January - New Gamesmaster Month
I've been silent here for a couple of weeks. That's mainly been due to undertaking a stocktake in the store, organising a new boiler to be fitted at home, and swapping offices with my wife. I now get the smaller of our two spare bedrooms, but it's being laid out exactly how I want it, with plenty of space for my RPG collection and wargames paraphernalia. Maybe I'll post up a tour here when it's done...
This post is something that I had hoped to get out earlier in January, but here we are on the 21st. Still, better late than never, eh? The topic I want to talk about today is getting started in becoming a Gamemaster, or GM, because January for the last few years has been New Gamemaster Month.
What is New Gamemaster Month?
Well, put simply, it is an initiative put together by some of the big names in RPG publishing to encourage RPG players to dip their toes in the water and try out running a game. Publishers like Chaosium, Pelgrane Press, Monte Cook Games and Evil Hat have come together to provide guidance on approaching rules, how to read through adventures (or create them yourself!) and heaps of tips and tricks for running the game you choose.
The information is presented as a week-by-week program so that you can break down the prospect of running something new into manageable chunks, giving yourself plenty of prep time to familiarise yourself with the rules, setting material and adventures before taking the plunge into running something yourself. Some of the advice is going to be fairly obvious, but some you may not have thought of, so I do recommend giving the program a read through for the game of your choice.
And there are six fantastic games suggested for you to try out. I have played through all of them and can highly recommend each one. They all do different things though, so pick the one that appeals the most to you and your group. Currently on offer are:
RuneQuest: A fantasy game published by Chaosium and set in the highly detailed world of Glorantha, RuneQuest has been around since the 1970's and is nearly as old as D&D! It has a strong Bronze Age vibe to it and a very interesting magic system where magic is available to all through the use of runes. Combat is brutal and evokes real life. An advantage is that there is a free Quickstart and adventure available! RuneQuest uses a d100 system similar to Call of Cthulhu, so if you have player that then it will be pretty familiar.
Trail of Cthulhu: Published by Pelgrane Press, Trail of Cthulhu is set in the 1930's and uses the Gumshoe system, a relatively light set of rules that fixes one of the main issues that abounded in older editions of Call of Cthulhu — namely that you could fail to get the clues you needed to progress the story forward. This is one of my all time favourite RPGs and the one I published my first adventure for. You'll need to pick up the Core Rulebook, but that has an adventure in and there are a couple online for free (including my own The Keepers of the Woods!).
Unknown Armies: Set in the modern day world, this game presents an occult-themed world in which everyone seeks out power and has to deal with the consequences of obtaining it. It is a game of shadowy cabals and loose networks of magic practitioners. Magic in this game is weird and wonderful at the same time and is definitely worth looking at just to see how it works. The game is another that runs on a d100 system, though it has its own quirks. We've still got some free quick-starts for Unknown Armies down at Meeple Games, so shoot us a message if you'd like one!
Numenera: Monte Cook's game of weird science-fantasy set in a version of earth several billion years in the future, Numenera feels like the closest thing I'll see to Planescape until Wizards of the Coast get off their backsides and bring me the D&D setting I truly want. Running on a d20 system, though nothing like that in D&D, Numenera brings you a world where technology truly feels like magic and the old and new blend seamlessly into the strange and weird. This is a game where anything goes and is bound only by the limits of your imagination.
Monster of the Week: Play as monster hunters in this Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) system game that evokes Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural and The X-Files all rolled into one package. PbtA is going to be the strangest of all the systems for anyone coming from a more traditional RPG background but, once you get your head round it, it is highly flexible and powerful at catering for narratively driven stories.
Delta Green: Finally, we have another Cthulhu themed game, but one that stands out head and shoulders above the crowd. Delta Green is a game of covert espionage, conspiracy and coverups as you play agents bent of stemming the tide of eldritch incursions into the modern world without ever revealing their (or your!) existence to the public at large. Possibly the best Cthulhu game around at the moment and one of my favourite games of all time! Best of all, you can try out the game using the Need to Know quick-start, which is pay what you want.
Taking the plunge
Running your first game of any RPG can be nerve-wracking. You'll probably worry about being underprepared or what to do if your players throw you a curveball. The important thing to focus on is if your player's are having a good time. After running games for over 20 years, one thing I have learnt is don't sweat the small stuff—as long as everyone is having fun then the game is a success. If you're planning on running a game for the first time and have some questions then the New GM Month initiative has a Discord channel that would be a great place to start. Plus, I am more than happy to field any question you might have too.
Good luck!
That's it for this week. I hope that you find some inspiration over on the New Gamemaster Month site to take the plunge into becoming a GM and find a new game to try out too! All that leaves me to say now is good luck! And if you'd like to get your hands on any of the rulebooks for the games mentioned above (or any RPGs!) don't forget to drop [Meeple Games](http://www.meeplegames.uk/0 a message and we'll do our very best to help sort you out.