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Old 04-23-2021, 08:21 AM   #1
Kromm
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Default How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations

I will just sit here
While Mary Sue and her friends
Have all of the fun
— Gamer on a train
There are a lot of expectations at the gaming table: The GM's promise to entertain the players, the players' obligations to respect the GM's efforts and play nicely with one another, and the game designer's responsibility to deliver playable rules. The single biggest expectation, though? That everyone will have fun!

This is often easier said than done, because no two gamers – players, GMs, designers – see things exactly the same way. How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations is a collection of short-but-pithy essays on getting everybody on the same page regarding such matters as realism, power level, dice vs. drama, and rules vs. roles. Like its parent, How to Be a GURPS GM, it puts GURPS first but its advice is nigh-universal.

Play nice!


Store Link: http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-0366
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Old 04-23-2021, 08:41 AM   #2
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Default Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations

This is a great idea!

I don't recall seeing something like this from any other company.
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Old 04-23-2021, 08:52 AM   #3
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Default Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations

An instant purchase. Like the introduction. Expect to enjoy the rest too!

edit: Read about 70% of the book which interested me the most. All good stuff. Well worth the price.

Last edited by finn; 04-23-2021 at 10:03 AM.
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Old 04-23-2021, 08:53 AM   #4
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Default Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations

"This Is Not a Reality Simulator"

I love it.
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Old 04-23-2021, 01:03 PM   #5
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Default Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations

I also like how you keep referencing sections of the Basic Set that have been there all along, but which lots of people maybe haven't really paid enough attention to.
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Old 04-23-2021, 01:12 PM   #6
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Default Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations

Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg 1 View Post

This is a great idea!
Thank you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg 1 View Post

I don't recall seeing something like this from any other company.
Well, GMing guides are a thing. I wouldn't overlook Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering, for example.

Quote:
Originally Posted by finn View Post

Read about 70% of the book which interested me the most. All good stuff. Well worth the price.
Thank you. I've been a GM for 42 years and a GURPS GM for 35 years, but this is the first time I've given advice longer than a 'zine article, so it's good to hear that it's of some value!

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Originally Posted by Stormcrow View Post

"This Is Not a Reality Simulator"
I expect to get grumped at for that assertion, but it's my sincere belief. ;)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stormcrow View Post

I also like how you keep referencing sections of the Basic Set that have been there all along, but which lots of people maybe haven't really paid enough attention to.
The Basic Set has surprisingly solid advice for GMs. The biggest problem is finding it in almost 600 pages of content.
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Old 04-23-2021, 02:39 PM   #7
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Default Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stormcrow View Post
"This Is Not a Reality Simulator"
I think this has set back Gurps the most over the last 20 years. The most visible people talking about Gurps publicly seem to be the ones clinging to the idea that Gurps is a simulator and that has turned off a lot of people.

I think this product can do a lot to help Gurps' misunderstood reputation. I try to point out Gurps is a toolkit and just "use the options you want" on other forums. I also believe there has been a change in "climate" on these forums recently (the place I still believe people curious about Gurps get their first real look at it) has been in a very positive direction.
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Old 04-23-2021, 03:50 PM   #8
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Default Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations

Quote:
Originally Posted by How to Be a GURPS GM, Managing Expectations, pg.3
"This Is Not a Reality Simulator"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
I expect to get grumped at for that assertion, but it's my sincere belief. ;)
What? GURPS is not a Reality Simulator?! I thought the book was used by physicists and scholars around the world, as a guide to better understand the universe! What about the "Art imitates life and life imitates GURPS" thing?! My life is a lie!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! [Dramatic Face xD]


Jokes aside, I bought without thinking twice. Enjoying reading so far.
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Old 04-23-2021, 04:17 PM   #9
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Default Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations

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Originally Posted by pestigor View Post
I think this has set back Gurps the most over the last 20 years. The most visible people talking about Gurps publicly seem to be the ones clinging to the idea that Gurps is a simulator and that has turned off a lot of people.
I agree with that. What I see a lot in this forum and in the Discord is people wanting to "program" GURPS so it produces the outcomes they want. And they'll search every supplement for some rule that they can plug into the equation, when all they really need to do is say "This is how I want it to work."

Quote:
I think this product can do a lot to help Gurps' misunderstood reputation.
I'm not sure about that. I think the strength of this product will be to remind open-minded GMs of all the tools and advice they already have, but those who treat GURPS as a simulation will continue to be vocal and visible. I don't know if the reputation of GURPS will change, but the quality of some games may. That's probably a more important thing.
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Old 04-23-2021, 05:32 PM   #10
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Default Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations

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[...] when all they really need to do is say "This is how I want it to work."
Pretty much this. I see my job as writer and designer as not, "Here's another brick in the wall of total rules coverage," but rather, "Here, let me inspire you and give you more random ideas to riff on." I sigh and roll my eyes whenever people want a hermetic rules solution. But that's probably because I'm from the late 1970s cohort of gamers . . . we made up everything and saw game supplements as ideas, not scripture. I think we spent more time spitballing crazy ideas than reading, but the reading gave us more crazy ideas.
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