Getting back into running TTRPGs - Some practical advice

I haven't put out a blog post in a while, primarily because I have felt I had very little to add to the OSR and TTRPG space as of late. Play reports on my games have felt too impossible to write and I am not someone who enjoys reading game design theory. Whenever a blog does maths on average dice rolls and bounded accuracy I start tasting copper, frankly. I appreciate those who do much the same way I appreciate plumbers, that is to say fondly! But I trust you to know what you are doing without telling me in explicit detail.

Awful awful sentences. But to the point:

GETTING BACK INTO RUNNING TTRPGS - SOME PRACTICAL ADVICE

1. YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING - It might feel like you do, but there is a lot of muscle memory to running TTRPGS. Re-reading the rulebook is never a bad idea, but focus only on the DM/referee-facing rules. (This does not apply to crunchy systems, but if you like crunch you probably enjoy re-reading rules anyway, pervert)

2. WHAT DO YOUR NOTES SAY - I struggle with keeping ordered notes. I have exactly one detailed play report and nothing else from that campaign because I am flighty and hopeless. Still! Mythic Bastionland only really wants to know what myths are active, how far along the omens are each myth, and where the players ended the last session. Any other detail is either so evocative I physically can't forget it, or...

3. YOUR PLAYERS AREN'T GOING TO CATCH YOU OUT - If there is a critical detail the players recall and you don't, they will tell you. Their character's survival/success is reliant on it, and thus their enjoyment. If neither of you remember a detail it was not that important to begin with.

4. STICK TO RULES OF THUMB - They are as follows:
- "Yes and.." is improv 101 for a reason
- "Fail Forward" keeps the game going. Tax their resources like losing hit points or damaging items for failed rolls, but never sit around rolling to unlock the same door over and over again.
- "Let players scheme and roleplay" because they enjoy it and it gives you time to breathe. Also sometimes they will come up with something better than what you had planned and you can steal it, which will make them feel like a genius for having 'predicted' it.
- "Offer two bad solutions" when players are stuck on a decision. You could just run from the dragon now and escape with your lives and some treasure, but they've marked you with their scent and will track you (and probably burn the countryside along the way). If you plead for your life they might spare you, but you'll probably have to do something nasty for them and give back the treasure. This is also an example of being clear about consequences, which is another useful rule.

5. TROPES ARE YOUR FRIEND - Did you have a very paint-by-the-numbers session where a dwarf, an elf, a wizard and a cleric went into a dungeon and fought a monster? Congratulations, you had fun! The enjoyment comes from getting to see what *YOU* would do when faced with a minotaur, which is a pretty novel experience whoever you are. (Unless you're one of those Spanish bullfighters. But then it's probably exciting to show off what cool bullfighting knowledge you have, right?)

6. YOUR FRIENDS ENJOY YOUR COMPANY, DUMBASS - I am willing to bet you are some shade of neurotic/neurodivergent and worry about not living up to expectations. I am also willing to bet you are a decent enough human being that if it was your friend running a TTRPG and they started a session by saying: "It's been a while since I've run a game guys, please be patient and don't expect like a grand story or anything today I'm a bit nervous." You would be kind and encouraging to them in response. You can expect the same from them too! If we cannot be honest and vulnerable with our friends, who can we be honest and vulnerable with? 

(SIDENOTE: Avoid running for strangers as your first game back after a break. If you really must, remember that even if you make a bad impression on them, they are strangers and it literally doesn't matter as you may never interact again. Preferably develop a sense of self-worth so such things don't matter, then tell me how you managed to do so, you jammy bastard)

This book is great but may make your child want do stand-up comedy. Gift with caution!

7. ONLY DO WHAT'S FUN - I had a joke book as a child. It was written by the brilliant Harry Hill and besides a lot of classic hit-or-miss gags, it featured advice for aspiring comedians. I still remember a lot of them (Never blame the audience unless its at the Norwegian Comedy Festival) but the one that always stood out was: only do comedy if you enjoy it. It's true of a lot of things in life: your job will pay you to be miserable, a hobby will not. If you're committed to doing something that will make you unhappy, go eat a vegetable or answer an email cunt! I run TTRPGs because it is fun, life-affirming even. I like to be surprised by my players and to make them gasp in turn. I love dragons and knights and ancient forests and tomes filled with sorcery and legendary swords wielded by larger-than-life characters. These things inspire wonder in me and make life worth living!

"And though I came to forget or regret all I have ever done, yet would I remember that once I saw the dragons aloft on the wind at sunset above the western isles; and I would be content." The Farthest Shore, Ursula K. LeGuin

Not sure what the next blog post will be, I'm working on a short story I feel very strongly about right now. It's a retelling of the Gawain and the Green Knight tale, and about transmisogyny. Drop me a message if you would like to read what I have so far, I appreciate having other eyes on it. Thanks!!!

Simone <3 

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