One of the earliest and most rewarding multiplayer games has always been tabletop gaming. Played before the days of Dual-Core 2 processors and DirectX 10 video cards, tabletop games give back what its' players put into it. Having ran and played in many different tabletop games I can say easily that Dungeons and Dragons has the greatest rewards. A good DM needs several things to run a good game and to take that good game and create a great campaign. Whether you are looking to do a quick mission or construct a vast world of power struggles there are a few key elements to bring to the table when playing tabletop games. Oh, and let me proceed this by saying you don’t necessarily have to play D&D on a table. I have run perfectly good games on beds, in cars, and on track fields.

 

I’d like to outline these elements in no particular order: ambition, fulfilling player expectations, technique and consistency, adaptation. The players have their own responsibilities and it is very important to remember this. It is easy to fall into the trap of becoming the Single Player DM. Also, keep in mind that you are not playing a facilitated game with your players. Meaning, there is no machine or purely logical system in between yourself and your players. You have rulebooks, but these pale in comparison to PCs or consoles, which are there to run the game for you. Guiding a few friends through a dungeon in Diablo II is different then running a game of Battletech. Enjoyment is not a finite object in tabletop: the DM’s enjoyment is dependent but not gained at the expense of the players. They are not characters in a console RPG. Likewise, you are not the Sephiroth of their game world. Nor are you the game engine or logic tree for their decisions.

 

Ambition
Your campaign won’t even reach its infancy without this integral piece. Start by creating a definable beginning and end to your campaign world. This is a very loose idea that will quickly become muddied throughout the first few missions. That is OK, because this will give you objectives at Mission 1. Even if those objectives become null and void unexpectedly, such as your villain dying too quickly or the party getting wiped out, you will find plenty of material within these events to keep the campaign going. I have run a D&D campaign whose end is still nowhere in site and whose initial ending was reached years ago. Yet within that box, the players have produced enough intrigue to continually fill in further missions. A good DM will find that his initial ambition of “Go Kill Anthrax, the evil ruler of the Orcs” will cascade through the players who in turn will find their own ambitions for the characters. Add in a new twist or turn every few missions and you will find happy players every time. Don’t resist the temptation to construct insurmountable circumstances. If the players find the challenge has dropped out from below their feet, their ambitions will wane which will only become a self-fulfilling prophecy unto you. Make sure that the ambitions of your main NPCs are not too vague. The evil warlord will never allow the players to know how he is going to assassinate the high priest but the players should know he wants to assassinate the high priest. Players are intrinsically drawn to ambitious villains. Foiling the plans of those you call enemies and reaping reward from their downfall is a key element to powerful tabletop gaming. Don’t feel nervous to introduce elements that seem too far-fetched for the game world. Force the players into believing that outside of their immediate environment there are forces at work that are mysterious.

 

Fulfilling Player Expectations
Never let a player’s key expectations for his character fall flat. This does not mean avoiding upsetting the player. The player may have the expectation of living through the upcoming battle with that undead beholder, but this is a privilege not a right. Let’s keep going with that and define a few player rights and player privileges.

Player Rights:
Players have the right to see some sort of advancement with what their character holds dear. Currently I have a player who seems obsessed with gaining the writings of the societies he comes across. He fancies himself a lore master, a man of the cloth that holds the written word above the sharp sword. His rewards frequently include long lost tomes and his obstacles frequently included enemies bent on destroying those tomes.

Players have the right to initiate any action they wish that their character sheet and the environment allows. If they are charmed, then the environment has turned this right into a privilege. If your burly pig-headed fighter wishes to swing his sword at the princess for dropping a glass on his foot then allow the action to play out. In a party with multiple players you will find most of the time, the party will become the DM for you. Concessions amongst players are made as to how everyone should behave. That is their right not yours. Reserve DM intervention and keep it as camouflaged as possible.

Player Privileges:
Players have the privilege of being alive. This is of utmost importance to maintain a feeling of conflict and danger within a campaign. Players are resilient beyond belief; they will find ways out of situations that will constantly surprise you. As soon as you allow living to be a right you strip your player of this resilience.

Players have the privilege of rules. This is even above living as one of the hardest rules for a player to accept as a privilege. Certain character classes will run into this beast head on more often than others. A fighter will rarely encounter a rule that will not work for them every time but a cleric may. A deity may choose or be unable to grant a cleric’s spell for numerous reasons. There is rule correction by players which no DM should turn a blind eye to and then there is rule arguing. Much like a spoiled child, this type of player will leverage his knowledge even at the detriment of the game. Be a strong DM and let them know despite your newness to the position that you are in no terms going to allow an argument concerning your ruling. Do not place yourself into situations where rule arguing becomes the norm. Players will accept a DM’s final ruling as long as they see a fair hand delivering the harsh punishment.

Simply put, the easiest way to fulfill player expectations is with treasure. The insane advantage you have over consoles and PCs with this is that your treasure is yours to give out. Most gamers, whether they know it or not, have a huge draw towards tabletop gaming for this reason. No random drops. Ever clawed your way through an instance in World of Warcraft only to find that the drops either aren’t to your liking or some ass comes in and snatches it away? In D&D, that ass is the person sitting across from them, making it much harder to ninja loot. Unless of course that player is playing a ninja.

 

Watch your players as they fight, or pray, or console a grieving nation over the loss of their leader. Bequeath to them treasure that accents what they bring to the party and what gives them that huge grin. A player of mine once told me that one of the things he liked best about my games is that whenever I hand out a treasure or ability, I instantly place them in a situation to use that reward. Give this same benefit to their enemies and you will find combat to be much more exciting and fresh.

Next week, I would like to share the more technical aspects to running a great tabletop game. What I feel is very important to establish early on above and beyond the rules are the above lessons. Be empathetic and observe your players before and after a game. Take mental note of which parts were enjoyable, but never be afraid to take risks within the storytelling. Gamers love tabletop because of lack of limitations that other forms of gaming bring with it. You cannot talk directly to the developers of World of Warcraft, to issue your likes and dislikes and get immediate response back. A DM who listens to his players can make these changes as soon as the next mission. Remember that people are coming to listen to you talk for hours on end and by sitting at that table they are giving you the power to run the game as you see fit.