GMs & Players
The Role of the GM and Player
Game Master
A narrator, facilitator, adjudicator and the voice of the world beyond the player's perspective.
I have a strong preference toward one of the two (or more) of us playing the role of a GM. Colloquially, this means that one of will take control of and breathe life into the world and its NPCs beyond the player's control. Being a forever-GM across a multitude of roleplays and tabletop groups, I understand the effort involved in crafting a world and moving the various chess pieces around a character.
Whether you've reached this page as a prospective player of mine or because you intend to GM for me, I like to outline the expectations I have for both roles.
The GM
- The GM controls of the world and its inhabitants, minus the player. This often includes significant effort in worldbuilding, NPC creation (including motivation) and generating plot arcs.
- The GM will not have a main character. Actions and choices made by the player will decide which NPCs take a more prominent position on the stage.
- The GM understands that some characters will be loved, while others will be less desired. It's the nature of the game that one's players won't love every NPC, plot or puzzle the GM comes up with. The GM must be okay with not every character or scene sticking.
- The GM and player will both exhibit consistent communication and occasionally provide each other feedback to constructively improve the game.
The Player
- The player will provide a wealth of mental introspection and narration of the character's mental machination, thoughts, and feelings. This is both to give the GM insight into the character's mind to better further the plot, and for their fun. Candidly, players are expected to put in effort. There are no tour busses to plot.
- The player will craft a compelling character, filled with layers of motivation, history, likes and dislikes. The player is expected to build a character; a real character that comes to life in their writing and becomes a voice in their head directing their own actions.
- The player will actively manage their aspirations. Players of Vampire: the Masquerade will be familiar with this. Aspirations are everything that a character and player want to happen, e.g., "I want to become a doctor", "I want to visit my sister", or "I want a cheeseburger".
- The GM and player will both exhibit consistent communication and occasionally provide each other feedback to constructively improve the game.