#RPGaDay2021 - Day 12 - Think

Day 12 of #RPGaDay2021 and the primary word is a dangerous one, "THINK."

In some ways Game Mastering can be prepared to the miniature wargaming hobby.  Some folks just are good at painting minis, some just want to play, and others are all about the research, whether for their next army or for fun.  In turn some GMs love detailed tactics, others prefer to the fly-by-the-seat-of-their pants demands of improv, while others prefer to pore over the minutiae of the fluff.   Me?  I like processing the contingencies, long term, in the moment, and even wrapping up the frayed storylines that never went anywhere.

My favorite compliment from my players is that I anything I mention in my games  could be brought back in the future and not make it hamfisted.  

And by bringing things back, they don't mean the difference between a player deciding to toss a copper piece to some child beggar in the third session and them turning into a boss-level villain or a valued ally.  While that happens, they're much more amused when a semi-friendly NPC pops up again in a different environment.   Done subtlety, it's a warm and fuzzy (fluffy?) feeling, akin to seeing a favorite server at local restaurant working at a new establishment, or in "civilian" mode shopping at Target.  This technique works well with small doses involving multiple characters over the long term.  Overuse of NPC development and coincidence (the server then shows up in a condo next to yours at the beach... then at Disneyworld) becomes way too gimmicky.  

I'm fortunate enough to have over fifty sessions of my current Star Wars d6 game in the books.  More amusing is my weekly Actual Play backlog has been so great that I just posted Episode #14 this week. This has allowed me to re-read (and re-edit these older episodes and bring back characters and plot lines for future episodes, even if they won't happen in the sixties.  There's just enough of a gap to make it a new experience.

The best advice I can give is to suit developing NPCs for all player's enjoyment, including yours, even if you are to only one amused by it.  Your game does not need to devolve into a season of The Bad Batch, where it feels random characters are inserted over and over again for the sake of "continuity."  Too much of a good thing is only good if you simply want a reaction out of people, otherwise, it's an expected trope.

Of course, this also includes the most destructive, most chaotic influences in all of gaming: the players.  There was a time, luckily far, far in past, when I would get upset and whine the equivalent "No, you're no doing it right," but years of experience have taught me not to adhere to the sacred storyline.  Even if the players/PCs corrupt or thwart your plans, you as the GM have two great options.

1. Sit back and play out the repercussions of these unexpected actions

2. Play out the whatever parts of your grand scheme are still around, and set up those repercussions.

This is bound to happen, even in the most "low key" of sessions.

The easiest example of this is when a group decides to go against your subtle hints/railroad and decide NOT to rescue to Princess MacGuffin.  You already have the rescue planned out, that's the easy part.  Does another group(s) need to take up the call?  Does Princess M rescues themselves?  Is their a shift in power if other parties partake in things?  What is the status of the party if they bail, versus trying and failing?  You've already plotted out the preferred path of resistance, the infinitie possibilities to consider are far more fun (to me).