I love gaming conventions! Being around a bunch of people who all love the geeky arts is amazing. My favorite thing to do at Cons is run games. I love to spread my hobby. I have this amazing thing, be it Shadowrun, DnD Next, or some other game, and, I want to show it to as many people as possible. Wouldn’t you? Don’t you have some excellent RPG that if you could just get anyone to sit down for four hours to play they would never stop? It’s like that with me. Give me a few hours of your time, and, I’ll show you a new world you won’t want to leave. But, this can be intimidating. It’s hard to be the first point of contact for your favorite game. The pressure of not screwing up makes more than one great GM not step up to the plate to teach to the masses. Well, take a breath, and relax. Today, I’d like to give a few tips and tricks on how to teach and run new games and have a blast while doing it.
- Connect with the game you want to demo. Every gaming company worth its salt wants GMs out there showing off their game. Paizo has the Pathfinder Society. Wizards of the Coast has DnD Encounters. Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG runs a bounty program where the more games you run, the more stuff you get for free. Run 7 DCCRPG games in a year? Get an AWESOME belt buckle. Even Monte Cook Games is discussing throwing free adventures to GMs who run games at cons or game stores. A little research and making some friends on the internet will greatly help you find the resources you need to GM the games you want to play. And, you might get some awesome loot to boot.
- Find out who already demos the games you love. I love a company called Baldman Games. Baldman Games is contracted to organize the DnD events at Origins and GenCon. Paizo sets up their own work force at the major cons as do the other major companies. They set up times, take tickets, fill out paperwork, and in general keep all the minions in check. If you want to learn how to GM and run games at a con, ask to work for one of these companies. If you join forces with the groups already running your games, not only will you make connections with the industry as industry giants will commonly talk with GMs and players at the major cons, you will also develop the skills you need to independently coordinate your own games at smaller cons. My first GM con game was with Baldman Games at Origins, and, working with these guys has taught me most of what I know today.
- Be Early! If you work for some of the larger companies like Wizards of the Coast or Paizo, you are required to be 10 minutes early. And, the people who check that those people are early have to be there 15 minutes early. Give yourself setup time. It helps you get ready and not be flustered when gamers come to your table. Plus, having all your handouts look nice and neat makes all your players think you’re much more professional.
- Be prepared! Have all your paperwork in order and read the adventure a few times over. A little preparation will make your life SO MUCH EASIER!
- Be Excited! If you are not excited, then why should I be? You are teaching your favorite game because you love them, right? You’re teaching this particular game because you want others to play it more than any other game, right? I’m not talking jump on the table dancing excited, but be happy to be there and be welcoming to new people. I know the last day of GenCon you might not feel up to it, but if you at least try, your players will have a better time.
- Be Confident. You are the GM! You know the rules. You love this game. You are large and in charge. Now, I don’t mean be overbearing, but have an aura of confidence about you. It will get people to listen to you and make life easier later. Not that confident in real life? Fake it! The most confident people you will meet are the ones who fake it the best. Words to live by!
- You have FIVE minutes. Floating around the internet is a statistic saying that after 30 seconds a reader will have decided to leave a website or not. How often do you do that? Same goes for gaming. Even if you have people who have never played your game before, in five minutes, you should be telling part of the RPG story and moved to rolling some dice or doing some role-playing. After that, the players will start to lose interest. Your introduction should be reasonably in-depth, but not all-encompassing. You don’t have to motor-mouth the 100+ page rules book in exactly five minutes, but use that as a guide. Touch on the highlights and cover other rules as they pop up. Here is a quick example: you can grapple in 3.5 DnD, but, no new player needs to know all the 3.5 DnD grapple rules!
- Know the rules inside and out, but let small stuff slide. You will most likely be the only person at the table who has read the rules. You’re the judge on the rules, but don’t be cruel. If there are some strange things that happen once in a blue moon like not being able to cast a particular spell in an RPG at exactly midnight, let that slide for this game. If a particular player just can’t roll to save their life, maybe they don’t “quite” die when they get to -10 HP or something similar. Remember, these people are not playing Smash Mouth, 1st ed. DnD Tomb of Horrors for a chance to win money at GenCon; these people are here to try a game at a con with their friends. A bad experience, even things outside of your complete control, can still sour someone on any game. Try to prevent that as hard as you can.
- Be fair. Let one player redo his turn? Let everybody redo their turn once (or more than once if they need to). Forget a rule? Let it slide an equal number of turns for everybody before you bring it back in or leave it out entirely. No one likes to be excluded or singled out. Be fair as you teach and run the game. Don’t just attack one person over and over in an RPG. Spread the love!
- Be inviting for questions. There are no stupid questions! There are some really complicated games out there, and, your job right now is to teach these people how to play while they have fun. Make sure that all players at the table feel free to ask questions. Walk them through turns if you have to, but, don’t make players feel stupid if they are not sure of the game. That will only make them resent the game, and, this time at the con. No one likes feeling like an idiot, so, don’t be “that” guy/gal.
- There will be “that” guy/gal. “That” guy/gal is the worst. You know who they are. They know all the rules and lord it over other gamers, or, they know just enough rules to make things a mess. They are mean and spiteful. They are just not fun to have around. Remember, you’re running an open game, so, when those people sit down, they have as much a right to play as anyone else. Be as patient as you can. Be friendly, but at all times make sure the rest of the table is having fun too. If one person is just dragging down the table through any kind of action, be it intentional or just rolling dice constantly while you’re trying to role-play the king in an RPG, bring this up quietly. Declare a “bio-break”, everybody will go for a soda (or pop) or hit the bathroom. This gives you an opportunity to get this person alone and have a talk. Just be as polite as you can, be friendly, and be open with them. You don’t have to yell, but, if things are serious, make sure they know. Some behaviors can’t be tolerated like crazy racist remarks at the table, but, some like cutting the eight year old with math problems some slack in an RPG are simple things that a quick conversation can solve right away. This is where confidence helps. Above all, remember, it’s YOUR game and it’s YOUR job to make sure everybody have fun.
- Have FUN! You’re here because you love gaming, and you want others to love the games you love. Enjoy yourself! If you do, then your players will too.
Dr. Edward Kabara, Ph.D. is a crazy redneck out of Northeast Wisconsin. He lives in Jackson, MI with his wife, their three cats (Bast, Oogway, and Flanking Bonus), and their dog (Pippen Didymus). His thoughts and game ideas can be found at www.throatpunchgames.com or @ThroatPunchG on twitter.