: Posted by Andrew Robinson in GM Course & Exam
: : Posted by Jason Y. Lee in GM Course & Exam
: : : Posted by Katherine Dedul in GM Course & Exam
: : : Alright, this will be the thread for all things concerned with the GM Course & Exam.
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: : : I think most everyone can agree there are changes needed, so this discussion will be used by me to determine how many changes are needed and what precisely those changes will be.
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: : : So if you'd like to participate, I think it's best if you've at least read the existing course(http://www.star-fleet.com/library/bookshelf/textbook/textbook-gamemaster...)
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: : : Be specific and don't hesitate to completely tear it apart. :)
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: : : Kat
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: : "Likewise, look at the posting speed on a ship. While the posting requirements may say every three to four days, as GM you will probably need to post more often. Be prepared to post as frequently as required to keep the story moving.
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: : Finally a GM needs to be professional. Really that is the crux of everything that has been said above but there is one very good example of this. One of the old GM commandments was "Thou shalt not antagonise thine enemies"; this still stands. It’s bound to happen; you are the GM on a ship with someone you don’t like, being a GM does not give you the authority to make that player’s life hell. Sure it would be great fun to lock up your sworn nemesis with a love struck moose. Yes, assimilation may do wonders for another foe’s personality. The temptation - even the justification - can be strong; do NOT give in to it, doing so only serves to shorten your GM career."
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: : This section lead me to question whether there should be a section about dealing with difficult players and what do when the only person moving the story along is the GM.
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: Agreed entirely. Dealing with difficult players and situations should be a major major part of the course because it's the downfall of so many GMT's (including me with my 13 month GMT sim :P)
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: : "The plot is only limited by your imagination. However, there are a few guidelines to follow to make sure the crew loves the story as much as you do."
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: : I'd add that to the limitations here that a simple sim is usually far more successful than a complex one.
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: Though worth adding the caveat that with experience comes the ability to produce a very complex sim successfully. I do agree that GMT sims should be as simple as possible though.
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: : "Paper and Dice
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: : Even in STF some GMs still fall back to what they know best. They plot out their sims and use paper and dice to make decisions and guide the players. There is nothing wrong with this so long as the GM remembers that STF is a text based RPG and turns his plotting into well written posts. "
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: : I question whether any STF GM here actually uses paper and dice. How many of us GMs encounter the situation of "Player X fires phaser" (rolls for success and power of the phaer shot)?
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: I've only ever known one GM who openly used dice for determining success and that was Colin Wyers. He was a very odd man to GM with. I use a combination of a posters realism, skill and practicality in determining whether what they're doing is successful.
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: : "Trailblazing
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: : In this style the GM has set up a series of clues which will one by one lead the crew to the solution of the puzzle set. The GM is very clear about his beginning, middle and end and the path the players should take to get there. Sometimes a GM can get too fixated on their path and a sim can stall completely. The crew completely stuck unable to figure out the way forward and the GM is playing stubborn and not helping out. The GM playing stubborn and not helping out. It is the responsibility of the GM to ensure that this does not happen. Nudges may have to be given in the right direction, extra hints and clues dropped. The GM is there to make the game fun, and when you get completely stuck games cease to be fun. Why else is there a roaring trade in the selling of cheats for computer and console games. "
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: : I'd like to highlight, while this style of GMing is fine, more elaboration is needed how to avoid being stuck in a rut, though it seems the Freeform section kind of covers that. I believe the whole section of the style of GMing should be sorted out to the types, what they mean, and then examples of those types, how to avoid problems that are commonly found in those specific types of simming styles
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: If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that sims stall very easily for very simple things and it's tough to know when the crew are getting sick of a sim because they generally won't say anything to you for fear of hurting your feelings. Definately a needed section.
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: : I think there's several more types to this, and we should bring in more experienced GMs for input on this section.
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: : "Section D - Resources Available"
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: : I agree with the previous discussions on removing the sections discussing about the administrative sections of the software of the WeBB. If, like last time, we transition to new software, all that information won't be relevant to the test... well, it's already irrevelant to the test anyway. This test is about being a GM, not how the software works.
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: : "Planning A Sim"
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: : I think it's relevant that we insert this quote:
: : "Harry Kim: When I think about everything we've been through together, maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey, and if that journey takes a little longer, so we can do something we all believe in, I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with."
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: : Also this section needs to be more focused and re-organized. It reads okay, but it's a little scattered brain for me. I'd mention here that it might be important to keep a few different endings so you aren't stuck on the same determined ending might be useful if you don't seem to get where you are going.
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: Flexibility was one of the big things I kept with me from the old course. It seems less of a focus in this one and I think we need to bring it back with more emphasis all over the shop to ensure that it sticks with the GMT's
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: : "Pace
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: : If you attend a creative writing course there is a lot of discussion about pace. Short stories require a fast pace, Novels require different levels of pace depending on the action or where you are in the book. The same is true of a sim. Probably the most common problem trainees have is that the sim just won't start. Trainees are on a deadline, they need to get started and show what they can do so that they can shake off the GMM. Sometimes the crew just won't play along, how do you fix this?
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: : Then there is the other problem with pace, the sim seems to grind to a halt, Houston we have no pace. Things were sailing along nicely and then it all goes pear shaped. Causes of this can be as simple as people are getting confused to key crew members going AWOL or LOA. Maybe the command staff aren't providing good leadership in character. As GM it's your job to keep the momentum going, but how?"
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: : Really? Encouraging to shake off your GMM?
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: : I think the introduction paragraph should dive in to listing the common problems when starting out.
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: : Should read like: "Three GMMs got together and brainstormed a list of things that can go wrong, the aim was to list things that go wrong for trainees, but they quickly realised that no matter how much experience you have the same things go wrong for all GMs. You just get better at figuring out how to get out of difficulty. The most common problems that all GMs face are: <insert list here>"
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: : Dive into what the problems are, then dive into the solutions for them.
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: Definately
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: : "Voiding Posts
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: : There are paragraphs of rules about this in OGRE, and you can void away as long as you keep within those rules. However void too often, or void without thinking and you may upset not only the player but the whole crew. When voiding a post sometimes you have to weigh the pros and cons, talk to the CO, try talking to the player. A good GM can often write their way out of having to void a post, and fix the situation. Golden rule, don’t void unless you absolutely have to and then make sure you follow the rules to the letter. "
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: : This is appropriate to mention in a rules section and here in the Common problems, but I'd think citing an example of how to avoid voiding the post in a situation that appears that it needs to be voided would be very useful.
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: Definately
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: : "Thou shalt not kill
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: : A player may have driven you mad beyond belief but you cannot kill his character off, nor can you put him in a situation where there is no way out. While this is a genuine possibility in the real world, in STF respect for other people’s creations is given, thus we do not kill another person’s character. Of course like all rules there are exceptions to this, you can use death warnings, to find out more read up on this in OGRE.
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: : Nor destroy the ship
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: : So it's fun to blow up a ship, all GMs understand this, but to save on the paperwork and so forth STF has rules about this. Many GMs delight in hull breaches, failed shields, and sparking bridge consoles. Before you lose matter/antimatter containment on that warp core, however, make sure you have the blessing of both the captain and fleet commander. You'll find the up to date rules in OGRE go see. It is probably in the exam."
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: : This is an unusual place to have these above sections in "Common problems when starting out" -- this should be moved to a section explaining ORGE or something. General things that GMs should know about.
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: There should be a section dealing with the 'idiots guide' to OGRE just to give them the GMT relevant basics like voiding, death warnings and such, but you're right that it doesn't belong in the common problems section.
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: : "Star Trek Canon
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: : In STF we have a set list of references that are considered canon. You can find them at http://www.star-fleet.com/library/textbook/eng-105.html (Engineering Course: References). Honor Star Trek canon and keep it holy. Always anchor your storyline with plausibility. It's true that the universe in which we play is one of science fiction, but that's no excuse to create things that don't mesh with Trek physics. If you're not sure about the plausibility of a plot point, research it. Here, ignorance is not bliss. By the same token, do not rewrite that which has been written. You cannot rewrite Trek history."
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: : Well, this might be part of the general things that GMs should know about... but you know, technically, you can rewrite Trek history... given that we have the new movie and all, and if you place your crew in circumstances in which are alternative universes, yes, then I'd say it's acceptable. So long as it's established that you're not really rewriting Trek history, even though it looks like it. As a footnote, I'd say, it's acceptable to rewrite Trek history if you happen to be working for Paramount and producing a new TV or motion picture about Star Trek. Though, technically, there are portions of the Trek history that hasn't been well established, and it wouldn't necessarily be writing Trek history if you transported your crew to those eras.
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: It's also worth noting that it's the ED that determines what sites and material are canon, so it should be linking to the ED page rather than the engineering course. I've always thought of trek history a bit like Dr Who describes it. There are certain points that are fixed and cannot be touched, like the khitomer accords, the founding of the federation, the dominion war and then there are points that are more fluid and you can play around with like the Earth-Romulan War, ancient trek history (Iconians and such) and so on. I'm sure there would be a good way to cover stuff like that.
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: : "Show respect for your fellow players
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: : Creative roleplayers often have little side sims going in addition to their participation in the main sim. If you see a way to incorporate their story into yours, be sure to ask them before you take over. Often a little word in the ear or email of another player can go a long way to making your sim so much better. Don't underestimate the value of outside input."
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: : Do we really need this? That's kind of a given isn't it?
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: I actually agree with that section. Some of the most rewarding sim bits I've ever experienced were when a player contacted me about including bits of their history into the sim (one of the few things that stopped me going insane on my GMT sim was a side-sim I ran with Brian involving his characters history). It adds flavour and depth and takes a bit of the pressure off to do everything yourself as GM
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: : So after reviewing this document, I've been thinking...
: : 1) What is a GM
: : 2) Rules that GMs need to follow (summary and direct links to the extensive material policies)
: : 3) Common problems that GMs face
: : 4) How to plan your sim
: : 5) Ideas for your sim
: : 6) Examples from GMs / experiences from GMs
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: : Do we need something about death threats and how to use them? Or is that an advanced topic that should be covered in another test?
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: : - Jason Lee
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: I'd definately say a section on death notices is important. I had to issue two during my GMT sim (thank you Katz) and whilst it's rarer these days, I've still had to issue six or seven in the last seven or eight sims. It ties in with difficult players and derailing situations.
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: Andy

Sorry, didn't mean to derail the conversation with my one slot comment. I wanted to bring this back to the front because it is a good critique and commentary. I wish I had more to say but this is the point where I bow out, because of limited experience. :) - Jen