Starting with the Basics

Welcome, brave GM, to your dedicated section of My Little Pony: Roleplaying is Magic. It takes a special kind of person to be a GM—and more than that, a good GM. It also takes hard work, experience, and a unique creative insight to fulfill the role. As a GM, you are responsible for a large number of both artistic and logistical elements; on the one hand, you are expected to keep track of what the characters are doing and how the world around them is reacting to their actions—on the other hand, you are also expected to plan situations and guide the characters to important decisions and events, while thinking ahead of them, and without restricting their basic freedom to choose the direction in which they take the plot.

While every person at the game table shares the role of actors, directors, and writers to one degree or another, yours is the largest and most difficult part; the players have only their characters’ perspectives to worry about and focus on, while you are responsible for the world. Be prepared to carry it on your shoulders. It is expected that you have read and understand the rest of this book up until this point before going forward. The GM section uses a more conversational tone, and references the rest of the book for the sake of brevity, assuming an understanding of the MLP:RiM system in its application to players, to delve into the GM’s side of things. So, if you haven’t yet, go back and read the rest of this book.

What a GM is

A GM has a variety of responsibilities to the game and story that the group is engaged in, but in broad terms, the GM’s role is to be responsible for everything the players are not. Before going into the specific areas of a GM’s obligations, it is important to get an overview of the primary aspects of being a GM—including what a GM is, and what a GM is not. First, are the five main things that a GM is: a World Builder, a Writer, a Narrator, an Entertainer, and a Number One Assistant.

A World Builder

Whether your group’s story takes place in the magical land of Equestria which we all know and love from the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic cartoon, or in any of the excellent fanfiction settings established by the Brony community, or even your own custom-created world, it is up to you as the GM to make the world and setting feel ‘real.’ The term for this is ‘verisimilitude,’ and it is at the core of a GM’s duties.

Verisimilitude doesn’t mean that your setting must follow real-world physics and chemistry—after all, the game involves brightly-colored talking ponies, some of whom can fly and use magic. What verisimilitude does mean is that the world should feel like it is fleshed out, and responds and functions with an internal logical consistency. For example, if (in your setting) all magic originates from gemstones found within moon rocks, then the setting should always reflect this fact.

World building requires a great deal of forethought and development; the best settings are those who are understood so well by their GM that the GM could answer nearly any question which comes up over the course of the game. However, it is also important to remember the scope of the story; if the game will take place only in Ponyville, for example, it is not that important to know all the goings-on in Canterlot, or Cloudsdale, or Manehattan.

A Writer

It is not enough to simply know the setting of your group’s story—you must write the story itself. Writing an MLP:RiM Episode is not the same as writing a novel or a short story; by its very nature it is a story which will be told collaboratively with your players. Because of this, there are some guidelines and unique challenges presented by Episode creation which a GM must learn to handle. Even if you use pre-made Episodes created by others, it is important to understand the basics to ensure that you will handle the Episode in the best possible way. The basics of writing an Episode is covered in more detail later, with its own section.

A Narrator

Because the players’ role is to play their characters to the best of their ability, a GM’s role is to play everything else in the world—from other characters, to animals, to the world itself. In this way, a GM might be considered as being required to be the ‘best’ player at the table; you will have to roleplay as many different characters and creatures, and describe events, with the same amount of skill and dedication that your players are putting into their own characters. It is in this way that memorable events, locations, creatures, and non-player characters are established.

An Entertainer

As any gamer will tell you, the most important aspect to any game is the quality and quantity of a game’s content. No matter how much effort is put into the world, no matter how intricate the story or how interesting the characters, a game will ultimately become boring without content for the players to engage their characters in. It is the creation and execution of this game content that also falls onto the shoulders of the GM. While players will make their own fun to some extent, it is ultimately up to the GM to ensure that they have things to do; whether it be challenges to overcome, mysteries to solve, adversaries to face, or lessons to learn.

A Number One Assistant

It is the responsibility of every player to know their character, but any experienced player knows that when a game group sits down to play together, it is the GM who gets all of the questions. How does this rule work? What kind of task is this? Should I roll for that? Can I do this? Ultimately, all of these decisions are left up to the GM’s approval and/or discretion; and because of that fact, the GM should know the game system inside and out. From assisting players with character creation, to answering their questions, to interpreting the rules and developing house rules of their own, a GM must be a capable and well-informed Number One Assistant.

What a GM is not

While there are many things a GM is responsible for, and many areas in which they must be active and engaged, there are certain lines it is important for a GM not to cross. If a GM’s responsibilities could be considered a ‘To Do’ list, then the following five areas could be considered a ‘Do Not Do’ list; the five main things a GM should avoid being: a Dictator, the Storyteller, the Decision Maker, the Center Of Attention, and the Enemy.

A Dictator

As a GM, you will get many questions pertaining to the application of the rules in various situations and settings. It is important to remember that, while you have the final say in things (GM approval, or GM discretion), it is best to allow brief discussions on these matters from time to time, and get your players’ opinions. After all, it is their game and story just as much as (if not more than) it is your game. Don’t try to be the sole authority on everything; rather, be the final authority, taking everything into account before deciding.

The Storyteller

An Episode of MLP:RiM is a collaborative story, not a story written and told by the GM alone. Roleplaying has a unique place as one of the few forms of truly collaborative storytelling, and it is this that sets good tabletop pen and paper roleplaying games apart from video games or other mediums. While playing, be sure to take into account the creative input of your players, and don’t just tell them a story. Working together and being open to one another, a dedicated group can produce a much better story than any single individual can.

The Decision Maker

While it is the GM’s responsibilty to make sure that the world around the characters functions with verisimilitude and follows its internal logic, it is important that the GM never infringes on the basic freedom of the players to control their characters. Certainly, situations can (and will) arise which are designed to push the characters in one direction or another, but ultimately, the choice to follow any path or course of action must be left in their hooves. The GM’s role is to present situations and react to the decisions and actions of the characters; not to make those decisions and actions for them.

The Center of Attention

A common mistake many first-time GM’s make is that they do not keep in mind that they are not the ‘main character,’ and that ultimately, their role in the story will take a backseat to the characters. When players discuss the game amongst themselves, and with friends, they will discuss what their characters have done, what situations arose, and what was accomplished—not how well the GM is doing, or how much work the GM must have put into the game. A good GM has fun by helping others have fun, and is willing to give up the spotlight to that end.

The Enemy

As a GM, you will have to present dangers to your players’ characters. You will have to present these dangers fairly, and honestly—a GM who never truly puts their characters in danger isn’t respected as much in the long run. However, you must walk a fine line between being the person at the table who plays the monster, plays the villain, plays the danger—and not crossing over into the realm of being the enemy the players must ‘win’ against. Keep in mind that ultimately, a GM wants their players’ characters to succeed in their adventure; but that part of the fun is in making sure they earn their success.

What Makes a Good GM

Now that we’ve covered the basic responsibilities and pitfalls to avoid of being a GM, we’ll go into what separates a good GM from others. Each of the following nine aspects help to make a GM into a good GM (even a great GM). While almost no GM starts off with a mastery of all of these, it is important that a GM strive for it; nopony’s perfect, but a good GM strives to improve themselves and aims for perfection. The following nine areas are not the full extent of GM’ing; they are simply the areas (once mastered) which will serve to turn an otherwise average GM into a truly good one.

Works Hard, Plays Well with Others

A good GM is dedicated to cooperation, hard work, and friendliness. They do not shy away from working hard for the benefit of their players, they make compromises with their players to help the players’ characters become more fun to play, and they always promote and maintain a friendly and pleasant atmosphere at the table. Sitting down to play with a good GM should be something players look forward to just as much as sitting down with each other.

Organized and Prepared

When you sit down with your players to begin a game session, delays are sometimes inevitable. Someone forgot where they put their character sheet, or can’t find their book. Someone has to make a phone call, or distribute snacks. There might even be an impromptu conversation on any number of topics. This is all normal, and fine; pen and paper roleplaying games are a social experience. However, the GM being unprepared should not be among these delays. Of all the people at the table, the GM is the one who must always be ready to play, and a good GM always comes to the table prepared.

Able to Develop and Alter Storylines

Any good GM will tell you that invariably, the players will throw a monkey wrench into even the most finely-crafted storyline. Maybe instead of choosing a side in a conflict, the characters decide to form an independent third faction. Maybe they decide that the thief they were supposed to catch isn’t such a bad guy after all, and they let him escape. A good GM is able to roll with these punches, and quickly re-develop a storyline to adapt to the monkey wrenches of their players. A good GM doesn’t try to force the story to go one direction or another, but rather helps create the story around the characters.

Able to Develop Characters

A good GM should be able to create interesting and memorable characters to function as non-player characters in the group’s story; after all, the players’ characters are more likely to help the ‘likable prince’ if he is actually a likable character. But apart from this, a GM should be able to help their players to create and develop interesting characters who are appropriate to the game and story, without outright making the characters for their players.

Not too Generous or Strict; Fair

Sometimes, characters should be rewarded for their actions, or helped along their way. Sometimes, they should be punished for mistakes, or presented with a challenge or difficulty to overcome. A good GM knows when to be generous and when to be harsh with their characters, and when they are being too much of either. A GM who is too generous may end up with characters who take too many risks, or have a sense of entitlement; a GM who is too strict, by contrast, may end up with characters who never take risks, and always prepare for the worst. The mark of a good GM is keeping things fair.

Able to Predict Characters

A good GM should know their players’ characters almost as well as the players do; this helps the GM to construct situations which appeal to each character’s strengths and weaknesses, and makes the story more personal. Also key to this, however, is that by knowing the players’ characters, the GM can predict what those characters may do in a given situation—which can help immensely when developing the plot for an Episode.

Flair for the Dramatic

Every good GM is a little bit of an actor. In the course of fleshing out a character, it is important to develop mannerisms for that character. Perhaps they speak with an accent, or sniffle often. Maybe they have a gruff laugh, or speak with very technical, precise wording. All of these mannerisms should come through the performance of the character, so that the players can learn to differentiate between the many characters the GM may come to play over the course of an Episode. While not every character needs some wacky mannerism or outlandish tendency, some signature elements do help to make a character more memorable to the players.

Good at Setting the Scene

When describing a situation, the ability to convey details and the overall ‘feel’ of the scene is important. A good GM can describe not just the physical components of a scene (rocks, trees, a river) but also the mood and tone of the scene (gloomy, ghosts in the mist, eerie sounds in the darkness), without becoming too overly-wordy. A good GM can describe a scene in such a way that it makes the players ‘see’ the scene in their own mind’s eye, so to speak.

Experienced

A good GM has experience with roleplaying, though this does not necessarily mean that they must have been a GM before; sometimes, experience as a player is the most important component to being a good GM, because it gives unique insight into what players expect out of the GM. Of all the aspects that make a good GM, experience is potentially the least important, as well as potentially the most important. Experience can make up for a lack of inherent talent, but sometimes a good GM is one despite being inexperienced.