Eventually I guess I got to a point where I felt like I didn't need to do this anymore. I had developed my own style, my own habits. I could GM in my sleep.
But now I'm coming back around to the idea of GMing as a lifelong learning opportunity. One of my favorite new blogs recently posted about this subject, wondering if the "art of GMing" is a thing of the past. I can't really comment one way or the other; I've always been a bit of an insular gamer, and really don't have enough experience with other peoples' styles to make an informed opinion. But the post reinforced some thoughts I'd already been having regarding immersion and the GM's role in facilitating it.
So, like the gym rat who creates a list of exercises to target certain muscle groups, I have decided that I'm going to target certain areas of my GMing style that I feel have gone to seed or could simply use a bit of sharpening up.
Accents
As a teenager I used to be pretty good at mimicry. I can still bust out a few decent impressions (my Kermit the Frog is so accurate it gives people the willies, and my Sean Connery is second to none), but I'm talking more about the ability to do regional accents, like this kid:
When Des and I play Pendragon, we speak with our American accents. But I would love to be able to throw in a Welsh lilt or a bit of Yorkshire dialect to distinguish characters from outside Logres. And being able to do a range of accents similar to those demonstrated in the video above would mean I'd never lack for running a modern-day or 20th-century game (or character).
Time to visit the library and look into accent technique books for actors, I guess.
The Sensory Experience
The ability to describe surroundings using all five senses is the mark of a mindful and capable GM. I try my best to remember to do this, but sometimes it's all too easy to default to "pleasant summer day" and leave it at that. Risus Monkey just posted a fantastic technique for jogging the GM's descriptive mind during gameplay. Essentially a descriptive rubric, the chart both organizes one's thoughts before the game and helps remind one of the sensory atmosphere one is trying to evoke during actual play, when it's all too easy to forget and fall back on old standards. I can't wait to try this out during my next Pendragon session.
Clothing
This is one I've only relatively recently started thinking about, and it's the arena where I'm most anxious to up my game. I'm fine with describing how NPCs look: hair color, eye color, build, demeanor, and so forth. But I'm woefully inadequate when it comes to describing how they dress. And clothes do make the man, after all.
I have to credit Des with bringing this to my attention. "What's he wearing?" is a common question at our game table, and initially I found myself scrambling to come up with a satisfactory response ("Uh...clothes?"). I'm a bit more apt to be able to answer the question nowadays, but I've still got a long way to go in the arena of coming up with not only ways to envision an NPC's outfit, but also describe it.
Using all five senses really enhances the immersive experience. Personally, I find smell the most powerful imaginative evoker. YMMV.
ReplyDeleteAs a rule, I try to use each sense in some descriptive way each session. One seen will start with something visual, another with something auditory, a third with something olfactory, etc. It makes each scene much more vivid.
Planning in advance helps, as always.
Luckily (or unluckily), my gaming group is a bunch of stereotypical gamer guys. Descriptive clothing doesn't much matter. The few times I've added descriptions it has gone by without comment.
And I dare you to try that Welsh "ll"! My wife (who speaks with a Japanese accent) is the only non-Welsh person I've seen get it right (and this according to a Welshman.) Its a cruel mixture of the Japanese 'r', the English 'l' and the English 'sh' - said with a smile. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I don't think I've ever really used touch outside of describing pain) or taste in my RPG sessions in terms of using the five senses.
ReplyDeleteMy big one is falling out of character with NPCs. I might start of talking in first person with a voice, then if the conversation goes back and forth, I will end up switching into third person.
I did make my own paper miniatures that I'd draw up and then tweak in Photoshop so my players usually just end up picking the thing up off the table to get a better look, so I rarely get asked about attire unless I myself mention something peculiar about a hilt or belt buckle, etc.
Fashion is a great tool for saying something about an NPC without expressly saying it, especially in a heavily stratified society like medieval England. Be sure to focus on shoes; it's easy enough for a man to change his cloak or tunic, but a new pair of boots is a far more serious investment and tends to speak more truth. ;)
ReplyDeleteI've personally gone as far as making it a habit to write each of the five senses on their own line with a colon after them prior to describing or statting a room or location, even if I'm working on the fly. I don't always fill all of them in, but it makes me stop and consider them.
ReplyDeleteThe trick in actual play has been knowing when to let the information out. When they enter the room, do they notice first the foul smell or the slight change in temperature? At the same time? At what point do I mention the low but audible rumbling... only when they are actively listening?
If you let out too much at once you lose the chance to build some tension and after a while it sounds like you're just reading from that list of senses.
Just got back from 496 session. We started at 5:30 and its 2:30 now. We played it sandbox style but the challenges were all political. Of course, courage and a good sword arm came in handy.
ReplyDeleteNo deaths; but, a couple very close calls. The most interesting was when one of the players took on an NPC who was a mother held captive with her 5 month old son (and heir to a player knight who died at the Battle of St. Albans.) She critted a passion roll and applied it to her strength. :)
Solid post. I think it's great that you view your GMing as a craft that you want to improve.
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