Reply To: GM Burnout….

[Universal Head]

‘Talkie’? Does he mean he doesn’t talk in character or he doesn’t do any roleplaying except for combat? Never heard that expression applied to RPGs before.

Jeez, you guys need some decent players. It amazes me that there are people who play RPGs who don’t seem to have much of an imagination. That’s really the only pre-requisite!

As a GM I try to make the game as cinematic and as fun as possible. From putting on character voices, acting out killer blows, putting on a bit of music, sometimes even jumping up and acting something out; by the end of a game session my voice is usually hoarse and I’m exhausted. Similarly, the players have to come up with good ideas, describe fun things to do in combat (recently they were fighting a 18 foot tall beast and one of them climbed up a nearby structure and jumped onto its shoulders, riding it like a bunking bronco as he tried to stab it in the head!), formulate devious plans and execute them, and get into character occasionally (not all the time, but sometimes it’s great fun).

RPG games are a cooperative thing, and should result in everyone laughing their heads off for most of the time! If you can also have a few moments where the players are actually terrified for their characters (or at least very worried), even better.