Board Thread:Warhammer 40k Roleplay/@comment-24821739-20140418045408/@comment-24821739-20140418065435

General Description of GM Duties - 

I believe, to be a good Game Master, you need to be present. Were're talking, online every hour present. It's a demanding job, but very rewarding with the roleplay that you can get. The Game Master is responsible for Keeping the Thread Organized, Keeping Players on Topic/Explaining Things to Players that do not Understand Them, Maintaing Continuity of the Storyline, and Balancing Players in the Universe and amongst Other Players.

Thread Organization - 

The Game Master should keep the thread as organized as possible, all Out Of Character exerpts should be marked. Punctuation should be used at all times, by all players.

Keeping Players on Topic - 

This is a big one guys/gals. The immersiveness/exitement of an RP can be destroyed by people that continually break character in the RP thread. If someone is continually asking for explanations on what's going on, utilize a chat/email/instant messaging service to give them a more in-depth explaination if needed. The RP should only be used for RP. If you want to tell someone something, do so elsewhere. The talk portion of someone's profile is a great way to communicate.

Maintaining Continuity of the Storyline - 

As a Game Master, you should always be thinking about the story-line. What is the main quest you want the players to take? What goals should they have? How will they impact your story? Who is the de-facto leader (Wether they know it or not)? What hooks will you use to keep them on track? How are you going to challenge them? ALWAYS think of the rammifications of the player actions. IMPORTANT - BE ADAPTABLE! Yes, you are trying to tell a story, but let your story evolve to suit your players needs.

Balancing Players to the Universe and Other Players -

Game Masters should try to keep all players balanced with eachother as much as possible. While they may fill differing roles, (Stealth, Melee Monster, Intriuge, Psyker), each player should be about the same power level, to help with continuity and to enable you to challenge the players without one person killing everything. If you have an OP Psyker, and a bunch of Melee players, the Psyker is going to be doing a lot more damage before the Melee players even get close enough to do anything. Try to balance this while keeping the players involved in the balancing. Explain to them what needs to be balanced and why. Balancing with the universe is not hard, as there will ALWAYS be something that can take down a player, you just have to think of it.

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As always, any questions or input is appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time,

Nicholas Chaffee (Chafeen) (talk) 06:54, April 18, 2014 (UTC)