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| PurpleDee |
 Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:47 am Post subject: New at GMing...any tips? |
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ORANGE
 
Joined: 03 Jun 2007
Posts: 70
Service Group: R&D
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| Hello fellow citizens. I've played paranoia and other non-fun RPGs before but I'm hoping to GM a game of paranoia for all my friends in real life but the problem is that I've never GMed any game like this before. I understand all the rules and everything but I'm lacking confidence. All I'm asking for is a few tips and suggestions on how to make everyone's first game of paranoia fun without getting too complex on them. |
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| Pad-R-AIC |
| Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:32 am Post subject: |
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YELLOW
Joined: 15 Aug 2006
Posts: 164
Service Group: HPD&MC
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Remember, in Paranoia, the GM is always right. Don't worry about making "mistakes." The rules being classified and all, your players can't call you out on them.
The most important thing is to get into the spirit of the game. GMs should have fun putting players into impossible situations and watching them squirm. Players should have fun trying to do unto other players without getting caught at it. And the whole group should have fun just thinking about the situations you're RPing.
That's my take on it, anyway. There'll be other comments.
_________________
STATUS
Wearing: RED Jumpsuit & Boots, carrying ORANGE clearance forms organizer
Location: CPU Central Office
Activity: Using the system against itself?
ITEM GAME STATUS
Location: R&D Testing Facility
Doing: Filling out forms. Lots and lots of forms. |
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| Kwil |
| Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 6:47 pm Post subject: |
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YELLOW
Joined: 26 Feb 2004
Posts: 367
Service Group: CPU
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If you're lacking in confidence the answer is prep-work. Get to know the chosen NPCs and locations of your adventure well. If you know the character of your NPCs, it's easier to have them react approprtiately to things that happen around them.
See if you can identify any "choke-points" in your adventure - places where your characters absolutely must do certain things to proceed - and then plan for what happens when they don't, because it's almost a given that they won't.
Be prepared to let go. Your players are all there to have fun as well. Your job as GM is to give them a trail of string to follow, and once they've got enough string to hang themselves, step out of the way. Case in point, I had a rather wide ranging adventure, where the troubleshooters job was to identify and stop the source of a series of unsanctioned executions in a certain sector. It involved skulduggery by various service firms during an underground war between Psion and Anti-Mutant, and of course a climactic double betrayal to be forced on to someone on the team (betray the team to get in good with the bad guys, but save them so they can help you once you're in there). In the course of all this, there was a routine stop at PLC to give the characters time to hit their secret society contacts and get some foreshadowing of the upcoming psion/anti-mutant struggles to come.
This "routine" stop ended up spanning two gaming sessions as the registered mutant of the party got into a "debate" with some citizens in line as to the worth of mutants, culminating in a fire-fight between the team as the Equipment Guy tried to protect "valuable computer property" (ie, the citizens) that spread to the infrared mess-hall when the team Comm and Recording officer (who was Anti-Mutant himself) broadcast the fight to the infrared networks in order to try to get reinforcements.
While the gut reaction to this kind of thing is to call out the green goons and get the players back on track, by seeing that they were having a lot of fun as it was and so just letting them run with it, we wound up with a lot of extra entertainment out of that adventure. (To be honest, the PLC event turned out to be the highlight of the campaign) |
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| PurpleDee |
| Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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ORANGE
Joined: 03 Jun 2007
Posts: 70
Service Group: R&D
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| so as long as I get the general atmosphere right and prepare the campaign it should all run smoothly. Thanks guys! |
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| saulres |
| Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:19 am Post subject: |
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UV Master Programmer
Joined: 18 Oct 2004
Posts: 5681
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| PurpleDee, I'm giving you access to the GM forum, where lots more help can be found. No need to thank me; credits are sufficient. |
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| PurpleDee |
| Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 12:02 pm Post subject: |
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ORANGE
Joined: 03 Jun 2007
Posts: 70
Service Group: R&D
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| You might need to wait for those credits, I don't seem to have any this daycycle |
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| Pad-R-AIC |
| Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 12:26 pm Post subject: |
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YELLOW
Joined: 15 Aug 2006
Posts: 164
Service Group: HPD&MC
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Hit the Assigned Equipment thread for some duds, then go report in for duty, and you should have a few.
Or don't... the IC game is optional, like everything else in PARANOIA.
edit: I see you already have...
_________________
STATUS
Wearing: RED Jumpsuit & Boots, carrying ORANGE clearance forms organizer
Location: CPU Central Office
Activity: Using the system against itself?
ITEM GAME STATUS
Location: R&D Testing Facility
Doing: Filling out forms. Lots and lots of forms. |
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| Rickton |
| Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:12 pm Post subject: |
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BLUE
Joined: 04 Jun 2006
Posts: 1707
Service Group: R&D
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| Bee-R-CAN |
| Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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ORANGE
Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2665
Service Group: R&D
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Best way to get people in the proper Paranoid mood is to use an icebreaker. They don't have to be elaborate, just something like an R&D CommieDetector v1.0 (tm) be introduced to the party early on. Only the most moronic of GMs would not have it madly ping like a London taxi fare meter first time someone turns it on.
See? Most of the party gets killed, and everyone knows who did it. That is to say, they players know. The troubleshooters won't of course, so players start getting interested in trying to off each other in a roundabout way. Do it right and you can snarf more than the mandatory beverage allowance and no will notice. And if they do, award them Perversity not to tell.
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Werewolf/Mafia/With Hunt game! Starting in the PBEM area! Linky! |
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| tRANIS-B-URN-1 |
| Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 1:14 pm Post subject: |
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RED
Joined: 16 Sep 2005
Posts: 16
Service Group: CPU
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Round about last year I decided to quit playing other non-fun rpgs and turn my players into Paranoia. They had never played before, but as long as you the GM sets the mood the players seems to find the groove and start rolling in peversity. I agree with the icebreaker idea.
Were starting up soon here again and I think I may have them guard a gymnasium sized switch. Which actually is the Computers power switch.
Of course lots of people will come to switch it, or the Troubleshooters will.
Should be simple and fun.
Then I think Me and Shadow mk 4.
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Uh!?! It's undetectable by any means Sir! I know the Stealth Train is here, we just can't see it.
Last words by Alan-O-CHN-5 |
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