM and a PC, because you know why something isn't working, but your PC doesn't.

Example: You're traveling through a dungeon. There is a wall with a small hole in it that is far too small for anyone to get through. On the other side you can see your magical gem that you are here to find and return so the curse on the land can be lifted. The hole is there so the PC's know this is the place they are supposed to be. They know it's here, they've seen it. But you don't want them bypassing the entire dungeon with a dimension door spell, or other quick magic. so you've placed a god level anti-teleport field on the dungeon. (The people responsible for the curse on the land are cultists to an evil entity, and this is unhallowed ground.) Your party's spell thief tries to Dimension Door to the gem and bypass the dungeon. But of course fails. The PC's get frustrated, they see some of the opposition and even a glimpse of what might be the boss fight, and don't understand why it's not working. They may ask your character why it's not working, now you have a dilemma you as a GM know what is going on, but your character? Does he know? If you simply always answer yes, you become the easy person to ask for all the answers when it gets difficult. If you say you don't know, the players will begin to see you as useless when figuring out the plot.

2. You shouldn't roll the dice for your players. This is a little less important during PBP games, since if someone can't get online during a critical scene and their turn is up you may have to do so. But in general it's best to let the players roll their own checks.


There are more to come, but this is the first post, and I'd like to get other GM's to post.

I think those are both excellent points, especially the GM PC. I don't see it happen much myself but you do get those situations and I personally can't think of a situation where a GM PC should be in play. A well played NPC or plot hints can do any job with less insult to the players than a GM PC ever could.

As for not rolling dice the one exception I can generally think of is if you want to say roll perception to see if the PCs spot/hear something without them knowing how well they rolled (if your players are prone to meta gaming and saying 'oh I rolled a 7 that means I'm not sure if there's something there, let's be extra careful'). But that should be a rarity.

I agree about the playing PC's in your own game.  I primarily run V:tM which doesn't include templates, so I build my NPC's like PC's, so I like to remind myself to separate them in my mind.  I feel that the main job of NPC's is to facilitate the stories of the PC's.  Getting too emotionally attached to NPC's is problematic, I've experienced that first hand as a player.

I do feel that it can be appropriate to roll for PC's for expedience in some situations, but I think that it is a good idea to avoid this as a new GM until you get used to how to do these things on rPol.

I'd also suggest to new GM's to be careful with respects to PC population.  I feel like some GM's will make games with massive populations to drive the posting speed, but it's important not to use post count as a gauge of success.  For one, the majority of posts in OOC don't actually bring anything to the game anyways.  The last thing you want to do is get yourself in over your head.  Spreading yourself too thin will allow for more details to fall through the cracks.  Better to have something smaller but excellent than something massive but mediocre.

Hoppa touched on another point I was going to make. Don't get too attached to either your story, or any particular NPC. The PC's will invariably mess it up. If you can try and be flexible, you might find the story is more fun the direction it ends up going. Have a contingency for if they do kill your big baddie too soon. Maybe he works for another even bigger baddie. Or maybe he's not really dead, and comes after the PC's for revenge later. The trick is to not get too attached to any NPC.

GMPCs can be very difficult to do right, and even experienced GMs can screw it up occasionally (as I have discovered in the last few days, as it happens... :/ ). I have largely had the good fortune to game with mature players who don't get petty over details, and I have built up a group of reliable players whom I will invite to any new game. I have confidence in them, and I like to think they have confidence in me.

However, using GMPCs with a new group can be a minefield.

If you feel you want to go down that route later, and/or you have a new group of players, you should start out with some 'recurring NPCs', and graduate to GMPCs when you and your players feel comfortable.

It's a good idea not to get attached to NPCs, particularly if they are the Bad Guys, because sooner or later the PCs will want to kill them, and you will be expected to let them!

If the NPC is on the PCs' side, it's perhaps less problematical, but if the PCs screw up an encounter with the Bad Guys and you don't want to kill them for it, your friendly NPC may end up as the fall guy, so it's best if you're not too attached to him when he takes the bullet (or arrow).

If you do have a GMPC or a significant NPC in the party, they should usually take a back seat, unless they have to step up in order to get the game moving or overcome an impasse. The last thing you want is for your GMPC to lead the party, either by design or accident, otherwise, as my colleagues have indicated upthread, the players tend to rely on them, and you end up playing a solo game with your players acting as little more than lurkers.

Getting it right is a very fine line to tread.

However, I always like to keep a background NPC in the party, because when the heroes stand there looking blankly at an obstacle with no clue how to overcome it, a redshirt with a bright idea (or better still, a wrong suggestion that's just close enough to give a PC a bright idea) can be less contrived than many other ways of pointing them in the right direction, and is much better than the game stagnating with nobody knowing what to do and everybody giving up in annoyance.

Rolling for PCs is definitely something else best avoided, unless not doing so will spoil the game. I usually run rules-lite games where there is less call to do this anyway, but definitely avoid this one where possible.

In reply to A Voice in the Dark (msg # 1):

I have to disagree with the NPC's should never get xp, loot or any other form of reward.  There are occasions when an NPC should receive XP and a share of the loot.  There are 2 different types of NPC's in my book, Adventuring NPC's, those who travel with the group/party and are put into harm's way.  A fighter for example who was hired to help fight against the monsters and baddies.  These type of NPCs you want to gain experience, as will the players.  If they continue to adventure in the area, or return to the area of this NPC, they will be able to rehire this NPC and have the NPC be viable for whatever they are trying to accomplish.

The second type is non-adventuring NPC's, and they should never receive xp or loot.  Those are normally the ones we see in cities and towns; Sages, Blacksmiths, Innkeepers, etc.

    As a novice GM, it isn't easy to not grow attached to some of the villains/NPCs you've created. When I first started, I put a lot of thought and backstory into my NPC's, only to have them mowed down as cannon-fodder that left me frustrated. Since then, I've learned not to get too attached to NPCs (even the major ones, as PC's, can be so devastating to even the best-laid plans of your Big Bad)

   I have to agree with tulgurth - there are NPCs that travel with the group that should get experience, rewards and such. One of the PC's in my current 7th Sea campaign has a servant who travels along with the rest of the group and I've been tracking experience points and such for him with the full intention of promoting him at some point to being a full "H" Hero with the rest of the group. Having those NPC's along will give a sense of continuity with the group and a richer story as things progress, and will also promote a sense of time passage as the NPC grows along with the characters. Too many games, I've seen the old trope with regards to NPCs - "Oops, well ... there go whats his name!" played out. I'd prefer to make memorable NPC's that the players will genuinely care about when something happens to them.

   But you're right, those 'non-adventuring NPC's', I never worry about levels and/or experience for. The only thing that happens to most of them is their hair gets a little greyer.

Like your villains ??  I once had a number found (it was a tattoo) on the body.  The actual number was randomly rolled.  Yes, clones !!  So, now they can legitimately reappear, even more nasty than before.