Archive for the ‘Working with players’ Category »

27 Surefire Ways to Get Kicked Out o...

Posted on May 21 2010 | 4 Comments
27 Surefire Ways to Get Kicked Out of a Game Awhile back I did a post on 21 Surefire Ways to Loose Players. With this being Player Month here at Evil Machinations, I thought it time to do a post for the players. Even the most die-hard GMs will change sides of the table,... Read More »

What’s My Motivation?

Posted on May 14 2010 | No Comments
What’s My Motivation? Your GM picked out the adventure, did all of the background work, fleshed out the NPCs, balanced treasure and other rewards. Now it’s finally time to run the adventure, it’s up to the GM to find a way to motivate... Read More »

How to (Respectfully) Disagree With ...

Posted on Apr 16 2010 | 2 Comments
How to (Respectfully) Disagree With Your GM Here it is–the first post of our “Player Month”, designed to give advice to the players on how to make a game better. After all, the GM isn’t the only one playing and the players share some responsibility... Read More »

21 Sure-Fire Ways to Lose Players

Posted on Oct 23 2009 | 2 Comments
Problem players are a perennial subject on GMing blogs. But problems can go both ways. Here are some GM behaviors guaranteed to cause friction in your group. Please feel free to add more. Force your PCs into a predetermined plot line and refuse to let them deviate from it. View the players as opponents to be beaten. Don’t listen to player suggestions.... Read More »

Handling Problem Players

Posted on Sep 17 2009 | 1 Comment
Handling Problem Players We all get them: the incessant rules lawyer who challenges your every call; the “loopholer” who will exploit everything not nailed down in the rules to gain that extra +1 advantage; the player who takes everything... Read More »

What Do You Like Best and Least Abou...

Posted on Aug 18 2009 | 2 Comments
Last week, I asked for your opinions on what you liked best about being a GM and what you liked least. A couple of you responded and here are your answers: The Best Things: From Sean Holland: “… there is nothing better than seeing the world come alive through the players’ eyes and actions. It makes all the work worthwhile.” From ATerribleIdea:... Read More »

Player Contributions, Take Two

Posted on Aug 12 2009 | 1 Comment
Player Contributions was one of my earliest posts to this blog. I’ve learned so much about blogging since then, I’ve decided to update it. What are player contributions? The Amber Diceless RPG introduced me to player contributions. The idea is simple: You get added points for your character if you agree to do something helpful for the GM every game... Read More »

Question: What’s the best and ...

Posted on Aug 11 2009 | 1 Comment
[Inkwell Ideas has posted a blog readers survey. Please take a few minutes to fill it out; it helps us blog authors know a little more about the kinds of things you like to see in RPG blogs.] What are the best and worst things about being a GM? For me, the best thing is watching my players take my game and run with it. Nothing gives me more enjoyment then watching... Read More »

Gaming with Ghosts: When Good Player...

Posted on Jul 13 2009 | No Comments
I’ve said it before — everyone has situations that come up where they have to miss a session or two, sometimes at the last minute. After all, real-life issues have to take precidence over game ones. But as a GM, what do you do when Liza the Ranger gets called into work at the last minute? In my experience, I’ve found you’ve got several... Read More »

Fred’s Missing *Again*?

Posted on Jul 10 2009 | No Comments
Every player has days they can’t make a game. Sometimes, a great conjunction of events happens and a player has to miss a session at the very last minute. It happens to all of us. These aren’t the players I’m referring to. It can be one of the most frustrating things about a running a game: having players who are chronic no-shows. My ex-husband... Read More »


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