Chapter IX: The Game Master
g eTTIng s TarTed Once you’ve gathered your players, the first thing they must do is make characters. It’s recommended that you let players read Chapter 1: Introduction before they make their characters if possible. This will give them some understanding of the Old World before they start. The process is explained in Chapter 2: Character Creation . You should shepherd them through this process and help them make good choices where you can. At this stage they are likely to have many questions about how the game works, what different skills and talents do, what weapons are best, and so on. The character creation process has been deliberately designed to require only a limited number of choices, so characters can be made quickly. It is strongly recommended that you use the random career generation system the first time you play WFRP . This will allow the players to make their characters in a half hour or less. r unnIng The g ame Once everyone has completed characters, you can start the game. Your primary responsibilities as Game Master are as follows: • Framing the story. You are the conduit through which your players will experience the Old World. You must describe their surroundings, narrate what happens to them, and tell them what they see, hear, and smell. The more successful you are at evoking the right atmosphere, the more immersed your players will become in the game and the world. Act as the referee. You adjudicate the use of the game rules in all circumstances. When a player wants to use a Skill Test, you tell him what to roll. When a player wants to know if they have a chance to make that impossible shot, you have to make the call. When a player wants special permission to enter the Noble career, you have to make a fair decision. Take on the role of the Non-Player Characters. Your group’s characters are known as Player Characters (PCs) and they are responsible for their own actions. You, on the other hand, are responsible for everyone else in the world, a rather broad group known as Non-Player Characters (NPCs). When the players want to talk to the watchman, that’s you. When they want to talk to the armourer, that’s you too. And the Rat Catcher, and the Wizard, and the villain, etc. Some GMs like to affect different accents for various NPCs but not everyone is skilled at that sort of thing. The important thing to do is get across the character of the NPC and to keep the story moving along. Roll for NPCs. You are responsible for all the dice rolling for NPCs as well. This is most challenging during combat, when you may be controlling up to a dozen different NPCs. You’ll also find yourself making Opposed Skill or Characteristic Tests with some frequency. g olden r ules There are five golden rules to remember when running a game. While one could, and indeed several people have, written books about the art of gamemastering, if you keep these rules in mind, you won’t go far wrong. • Always be fair. Remember that you are the referee. The rules are here to help you make decisions, but many of them rely on your sense of fair play. Since you control the game in a very real sense, it’s easy to let that go to your head. Do not give in to that temptation and do not start acting arbitrarily. Roleplaying is a group experience and your players must trust that you’ll do the right thing. • • •
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