chomiji | RPG Systems and Preparing To Run a Game (Reply)

This is mainly for telophase.

But by way of background for anyone else: I've been playing RPGs for far too long, including being one of the playtesters for Iron Crown Enterprise's first version of Rolemaster. I'm currently in a very by-the-book D&D game, and I have also played online games that used GURPS, first on CompuServe's RPGAMES board and late on the Dreamlyrics message gaming board. And I've run games on my own for friends, and as tournaments at conventions.

Why Do People Use Game Systems?

The purpose of an RP gaming system is to provide a framework within which the gamesmaster/storyteller (I'll use GM to refer to this person from here on) makes decisions. And really, just about all of the types of decisions that I mean can be boiled down to: Does the player succeed in the action that she is about to take? The rest is just supporting details. For example, if the decision is whether or not the player succeeds in a combat, then the details might include how much damage the player character takes and how much damage the opponent takes, and whether either of them has died or suffered limitations (in movement, for example) as a result. If the decision is whether the character succeeds in opening a door, the details might include whether a trap has been set off by the action. And so on.

All of the usual character creation and development processes are in support of this decision-making. The character creation may use a random pool of points - either totalled, or as a set of subpools that are assigned to specific characteristics (as in classic D&D, where each characteristic gets 3 × [1 to 6] points) - or it may use a set number of points that the player breaks down to "purchase" characteristics and abilities (as in GURPS). It doesn't really matter. The aim is to codify any character-based inputs to the GM's decisions. The same is true of any subsequent character development. There is usually some way to increase the character-based input to the process so that the GM's decisions are more likely to favor the character, but whether that's accomplished by adding points earned to a pool that represents an overall character skill/deveopment level (D&D, Rolemaster) or by providing points that can be used to "purchase" specific enhancements or increases in skill levels (GURPS), the aim is the same.

Most systems insert a random factor into the decisionmaking process, usually by having the GM and/or the players roll dice of some sort. This increases both game enjoyment -because the decision isn't predetermined - and realism - because even a very skilled person with great natural ability can't expect to beat all weaker opponents, or climb every wall of a given type all the time. There's always that lucky swing by the opponent or unexpected loose stone in the wall.

So - if you decide that you are not going to use some specific pre-made gaming system, you will have to decide some other way to make these kinds of decisions within the framework of the story you and your players are telling.

Some Things to Do Before You Start Running the Game

It's possible to buy pre-made modules to run as a game. I'm assuming that the GM here wants to create his or her own scnarios.

Decide on the story that's going to be told. Is it a running situational comedy? A quest with a significant ultimate goal? A cops/ghostbusters-type scenario, where the players solve a series of problems, each one self-contained? (There's also the "underground complex stocked with monsters to kill and treasure to take" - which is basically a shooting gallery. I'm assuming that anyone who's bothered to read this far isn't interested in that.)
Start fleshing out the story with details involving settings and situations, including significant non-player characters. This doesn't have to be complete in every detail before you start, but you have to start with something in hand!
Decide what to do about a game system. You might actually want to do this before the previous step, because it's often useful in setting up the story details (especially non-player characters, because a game system will usually have characteristics - stats, abilities - that you will want to determine for these guys).
Get any player input that you want for their characters. If you don't care about integrating the player characters closely with the game situations - for example, if your game could be described simply as "Let's kill all the monsters and take all their treasure" - this might means simply having them use the game system (if you're going with one) to determine their stats/abilities or whatever. But if your game is going to have a more richly detailed storyline, you may want to get some idea of what kinds of characters they want to run (not just mage vs. fighter, but also long-lost heir vs. famous wizard's apprentice, and so on) because this may help you in your scenario development, before they start doing the stats/abilities business.
Decide on what you're doing for the first "episode" of the game. Are the player characters already part of an established team, or will the first episode consist of an incident (or incidents) in which they meet?

(Other people are welcome to chime in, too!!)