My Introduction into Roleplaying. Part 2: The Campaign

Last week we talked about creating my first character and my introduction to roleplaying. This week we will talk about the first campaign that I ever ran. It was, in a word, awful. After playing in several campaigns with friends, we learned that our group’s longtime game master would be moving away. At this time there wasn’t really an option for us to play remotely like there is today, so for us this meant the end of our campaigns as we knew them.

I don’t really know what inspired me to start running my first campaign. Perhaps it was a desire to fill the void left by that previous GM. Perhaps it was a desire to build some sort of awe-inspiring villain using all of those neat prestige classes I saw in all of the books that I had begun to hoard. Or perhaps it was that, like many storytellers, I had a story inside of me that I just had to tell. Thus began my first steps into the larger world of storytelling and game mastering. The campaign was by no means perfect. People played in it and it lasted a year and everyone had fun, but it was no Shakespeare. By which I mean it wasn’t super refined or well-written or anything like that.

But for me, the takeaway is that even though the campaign wasn’t the greatest story ever told, the players had a good time and I learned a lot.

The story was about a group of adventurers who were tasked to travel from one city to the next and to transport a fiery princess (quite literally, she had fire powers and everything). Along the way, the adventurers were waylaid by marauding orcs and the cleric nearly died when he challenged a mighty manticore. When the players got to the city, it was attacked and they all died glorious deaths (except for the princess of course), defending the walls from countless orcs lead by a lich riding a zombie dragon. Looking back, I am somewhat embarrassed by how bad this campaign was. The plot was definitely not very well thought out and there were a lot of improvements that could have been made. But for me, the takeaway is that even though the campaign wasn’t the greatest story ever told, the players had a good time and I learned a lot. This campaign gave me the much-needed confidence to continue to run campaigns for years to come. And believe me when I say, they got a lot better.

My campaigns improved, and continue to improve, because of the lessons I have learned along the way. I learned how to prep from session to session and how best to balance several differing schedules so that everyone gets to play. I learned that while the rules are important, you must be willing to bend or break them in order to tell a good story. [While the dice rolls add an exciting element of randomization to your story, you cannot let them ruin a good narrative.] I also learned how to balance the attentions of all of my players to make sure that they are all getting to share a fair piece of the story. I’ve learned that in order to create a compelling narrative, you must have some idea of where the story might go and prepare for it. It is also important to remember that you must be flexible with the direction that your players wish to take the story.

It is my belief that a game master’s most solemn duty is to create an enjoyable experience for all players.

I also learned that as a game master, the characters are quite literally playing in my world and that anything I say goes. The characters live or die at my whim. This is an incredible responsibility and those who have tasted the absolute power of the game master’s screen can be corrupted by it. It can be really tempting to lead the characters into a “rocks fall and everyone dies” scenario and just say “Okay! Everyone make new characters!” But unless everyone is on board with this kind of meat-grinder campaign, the players will tire of this very quickly. As a game master, your Kung Fu will always be stronger than the players and while it may be tempting to flaunt this power, a good game master must exercise restraint. It is my belief that a game master’s most solemn duty is to create an enjoyable experience for all players. Sometimes you will be stumped as to what to do next. When this happens, my best advice is to take a break, review your notes, and think about the most logical way to proceed with the story. If need be, end the session early and reflect on how you think the story will proceed. For me the goal of roleplaying is for the game master and the players to tell a compelling story together through cooperative storytelling. This can only happen if the players work together as artisans working together at the same loom.

What does it all boil down to? I learned a lot about storytelling and game mastering from that first campaign and others I have run. If you have any small semblance of a story inside of you, go out and tell your story for your players. Don’t be embarrassed by the outcome. Take that first step and know that each consecutive step you make will help you to improve your storytelling and game mastering abilities. Roleplaying, especially game mastering has had a profound effect on me and has continued to mark my path throughout the years. If you are reading this blog and have even the slightest interest in trying it out, I encourage you to do so. You just might like it. And it may even change your life as it has mine.

Take Heart!
Karington Hess
Game Master and Founder of Open Heart Games