Running compelling stories is hard. Preparing content can be tedious, especially when players bypass entire swathes of it. But when it all works? When you pull together one of those amazing sessions? That's why I play these games, the shared storytelling moments.
The entire MTC system is designed to foster storytelling. That means the system plays a little differently than other games you may have tried. Combat is much faster, for one thing. You can whip through an initiative pass in a minute or less, and an entire complex combat generally doesn't take more than twenty to thirty minutes.
Contrast that to many other games. My last group had six players, and we'd take an average of four hours per session. Some groups love that, and that's fine. For me, though, I prefer combat as a vehicle for the story, not an entire gaming mode.
Because combat flows more quickly we generally have to prepare more combat, which I've broken down into scenes. Before we get there, though, I want to talk a bit about building the group. Your pre-campaign preparation might be the most important thing you do.
Building the Group
Your first hurdle is finding players. Thankfully sites like Roll20.com offer a way for us to gather them, and the medium has come a long way. I've been shocked how much fun gaming online can be.
Gathering around a table is still my favorite, though, and I've built many a group for many a different game over the decades. Most of the early games involved big mistakes, and eventually I learned that not all players are interested in the same thing.
Characters who love RP and story are generally called
narrative gamers.
Players who want the game world to be real, and love understanding how every system works are called
simulationists.
Players who enjoy overcoming challenges like combat are generally called
gamists.
Most players are a mix of all three, but some skew heavily toward one or another. The last game I played in had two narrative gamers, four gamists, and a simulationist.
If the GM fudged a roll the simulationist got upset. If the game spent too much time in combat the narrative gamers got upset. If the game was all RP the narrative gamers were thrilled, but the gamists fell alseep.
Before you start a game spell out your style. What kind of game are you running? What kind of player are you?
Spell that out clearly to your players. "Guys, we're there's probably only going to be one combat a session. Lots of puzzles, and heavy RP."
This will attract the narrative gamers you're after, and warn away the gamist from a game they will loathe. If you love combat, and are honest, then narrative gamers will know their needs aren't going to be met.
Once you've assembled 3-6 players, and given them an idea of the tone of the game you're running, then it's time to write an adventure.
Scenes
Scenes are incredibly straight forward, and contain exactly what a movie scene would. You've got a cast who is present, a setting, and some scripted events that are going to occur in that scene. From a writing / game master perspsective you also have a scene goal, though. A reason the scene exists. Without all these things a scene is not a scene.
Both of the following sagas, Dying World, and First Contact are broken down into scenes. As a GM you use them to navigate the story, and generally plan sessions based on how many scenes you expect to be able to run. I have about 4 hours to work with. I allow some warm up banter, but we get about 3 real hours of play.
A scene generally takes me 45 minutes to run through, so I need to prepare 5 scenes for every game session. I only expect to get through four, but I want more runway than the players are likely to encounter.
Plot Branching
Often times you won't be able to predict your players's decisions. They can and will throw a massive wrench into your planning, so I always do some plot branching to cover possible party decisions.
For example, in the First Contact saga your players can choose to go with a group of necromancers, go back to their government, or strike out on their own. I prepared scenes for all three possible routes, and also realized it was possible for them to do something one of those scenes didn't cover.
I recommend preparing common routes, but I'm careful not to get too far down in the weeds as I can easily spend an afternoon branching one scene into a million what ifs.
Scene Goal
Each scene is comprised of three parts, and the scene goal is the most important. More important than setting. More important than characters present.
The scene goal is the condition you need met by the end of the scene. Maybe an informant is telling your group they've been burned and are now being hunted by the confederacy. The scene goal is "Characters learn they've been betrayed."
If it's a combat the scene goal could be survival, or evacuate the hostage, or anything else relevant to your story. As long as you know what the goal is you're golden.
Cast
Next we've got our cast. Who's present? Which characters? Which non-player characters? What does everyone in this scene want? What is their motivation? As a game master your job is to predict this as accurately as possible. What do the characters you're playing want? What would make your players happy and keep them engaged in the story?
Be aware of everyone's motivation, and it will be easier to juggle several characters at once. Part of the reason I keep a cast list is so that I can see at a glance who's head I'm supposed to be in at a glance.
Setting
The setting should be a living and vibrant place. You bring it to life by presenting one or more
memorable sensory details for the characters to wrap their imagination around. What does the airlock smell like? What does a dragon screaming through the upper atmosphere sound like? Bring it to life for your players.
Remember that characters can only interact with elements that you introduce. Also realize that anything you introduce will automatically be given significance. Back in the previous millennium, before fire, there was a comic called Knights of the Dinner Table.
In one episode the beleaguered GM described a Zephyr flitting through the trees. The players wasted it with a crossbow. He mentioned a cow. They spent hours investigating it and casting detection spells on it. Players attention goes where you direct it.
When describing your setting mention things that will be relevant, and mention them early. If combat is going to break out in a bar then beforehand mention the scrape of chair legs (weapon), the pitchers of beer on the bar (weapon), the stairs to the second floor (escape), the roaring fire with no screen (danger). All that could come into play during a bar brawl, and if you've forewarned your players they can interact with the setting in fun believable ways.
That's really it. If you've defined a scene goal, a cast, and a setting, then all you need is a sequence of scenes that lead from your present location to the end of your adventure. If you want to see that done well, then take a look at either the First Contact or Dying World sagas. Both are designed to show you the ropes, whether you use them or not.
Types of Scenes
My day job is author. I've got 30 books in print, and I've taught thousands of authors the storytelling ropes. The rules are exactly the same for a roleplaying game as for a novel. Scenes are divided into two basic types-- action and reaction.
Action scenes are exactly what they sound like. The players are assaulting the starport. They're sneaking into the Skull of Xal. They're fighting the arachnidrakes.
Reaction scenes are breathers, the thing that Michael Bay avoids in most of his films. It's why you walk out feeling so breathless at the end...you're never given a chance to react.
In an RPG your reaction beats serve a vital role. This is where roleplay happens. This is where characters develop, and think, and plan. After they assault the starport and escape with the loot...that's a reaction scene. Planning the assault on the starport? Also a reaction scene.
Varying the action of these two scenes results in something called
pacing. If your groups like fast-paced games you'll probably see something like action, action, reaction, action, action, reaction. If your party likes to solve puzzles and RP more you'll probably see reaction, action, action, reaction, action, reaction, action.
Over time you'll develop a feel for which order to use them in, but it helps me to track scenes as either action or reaction when planning the scene goal.
Keeping Players Engaged
So you've read the novels. You've read the setting information, including the next chapter, and are ready to run a game. You eagerly tell your potential players, and get them to show up. What do you do once you have them there, and how do you keep them engaged?
I make a practical list each session that will look something like this:
Kaya wants to research unliving ants to create living variant. Use her mad scientist flaw.
Daito lost a lot of credits last session, even though he earned a luck out of it. Give him an opportunity to earn it back somehow
Edrin hasn't quite engaged. What does he want? Arrange an NPC encounter to ask him some questions about his background
Reaper's appearance is a definite problem as necromancy is barred. How can you help him acclimate without penalizing his character? Give him the tools he needs
Zoe chose to keep her cargo rather than deliver it. How would the intended recipients react to this? Would they send an investigator? Or use scrying magic. There must be consequences.
Then I'll use that list to make or modify scenes relevant to the adventure. If the party is relic hunting aboard a Great Ship that's my setting. My scene goals will come from the list above. My cast is determined by player actions, and the creatures populating the ship.
Player Significance
All players crave significance. They want to be the best ___________. The best pilot. Best mechanic. Most beautiful. Smartest. Richest. Most powerful goddess. Our job as gamemasters is to allow them to achieve their character dreams, or some of them at least.
Letting players have everything means they will feel not attachment to the things they receive. Give them a bunch of powerful magic items right off the bat, and see their engagement dwindle, and their apathy flare when getting more loot. At the same time reward player interests with content.
Make each character feel significant, as often as possible. If you have a small group you might be able to do this every session. If not, then possibly every other session. I don't go longer than that, because if a player goes 3 sessions with no engagement they are unlikely to keep playing, or if they stay are probably not very engaged in the game.
Player Agency
The other thing we need to be aware of is player agency. Players like to succeed, especially if they first failed in the pursuit of the thing. Players do not like being told, "No. That doesn't work."
I've played under many GMs during my time, and more than a few has been a tyrant. The tyrant doesn't respect player agency. They are running a story with predetermined parts, and the players are there to fill those parts, not think, or make their own decisions. This is common referred to as railroading the players.
The best stories allow the characters choice, with consequences. They can choose to run away. They can start their own shipping business, or go Catalyst hopping. If they do, though, then the demonic threat they failed to contain could become a threat to the entire sector.
I let players succeed a lot of the time. At forging magic items. At sudden plans in combat. At creatively using flaws. Each time we do this the player engages more fully with the game. It becomes our story. Together.
Give our players agency. Make them feel significant. Tell good stories, with compelling scenes, and your players will never leave your table. It can get really awkward.
Handling Character Death
The Magitech Chronicles is a lethal system. If you stand in the open you're going to get gunned down, and your hit point totals are low enough that it can happen in 2-3 spells. Smart characters are usually fine, but every once in a while someone is going to die.
There are a few ways to handle this when it occurs. First, I try to make sure every character has at least one luck before going into a dangerous combat. Then they can negate something that would kill them.
If they have no luck, and they're going to die, I see if there's an in game way to prevent it. Recently Daito was knocked to zero hit points, and I had a wight left with an attack. Rather than kill him I ordered the necromancer to have the wight stay its hand. He tried to barter for his life.
There are times, though, when I can't save a character. They just get pulped. When this happens I try to have the player in question role a new character, which keeps them occupied until I can find another insertion point.
I encourage my players to make an RP event out of a character death, and it rarely needs much prompting. The risk, though, is the player who lost the character. If you really loved that character, then they may be done with the game.
Ask them what they want to do. Suggest a new character they might enjoy. But also be understanding if they want to take break. No one likes character death, but it exists because without risk the games are not nearly as fun.
That said, if you absolutely hate character death lesser templates are your friend.
Additional Resources
We've only scratched the surface of what it takes to be a good game master, but if you've made it this far you're well on your way. The best way to learn anything is practice, and I'd encourage you to just jump in and run a game. You'll make mistakes, but you need to give yourself permission to suck.
Hear me out.
Do you expect a Kindergartener to do Calculus? They first have to make it through addition in first grade, and the multiplication, and maybe algebra in 7th grade. You've got to take the same steps with GMing, but usually those steps are a lot more fun than school IMO.
Flex your creative muscles. Build. Experiment. Play.
But also seek additional resources, and always be learning. To that end we've created a YouTube channel with videos to help game masters and players both. There are live play examples, rules, and more.
In addition I'd suggested joining the RPG development Facebook group, or the main Magitech group. Tons of helpful gamemasters are lurking to help answer your questions! Here are the links:
Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1209708072506502/
RPG Development Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/440230793307047/
YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQqzHvQCPK0HKgTzDSaA4mA
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