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Some thoughts on breaking out of a rut ... (crossposted)

ExileInParadise

RPG Therapist
Staff member
Adamantium WoA
Wizard of Story
Sharing some thoughts I posted on a Discord tabletop channel

So many thorny issues to unpack here ...

I will say - everyone is right for their table - especially if you're having tons of fun.

"If you're having fun, you're not doing it wrong."

Part of the mission and the mystery is finding the right balance for all your types of players - including the GM who is a player too.

Robin Laws wrote a great chapter in the guide to DMing about understanding player types.

There is also the widely hacked "Bartle Types" for MMOs which can be used as signposts for tabletop.

Every type of player comes to the game for different rewards ... GMing is doing the tightrope act scene by scene, encounter by encounter, to amp the fun for each of the types in the spotlight.

One thing I will recommend is make sure your table is open to experimentation to avoid falling into ruts.

You see this in TV series where one episode just seems to go off on its own in some weird direction that the majority of the series doesn't follow.

Want to really mess with your players heads and change their perspective a bit?

Have them walk a league in someone else's shoes ... such as a one-shot where they play the townsfolk having to deal with the players characters ... instead of playing the characters themselves.

Another is to just have the players try a session swapping character sheets with the person to the left.

As a one-shot where no effects are permanent ... it can definitely change the feel and flavor of the game without having to get into some new system mechanics you may not enjoy.

And for real change of pace - try a one-shot session where you have no dice or character sheet - and let the GM handle the entire "system" behind the screen and you just drive your character by actions ... and what you remember of the sheet heheheh

And a growing trope, probably courtesy of the AMAZING Dungeon World game ... is to have diceless GM: only players make rolls.

It might seem like heresy to some ... but it definitely has some great effects on your GMing style if you try it.
 

JochenL

CL Byte Sprite
Staff member
Adamantium WoA
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
Gamer Lifestyle
Borderland Explorer
One thing I will recommend is make sure your table is open to experimentation to avoid falling into ruts.
So true!

Another is to just have the players try a session swapping character sheets with the person to the left.
Nice! I want to try that in a future round!

And a growing trope, probably courtesy of the AMAZING Dungeon World game ... is to have diceless GM: only players make rolls.

It might seem like heresy to some ... but it definitely has some great effects on your GMing style if you try it.
True. It releives some of the burdens. But I love me dice!
 
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