Taking over the responsibilities of the Game Master can be a bit overwhelming and daunting. There are a few things that can help you take on this fun role and here are few of them.
Few weeks ago my 14 year old came to me and told me he wanted to assume the role of a game master in his school’s roleplaying class. He has been a player for a few years now, but mostly in games that I run. To be honest I was happy to see that he enjoys roleplaying games and feels ready to tackle the responsibilities that come with being a Game Master.
When he asked what module he should run I naturally told him to check out Lost Mines of Phandelver. After reading through the module he came back to me and said, that perhaps it didn’t suit him or his group all that well, since their gaming sessions only last a couple of hours. He also wanted to have a definite start and finish to the session.
So, after we had talked for a bit I sat down and wrote a short module that I felt was more to his liking. One that could be easily run in two, maybe three, hours and had a decent opening and an ending. He read through the module but returned, once again, a bit worried.
Apparently he liked the story, but was worried that he wouldn’t be able to deliver the way he wanted to. Despite having played for years he didn’t really feel as if he knew what do focus on and how to be a great storyteller.
The greatest teacher experience is
Nothing can ever replace experience. Despite having been a game master for over 25 years, I still find myself learning. This I told him and said, that as long as he made sure that he and his players had fun, he would become a successful game master.
He smiled and nodded his head. He knew this but asked if I could give him a few pointers on how he could use different parts of the module to become a better storyteller. I sat down again and added a few thoughts and notes to it.
Evil stirs in Ormpetarr
The module was originally was written in Icelandic but is now available in English in DMsGuild.com.
Evil stirs in Ormpetarr is designed for 4-6 1st level PCs and of a non-evil alignment. It takes place in the Forgotten Realms, in the city Ormpetarr, south of Vilhoun Reach. The module can be run using any urban setting. All encounters can easily be modified to fit either a larger or a smaller party.
When the wife of the famous tailor, Hiliar U’lar, is kidnapped by the infamous gang Iron Rats, it’s time for action. Are there any heroes out there brave enough to face this terrorizing group of thieves and cutthroats?
The module is Pay-What-You-Want, so feel free to grab a copy. It was written with beginner game masters in mind and is easily run in one gaming session.
