World of the
Game Master
Where am I?
You're in a 30ft by 20ft room of grimy stone walls and chains. On the far end a fair maiden in a tattered dress sits staring at you with wide, damp eyes, her wrists in manacles. A hunchbacked ogre stands over her gripping an axe. On a wooden table near you stands a shining golden goblet. As you meet the ogre's gaze his eyes narrow and his fingers tighten around his axe.
What do you do?
What is a role-playing game?
A role-playing game (or RPG), is a game you play with your friends, as a team, where you play a group of adventurers working towards a common goal. They can take several forms and the feel is like having your own book or TV series, except you build the scenario together and take the role of characters in the middle of the action. In a typical RPG you might find yourself in a situation like the one above, and the choice of what happens next is yours.
How do they work?
In an RPG you could be in a medieval fantasy where you wield swords and magic against goblins and evil sorcerers (like Dungeons and Dragons), you could be in a horror based setting taking a more investigative role, gathering clues to unravel a mystery and reveal a terrible truth (such as Call of Cthulhu), or play a game based on an existing fantasy series (as in the Star Wars Role-Playing Game).
Usually everyone chooses one character that they create themselves and then play, respnonding to situations as that character. One person creates the story, the setting, the villains, and creates the situations for the other characters to respond to. This person is usually called the Game Master or some variation of this term.
So how can this place help?
The World of the Game Master is dedicated to helping those who have taken the role of Game Master (or would like to) and teach the skills that can make your games enjoyable and memorable, and keep your players coming back for more!
Being Game Master can be very rewarding and is a great creative outlet, but can also be demanding. Plus you're required to referee the game. Here you can learn how to keep your players focused, prevent arguments, keep the game moving, and concentrate on what matters most: having a good time! 'Tis a game, after all.