Game Masters, You Must Get Player Buy-In If You Want To Control Their Stories

The way a tabletop game is set up is that the players control their characters, and the game master controls basically everything else. Because the player characters are the only method of participation in the game that the players have, they tend to fall under the sole control of the players themselves. Whether they want to give their characters green hair, or make them half-elves, or go into excruciating detail on everything from the skull-shaped buckle on their sword belt to the patched whipcord of their trousers, at the end of the day their characters are the only thing the players can really control.

And if you want to limit that control as a game master, then you need to really take a moment and sell the reason for that loss of control to your table. Especially if you don't want them to collectively fold their arms and refuse to take one more step forward until you get your hands off their agency.

Never assume buy-in. Ever.

As game masters we sometimes get so caught up in our own "brilliance" that we forget we need the rest of the players to actually make this game work. And before I get into an example, remember to sign up for my weekly newsletter so you don't miss any of my new releases or upcoming projects!

One Man's Meat is Another Man's Poison

For those who've played this game...

If you've looked into playing Strange Aeons pictured above, then you probably understand the simple gimmick it has. For those who aren't familiar, this entire adventure path is meant to explore the Cthulhu Mythos aspects that are baked into the Golarion setting for Pathfinder. Elder gods, ancient cults, bizarre prophecies, horrific visions, and so on, and so forth. And when the game starts off the players are in an asylum, unable to remember the recent past. They don't know how they got there, how long they've been there, or what's going on. A large portion of the early part of the campaign is investigating their own pasts, and finding answers to these questions.

Now, I have not read the campaign books, because I'm still hoping to play this game and I don't want to spoil things for myself. However, in the player's guide it tells you very explicitly that this amnesia is for the past several years (up to a decade, I believe). As the game is written, the characters do not awaken with total amnesia, piecing themselves together from nothing as the game goes on.

However, I have lost count of the number of game masters who've said that's exactly how they want to run the game. Not only do they want to be the ones who create the stories of every PC, which the players will discover over time, but they also want to be the ones in charge of their character sheets. Everything from which classes a character has levels in, to what feats they have, to what spells they know, is already pre-set, the same way their stories and identity are... it's up to the players to "discover" it, which is the central conceit of how they'd tell the story.

Just put on the mask, trust me, it will be fun!

I guarantee you right now there are some people out there who think that sounds like an amazing game to play. They would be totally down for a full mystery and uncovering all the boxes on their character sheet as they play, in addition to who their character is and what brought them to such a bizarre and dangerous place.

And if that's a version of the game you would love to play, then I wish you godspeed in that endeavor!

However, you need to make sure everyone at your table is equally enthused for playing the game with that twist before you get started. Because if you want that kind of control over the characters people are going to end up playing, you need to get people to agree to give it to you. Because if a player is more interested in telling their own story as part of the campaign, there might be no faster way to kill any interest they had in being a part of this particular table than to take that away from them.

Communication, As Always, is Key

Playing a tabletop RPG is a collaborative process. Everyone needs to build off of everyone else, and all persons at the table need to be on the same page regarding what's allowed, what the limits are, and where things happen.

And if you want to try something a little unconventional or unexpected as a game master, then you need to make sure all of your players agree to it, and that they're just as enthusiastic as you are about it. Otherwise you're going to be in for a bad time.

Or, at the very least, some awkward questions.

There is a line down the middle of the table. You, as the game master, have control of everything outside a player's bubble. If you want to reach into their territory to change something then you're going to have an easier time if you ask permission and work with them than you are going to have trying to force that change.

Because if a player has no agency in their character's actions, and they aren't contributing to their character's story, it's very likely they'll take the only action left to them and push back from the table entirely to find a game where they are more of an active participant.

Also, if you haven't been keeping an eye on my latest releases, you might have missed the news on the following:

- 100 Stargazer Kinfolk: The encore piece for my 100 Kinfolk project for Werewolf: The Apocalypse, this was the one tribe left out of the initial project that readers demanded. So I decided to give it to them!

- 100 Sci-Fi Mercenary Companies: For folks who enjoyed the supplement 100 Random Mercenary Companies for their fantasy games, I decided it was time to do a far future version for my sci-fi gamers. There's at least one more supplement like this that did a genre hop, so stay tuned!

- Captain America is Chaotic Good: The latest installment in my Alignment Deep Dives, this one has led to some... spirited discussion, shall we say? So stop in and give it a look!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Consent in Gaming (If You Haven't Downloaded This Book Yet, You Really Should)

If you have an Internet connection and you've been paying attention to any gaming-related groups on social media recently, then you've no doubt seen people losing their minds over the recently released Consent in Gaming supplement from Monte Cook Games. This supplement is, in short, reminding us all of a very basic, very important truth when it comes to our games; we all have to opt-in to the experience being presented. We need to do so enthusiastically, we need to give our consent, and we need to make sure we discuss what we want and what we expect out of our game. And we need to be able to trust each other, and to acknowledge when we have done something that has hurt feelings at the table in order to move forward.

This supplement is free, and there's no reason not to get it.

Absolutely nothing between these pages should come as a surprise to you... and that is why it should be required reading for anyone who tries to run a game. Ever.

An Ounce of Prevention, and a Pound of Cure

I'm not going to launch into the same BDSM-themed metaphor I used in "Edgy" Games Require Trust to make my point here (even though it still works), because this supplement renders such additional illustration unnecessary. It explains important points that a lot of gamers have probably never had spelled out before, such as how you should always assume the answer is "no" until you've asked, how you need to talk about what people are and aren't comfortable with beforehand, and how it doesn't matter if there's just one holdout; either everyone's on-board, or you don't do the thing.

Period.

Yes, everyone, this isn't a Senate vote. You need to be unanimous!

One thing that makes this supplement unique (aside from discussion of actual tactics like the X-Card, and resources like the consent sheet at the end of the booklet) is that it also talks about how to step back and smooth things over with your group when things go wrong. Because things are going to go wrong, no matter how hard you try. It's an inevitable. This quote, I think, illustrates the point:

"Some people find it hard to apologize because people in general are discouraged from admitting they’re wrong. But here’s the thing: you’re a roleplayer. If you can pretend to be an elf or a cyborg, if you can insult the king to his face or stand your ground against a horde of charging orcs, if you can accept that you killed the entire party with a fireball or take credit for killing a dragon with a critical hit, then you can apologize to your friends for saying something that made someone uncomfortable."

Friendships can be tough to manage, and sometimes emotions run high at your game. You can be as careful as possible, screening everyone's sensitivities and opening dialogue, but you're going to step on a mine eventually. Rather than wasting time and energy getting mad at someone because they couldn't handle something, focus on moving forward. Acknowledge what happened, apologize, and try to move on. Don't try to shame someone for opting out, or demand an explanation; the why doesn't matter, because the important thing is they wanted out.

We're all here to have fun, and we should all feel included and comfortable while we're doing that. Even if we're pretending to be a debauched cabal of baby-eating vampires, or the chosen warriors of the fell powers, those of us around the table still have things we'd rather not have thrown at our faces while we're trying to enjoy ourselves. And the better our communication on issues like this, the better our games will become!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you enjoyed, and if you've used run these kinds of games before, leave us a comment to let us know what worked for you!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!