Pre-Game GM requests

[gmfox19]

I've been running games on FG now for about two months and I am having a great time! Everyone that I have had the pleasure of playing with has been excellent and enjoyable to play with and I am looking forward to lots of great gaming to come. To that end, I am doing my utmost to refine the experience that I provide to players and refine my skills as a GM. What I would like to know from other GMs out there is, do you have any guidelines that you ask of your players to follow regarding background noise, pregame preparation, knowledge of the rules, character updates and character sheet responsibility and the like. Do you have any post game things that you do as matter of course to wrap things up smoothly and get ready for the next session?

Thanks in advance for any responses!

[damned]

Heya gmfox19,

I play games in a regular group and run some one shots at various times.

For all games everyone should have a freaking headset and mic! There is no excuse for bombarding everyone else with all your background noise. Definitely players should use push to talk so we dont have to also hear them eating their doritos. Im flexible on people having to learn everything about a rulesystem - I dont know it all so I dont expect players to. If a player does something new I get them to look up the rule(s) and share it to the group if there is any contention... The 5e game I play in we are fortunate enough to have a keen dutchman who seems to be a little encyclopedic in his knowledge of the players handbook :) Players are always responsible for character sheet management. I will rarely check a players sheet unless something comes up in game...

For one-shots if I want the players to read/know something Ill email them prior - otherwise I assume no knowledge of the system and spend the first 30mins on the system.

Post game - mostly for one shots - I try and work up the courage to ask them how it went and what did and did not work for them. And of course - I get some negative feedback at times which helps me learn (once I piece my fragile male ego back together again) :)

[Seya]

Always a headset and push to talk. If you don't have that you're not getting in my game. Other than that anything else doesn't matter unless they majority of the group wants something addressed. If they are mad a dude is always late than I'll cut him, but if they are fine with it he can stay.

[Black Hammer]

Push to talk, like most people. Headset I'm indifferent about, provided we don't get feedback.

I usually make a point before a game that I'm running the system and not the other way around. Even if the rules allow it, I'm still likely to prohibit certain sorts of twinkery.

Character creation occurs at session zero, not beforehand. Rarely to never will I allow a player to bring an existing character into another game.

Rule disputes: fudge it now, fix it later. I know a snap ruling might be wrong, but in the middle of the game I'd rather keep the flow. Can argue about it later.

Make sure everyone knows how to whisper the DM, and that they are more than welcome to do it for whatever reason.

[gmfox19]

Wow! This is really helpful! It seems like my suspicion about the virtues of push to talk have been confirmed. That is certainly going to be part of my games going forward. As for rules, I'm only running Adventure's League games right now, and fortunately I've had plenty of players who are knowledgeable about the various classes and happy to share with me and the other players. And the point about whispering can't be stated enough! What a an essential tool it is for communicating and evoking mood. Again, thanks so much for sharing your insights!

[JohnD]

Make sure your headset and microphone are working. No, laptop microphone is not acceptable.

[Zacchaeus]

Just for balance I don't insist on or use push to talk. Having said that I did invest in a very expensive headset and I did spend some time setting my equipment up so that my microphone won't pick up background noise. However my computer is well away from anyone else in the house and I live in the middle of nowhere so background noise isn't particularly a problem. So it sort of depends on your situation and those of your players but probably push to talk is better. (I stopped using it when I used to play online games where you needed eight fingers on your left hand and I didn't have one spare to do any pushing to talk - so the habit stuck)

[computertrucker]

YES!! I have ran a few online campaigns and one of my female friends refuses to buy a headset!

Well it's been a few years since our last online adventure and I'm setting up for one now. I have some of my players who don't want me to invite her due to lack of headset.

[Trenloe]

Yeah, I pretty much insist on a headset and mic. Feedback, background noise and badly chopped speech completely spoils a good for me.

I've invested in a wireless headset that has a mute button on it (and a red light at the end of the boom to let me know when I'm muted) and so I can stay muted when I need to (no need for push-to-talk) and I can also get up and stretch my legs when I don't need to be in front of the computer.

[Black Hammer]

... (I stopped using it when I used to play online games where you needed eight fingers on your left hand and I didn't have one spare to do any pushing to talk - so the habit stuck)

Foot pedal for PTT is amazing for gaming. Highly recommend rigging one up.

[gmfox19]

Never thought of that. Can you recommend a good foot pedal? Thanks!

[Black Hammer]

Never thought of that. Can you recommend a good foot pedal? Thanks!

I built mine out of a ten year old logitech joystick, which may or may not be helpful.

[Nylanfs]

Foot Pedals? (https://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/pedals.html)

[Griogre]

When I DM I use a voice activated headset. However, I do have a mute microphone key set so I can mute the mic if things were to get noisy. It's basically the opposite of push to talk, you push to mute or un-mute so if your environment is normally quiet, like mine, it might be better for some.

[Answulf]

I don't like push-to-talk and have been running games mostly with Skype and Google Hangouts for years with no issues. Background noise is rarely a problem and when it is, that person mutes their mic for a sec. I find that open mics just create a more natural flow of conversation, with less talking over each other.

As for the other stuff, I find that players are always eager to meet any pre-game GM requests when they are first joining the game. After they are already playing, it's very hit-or-miss for between game requests. Some players love to be active between sessions and will work on what you ask, be active in your game forum (if you have one), write session reports, even "play" outside the session. Others vanish from the face of the earth after your game and don't show up until the next session starts. To them, between game stuff isn't fun - it's a chore that they feel they didn't sign up for. You can try to set between-game expectations before you start, but then you are basically forcing them to participate in something they don't really enjoy and don't consider a part of the game.

[Andraax]

I also use voice activation, but my headset has a mute mic button on the right ear cup, so I can tap that if I need to talk to my wife or something.

[ffujita]

Just noticed that my post was completely redundant -- note to self -- read to end of thread before posting. Let me add that you don't need a $$$ foot pedal for PTT, a $$ one will do, as in https://www.amazon.com/HDE%C2%AE-Video-Game-Racing-Foot-Pedal/dp/B005JT1PP6

[Valarian]

I don't insist on headset and mic in my games. No problems with background noise at all.
I use FG Chat.

[DMZeff]

When I'm starting a new group, I go through the applications and discard the ones that failed to answer the questions or show signs that they didn't read my post entirely. The ones that make it through, I add on skype and discuss things to find out if they are a good fit for the group.

I keep pretty detailed notes on what's going on in the campaigns and give them access to them so they can see what the group is about and help write a character that can easily hook into the story. If they still want in, they join.

Every session I have some intro/outro things that I always do.

Intro
1. Thank people for being on time/prepared/communicating
2. Welcome/introduce new people if applicable
3. Remind people about inspiration and other variant/homebrew rules we use. I let players give inspiration to eachother and if I don't remind people, they always forget.
4. Recap what happened last session

Outro
1. Figure out what the next step is for the party. Where are you going? What's your plan?
2. State a few highlights from the session, preferrably including a highlight for each person
3. Reinforce good behaviors... "that was great roleplaying, way to stay in character, bla bla bla"
4. Reminder for players to contact me if they have questions/ideas or will be late/can't make next session
5. Let people know that it's fine to go if you have to, but I'll stick around to chat if people want.

[gmfox19]

Ah! Your "Intor/Outro" is just the thing I was looking for. Since I run D&D AL games,I don't expect to have consistent players,or to sift through potential players. But I was really looking for guidance on how to start and end a session. Thanks! and thanks to everyone for all of the helpful advice!