proactive GMing

notes from The Game Master’s Handbook

in many archetypal fantasy stories, “good” is only defined as “acting against evil”; this reactive roleplay places the creative onus on the GM. relying on the GM to drive the whole game fosters bad habits in players, assuming the story will come to them

this also has repercussions for the ideological orientation of your game.

In classic fantasy, evil is the proactive force and good is the reactive force. In fact, in nearly all classic fantasy, evil is the change-inducing, world-shaping force and good is the status quo-preserving, conservative force.

proactive roleplaying shifts onus for developing the story onto the group as a whole, leaving the GM more free to create interesting encounters and NPCs

two rules of proactive GMing

1. players must set goals for their characters that can be pursued within the scope of the game. these goals can and should shift and change, but they form the substance of the game.
2. the GM facilitates the pursuit of the player’s goals by setting obstacles and challenges in their way and rewarding them for accomplishing their goals.

in other words, the players drive the action and the GM crafts the world.

responsibilities of the GM

GM creates or presents a setting as a jumping-off point for character creation

after players create characters and goals that feel embedded in that setting, GM fills in the worldbuilding details in a way that responds to player goals, rather than telling a predetermined story.

track this info in some way, because you’ll need to know the state of the world in order to decide which obstacles will stand in the way of the characters as they pursue their goals

development of the fantasy world should not be the sole responsibility of the GM! group decisions early on should include the tone of the game and the general setting.

from there, it pays to spend your time creating

• interesting locations
• engaging NPCs, including villains, all of whom have goals and plots of their own (see universal NPC roleplaying template)
• individualized factions, as well as a sense of their capabilities and resources
• (the bones of) dramatic and narratively appropriate encounters

GM checklist

1. Create/choose the world or design/choose the setting that you’ll be playing in with your group.
   1. Decide on the tone, ground rules and expectations.
   2. Decide on the character genre, or the range of genres, based on the world you’re playing in.
   3. Fill out any details you need in order to create PCs.
2. Have players create characters (ideally together).
   1. Discuss the characters you will play and negotiate party roles (damage, control, support, etc.) for your game system.
   2. Create PC goals together (covered in the next chapter) with the oversight of the Game Master.
   3. Compare PC goals and identify reasons your characters might come together and cooperate on their early adventures.
3. Conceptualize your first few encounters.
   1. Identify groups of PC goals that either work well together (concerning the same location, NPCs or other plot device) or are opposed to one another (two claims to one item or location, conflicting ideologies, etc.).
   2. Talk to the players about the goals they’d like to pursue first, pointing out the groups of goals identified above. From here, schedule your first session. 
   3. Based on the goals the players are likely to pursue first (and ideally have explicitly said they’ll pursue first), think of the obstacles standing in their way. Think big and vague at first.
4. Fill in details around your first few encounters.
   1. Once you have an idea of the forces that will oppose your character goals, determine who directs those forces, where they are located and other details. Brainstorm with the players if you like.
   2. Stay general. Only think as far out as a mid-term goal at most. You can always retcon a particular place or person to be important for a long-term goal.
   3. Do as much prep as you prefer for these few encounters.
5. Play the game!
6. Run some post-game accounting.
   1. Based on the outcomes of the encounters (won, lost and the cost of each), have players re-examine their goals. If goals have been reached (or are no longer attainable), have players generate new ones.
   2. Some players may be inspired by play and want to formulate new goals for themselves, too. Encourage them!
   3. Based on the outcome of play, track any behind-the-scenes faction actions, location changes, NPC goals or any other effects you need to. For example, the players find a lost magic item: a faction might approach them and ask to take it.
7. Repeat Steps 3 through 7, starting with the new goals established in the old Step 6, as your game starts to take shape.

character goals

guidelines:

1. each character should have multiple goals. 3-4 is ideal. goals can be connected (e.g. different deliverables within one overall workplan) but should encompass or involve different things, allowing for different avenues of play if one quest needs to be put on hold for a while. the more varied the sub-goals, the easier the game is to run.
2. goals should have varying time frames. a mixture of short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals is best. short-term can be resolved in a few sessions, a mid-term goal will involve significant effort (6+ play sessions), and a long-term goal encompasses an overall “character arc” spanning a campaign. players may consider coming up with one mid-term or long-term goal and one or two short-term goals in service of them.
3. goals must be achievable, i.e. measurable. how will you know when they’ve been achieved? can you imagine an encounter or reward that, once reached, will clearly indicate the goal has been fulfilled?
4. goals must have consequences for failure. it must be possible to fall short of it in ways that will inevitably change the character. practically speaking, any outcome of pursuit of the goal will advance the plot in one way or another. 
5. goals must be fun to pursue. can you think of a few level-appropriate obstacles to throw in the party’s way as they pursue the goal? does the goal feel appropriate for the character’s current standing in the world/power level/etc? if a goal seems too easy or too hard, introduce on-ramps or added difficulty factors to make the goal better suit the current era of play without replacing it.

the “backward” approach to character design—coming up with fun character goals first, then designing a character around those goals—can be a great way to approach this.

using goals in practice is much easier if, during character creation, effort is taken to ensure that everyone’s path forward is somewhat related. where are the points of common interest? which goals can be bundled together in the same quest/mission/session?

goal-setting rubric

Player: think about their character’s backstory, ability, & traits. explain them to the group. come up with a long- or mid-term goal.

GM: is this goal achievable? does it seem fun? how could it fail forward?

Player: if necessary, rework the goal until it meets the criteria. share goal with the table and adjust to collaborate better if needed.

GM: record each player’s long-term goal.

Player: create one or two short-term goals that contribute to your long-term goal.

GM: are these goals achievable? do they seem fun? how could they fail forward?

Player: if necessary, rework the goals until they meet the criteria. share goals with the table and adjust to collaborate better if needed.

GM: record each player’s short-term goals. think about if any of them involve the same places, people or objects and make a note of that, too.

factions

factions and their members have their own goals and pursue them concurrently with the players.

player goals vs. faction goals create the living world.

it’s useful to think of factions, rather than individual NPCs, as the GM-controlled counterparts of the party. players act first and set the events of the adventure or campaign in motion, but once that has been kicked off, factions should sweep into the space the characters have created and pursue their own goals relentlessly at the expense of the players and each other.

flesh out factions based on PC goals, backstories, and early plot hooks.

outline faction goals based on the following:

• faction identity — what is the faction and what does it do? what role does it play in the world?
• area of operation — what is the faction’s purview? in what areas would they like to expand, spatially and/or metaphorically?
• power level — how powerful are they? what resources are at their disposal? if conflict arises, how likely is it this faction will come out on top?
• ideology — what are a few core principles of their worldview and guiding motivations? what do they believe about themselves?

make sure factions’ goals relate to the same people, places, and events as your PCs’ goals.

NPCs

players interact with specific characters from a faction far more often than the factions as a monolith. each faction has numerous “faces”—people with slightly different goals and positions within an organization.

faction-fronting NPCs generally fit into one of these categories:

1. Allies: NPCs whose goals align with the players’ goals
2. Villains: NPCs whose goals conflict with the players’ goals
3. Patrons: NPCs who grant the players access to the resources of a faction if the party helps advance the patron’s and/or the faction’s goals

the categories are, of course, fluid and not mutually exclusive.

allies generally require some upkeep to hang onto; there’s no guarantee they will help the party in the future even if they have in the past.

ideally, allies are less powerful than the players but provide help via access to resources the players need.

villains should be unambiguously villainous, powerful, and goal-oriented.

tip: come up with a page in your binder listing one-sentence movie plots or scenarios, e.g. “a group of soldiers is stalked by a powerful monster in the wilderness,” “a hero is accidentally trapped in a hostage situation,” “an isolated group of people is infiltrated by a shapeshifter,” etc. these can be pulled from as needed during play if in need of a quick encounter or NPC goal idea.

patrons, unlike allies and villains, should be designed with their personalities first, and fill in details about their goals based on player goals later. this balances the feeling of a sandbox world with a world on rails. patrons will continue pursuing their own goals in the background regardless of the player’s actions.

locations

locations are plot devices.

analyze player goals to figure out what a satisfying conclusion to their efforts will be and design a dungeon crawl, castle siege or tower defense around that idea.

encounters

encounters as web of possibility surrounding achievement of a goal

encounter design checklist

• Who’s in conflict with your players?
• Where can that conflict be resolved?
• What form might that conflict take?
• Why are the opposing sides fighting?

before & after sessions

take quick notes to remember events, the actions of various factions and steps for future sessions

before the session

1. review relevant goals. check what players were interested in next and how it links up with their long-term goals and plan encounters accordingly
2. prepare battle or major location maps
3. review relevant information–important events, plot hooks, chekhov’s guns etc. 
4. prepare cheat sheets and resources: generators, names, places, people, accents, shops, etc…
5. outsource the recap. assign a new player each week to write out a recap of the previous session to distribute before the next one begins

after the session

1. write a brief outline of the session (unless recap already sourced)
2. check your clocks, or whatever other tool you use for progression of long-term projects, faction goals etc
3. check with your players as to what they want to do next