A gamemaster needs situations and complications, not huge epic stories and plotlines.
For the no prep GM this is where that catalog of stories we talked about comes in handy.
Don’t think of a plot
Don’t think of an event follows another event or that event is triggered by this event.
Once your players begin interacting with the game world they may (will) make decisions and take actions you never dreamed of.
If you force them to stick to a plot like you are writing a novel, you are doing what it’s called railroading.
That is where the GM kills all player agency and has the players follow a predetermined course.
Also, many GMs can grow frustrated if their beautifully constructed plot is not coming together.
The players have decided to stay at the inn for too long or check out that pile of stones by the road that was mentioned in an offhand remark.
That was certainly true for me.
This is usually where gamemasters begin to lament spending hours in prep.
The solution is to not worry about the plot. Let the players’ actions drive the plot.
Think of situations
What a GM should do is think of situations that can create conflict and then allow the plot to flow out of those situations.
Give the players a situation, then let them give you the plot.
For example, think of situations like a kidnapping, a raid on the town, someone hiring a group of adventurers to explore a dungeon or someone needing a spacecraft to ferry cargo to a neighboring star system.
If you think of terms of situations then you simply present those situations to your players and they will be able to act.
Out of the players’ actions will flow story and plot as well as give opportunities for more situations that you use to weave an interesting RPG session or campaign.
Think of complications
Gamemasters also need to think of complications. They are a critical part of dramatic structure.
Once you have a situation you need to think about what could complicate that situation.
Complications force the players to use their minds and to use their characters’ abilities to overcome those obstacles.
The easiest example is a dungeon.
The situation is to explore a dungeon. Once the players enter the dungeon they face locked doors, traps, monsters, rooms that fill with water, pits and all manner of complications.
This goes the same for any setting in any situation.
If you’re playing a science fiction game and your players have their own ship, give them the situation of carrying cargo.
There are many complications that can be thrown into the mix to help keep driving conflict and produce an interesting plot.
To continue the example of a science fiction setting, the faster than light drive on the characters’ ship can malfunction.
The ship can collide with an asteroid. Pirates can attack. The cargo they’re carrying could spill or explode or be damaged in some way.
All of these complications add to the story and allow your players to react by taking their own actions.
If you are thinking of situations and complications you will quickly realize that a session and even an RPG campaign will spring organically from them.
Coming Up
More gamemaster tips are coming, so be sure to check them out. Never miss a post and get free dungeon maps.
I have to disagree. I’ve been GMing for almost 40 years now and I have always made up plots and story lines with somewhat interconnected events. 99% of the time the players tend to be happy following the clues I give them in my games and it may be because the story or the events keep them interested. My games are not railroads as I know what they are and have played in games that are railroads, my games are nothing like them. My players are free to go where they wish but they always seem to end up where they need to be. Now, I don’t have a hard core story where nothing can change but in fact the story flows right along with the players actions. It is actually pretty simple.
I am an older GM, and just getting back into D&D. I love Drive Thru RPG and all of their lists. I have an old list of situations and complications by character class. If I need a complication to draw out a story, I roll on my list. One of the most fun I had was when PC’s went back for a chest they could not open. But my roll said,”Target is no longer there.” I then rolled to see where the chest went, and found out that Clerics had come to get it, since it had a holy relic in it (who knew?). I thinking making a very general list of situations and complications is always a good idea when the best laid plans of GM’s go awry.