Laying Down the Ground Rules



At several points earlier in the text the importance of laying down ground rules before character creation has started was mentioned. This cannot be over emphasized, the primary job of a GM is preparation. Things must be ready before they are needed. Things must be explained before it is time to do them. This is how a GM appears capable and fair.

Rolling dice in Front of the Game Master
Player hate doing it, but it has its place, having the players roll their characters in front of the GM is used to ensure fairness. This prevents people from fudging rolls This is a good move if you know that some of the players are very honest while some would rather fudge things to their advantage. This prevents the honest players from being screwed. Be certain to explain how really bad rolls will be dealt with before any dice are rolled.

Using a points system as an alternative is a good way to correct horrible attributes rolled in character creation. Another is to allow a certain number of re-rolls of the player's choice if the character rolled is particularly poor. Anther option, one best used if the character is only slightly sub-par is to allow attributes to be swapped or values taken from one attribute anf added to another. These are standard operating procedures in some games, but can be applied to most games- even those where the practise is not common.

Also, be certain that you are clear to players about the point at which characters may be modified in this way, don't waffle on this or appear to make it up as you go along. Decide openly before hand on the point at which a character is too weak and stick to that point, otherwise at least one player will be certain that you are playing favorites.

Laying down Character Creation Rules
The importance of laying down rules prior to character creation extends beyond the initial dice rolling. If you are going to allow players to customize gear as suggested above, it needs to be clear ahead of time. If you are willing to allow story hook items, you need to be clear on what the price is during character creation. If your game uses a point system then the point values for any non standard ideas you include should be clear from the outset. If you are in a game that does not use a point system, then you should decide on some other price to keep the game balanced and stick to it.

The players should know at the beginning of character creation, what is allowed and what is not, and how much the special treats will cost. The players should never feel as though the GM is making things up as the game goes along.

Giving Reasons for Character Creation Rules
As important as it is to have the rules for character creation (or any houses rules) laid down and clear in the players minds ahead of time, it is equally important to give good reasons for these rules. If the rules seem unfair players will resent them. If the rules seem like they exist to spoil the player's fun, then the GM risks losing players next gaming session. Rules should be there to ensure game balance, be certain that all players can contribute and make certain that everyone has fun. Rules are not there to give the GM a power trip or let the GM run roughshod over the player's characters. The purpose of the GM is not the destruction of the players, but the running of an enjoyable game. This distinction is tremendously important, and the GM who forgets it risks becoming a really poor GM.

So give good reasons to yourself and your players for your rules, and consider carefully any objections that they may have. GMs are allowed to change their minds if the case is reasonable. Being a GM is about being fair and reasonable as much as it is about enforcing rules- running a good game requires boths sides of that coin.

Dealing with Disagreements
Players will disagree, both with you the GM and with their fellow players. There will be disagreements upon class choice and alignment choice and over starting equipment and party missions and any or none of these things. Players are humans and they may have very different ideas on how to run things.

Using the Steve Jackson games product “In Nomine” as an example; said game depicts the war between heaven and hell. Players can play as demons or angels or a mortal servant of either side. In most cases, if the GM simply allows the players to pick their own side, the resulting party will consist of Angels and Demons. It is this kind of thing that can lead to disagreements. Laying down ground rules ahead of time helps, but some players may have issues with them. Some people are not willing to play Angels, or Paladins, or Jedi knights. Other people are not willing to play Demons, or Sith, or Blackguards. As a GM you must tread carefully around such disagreements and show respect to the players feelings.

The point to be made here is that there will be disagreements during character creation. Players will argue over party composition in an effort to fill all the necessary roles of the party. In many a Dungeons and Dragons group, the Cleric is the character everybody wants in the party and nobody wants to be. In Call of Cthulhu, most players realize that the character who reads the old books will eventually go insane and argue over who has to be this character. In Rifts, players will argue over general allegiances- with one character being a loyal Splugorth slave and another being a Coalition Special Forces. When playing Star Wars it can be difficult to make a team composed of anything but Jedi Knights. These are issues that can be difficult for players to work out on their own. A D&D party can be supplemented by an NPC cleric to give much needed relief to the tension over who has to be the walking first-aid kit. The same thing can be done by including an NPC academic for Call of Cthulhu if necessary. Necesary motivations can be given to put even the most disparate of parties together for good reason, and hey all a team of Jedi's means is that you're in it together.

When these apparent conflicts come up, it is up to the GM to mediate them. Adding an NPC to fill an unpopular role or giving a story reason for a strange group composition, or even simply talking out disagreements about what is acceptable for a starting character are all part of the GMs job.