Hello, I'm enjoying your RPG transcripts a lot, thank you for sharing them. It's inspired me to attempting to run my own game with the Doctor Who system, and I was wondering if you had any advice on GMing for the first time? Thank you for your time.
Glad you're enjoying them!! We're having a blast playing and it's just really, really nice to hear that other people are getting joy out of our games too. I know everyone else in the T&T group agrees with that.
As for GMing. Hoo boy. I would like to preface all of this advice with 'this game is the first time I've actually run any sort of original story for a RPG and although i'm happier with Family Matters than any other game i've ever run, i'm still aware i could have done better on many counts. i am not a perfect GM by any means and i have failed my players so many times before. take this advice with a massive Massive grain of salt'
get acquainted with the system you're using! (this goes without saying, really, but.) i personally tend to learn system best through listening to other people play - whether that's through actual-play podcasts or just being part of another group. if you have a good grasp on the system and rules, it'll make your life so much easier.
i'm forgetful, so have a bunch of physical GM screens on my desk with important bits of the rules (DCs for different sorts of checks, combat order). if you don't have a photographic memory for these sorts of things, i recommend that (and also having a copy of the rulebook on hand, just in case)
that being said, if you can't remember a particular rule or intricacy of the game, you can always a) ask your players b) just make something up wholesale. it's your game, you can play it as loose as you want.
try not to make the story too complicated. (i say, kicking off my first adventure with an absurdly complicated plot. i... am a hypocrite.) more often than not, whatever plot beats/story you have is going to last a lot longer than you'd expected. the players will wander around and make mistakes and spend like half an hour making really bad puns about wells, or something
this is really specific but i've fallen into this trap too many times, so i kind of legally have to put this here: you may be tempted to base your first game off/around a pre-existing story (the first D&D game I ran was a straight-up ripoff of TAZ Balance). i'm not saying this can't be done well (there's actually a very good podcast based around this premise and it's delightful) and i'm not saying you can't do it. i am just saying, from experience, that if you do this sort of thing you're going to want to follow the pre-existing plot beats of whatever it is you're cribbing from, and you're going to be disappointed when the players don't hit the 'right' plot beats/emotional moments/big reveals. which they're most likely not going to do, because they can't read your mind! they don't know what you want, especially if they aren't familiar with the source material.
you most likely will end up never using half of the things you plan. you just kind of need to learn to live with that. (but also once the story's over you can share Stuff That Could Have Happened with the players if you're into that sort of thing, we do that a lot in T&T and it's always fun seeing stuff that could have gone down)
Yes, And and Rule of Cool are your best friends. you're working with the players to create a story, not against them. if a player proposes a really, really cool idea that isn't something you planned for or expected, do your best to help them make that happen.
i don't want to give advice on planning games because my planning documents are a MESS and i should not be looked to as an example under any circumstances. however:
i tend to play it very fast and loose with planning because i don't want to stick down the players into having to do anything in particular. so more often than not, i sketch out the starting conditions, the motivations and personalities of any PCs, the details of whatever complication or problem it is, and then i just try to let things unfold organically.
the advice that was always given to me was to plan out stuff on a 'this is what would have happened if the party hadn't showed up' basis. i don't always do this but it's helpful when you're trying to be flexible because it gives you a nice baseline to work with.
...and if all else fails, you'll always have Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies on your side. (this is a joke)
i will also open this question up to the other wonderful T&T GMs in the hopes that they have some advice that isn't rambly bullshit: @raindropsonwhiskers @trailmixtime @bird-of-paradox
