Great Gamemaster (Rant)

Message:

There is a truth (in soccer) that you cannot coach to improve Speed. Players are fast and not as fast. Conditioning maybe, but speed to ball will not change. Fortunately, soccer is a crap game w/o a fast break, as the off-side rule makes the game ever-dull. Second rule, you cannot coach to change dull.

What does this have to do with being a Gamemaster?

You will never be a Great Referee unless you think faster than your players. You need to know where they are going and what they will do and have even more options for them, than collectively they can arrive at as a group. Letting players decide w/o cajiggering is at best good-fun play. You can read every tome on running your game (confidently and polite). But if your players are more clever (or experimental because they are bored), you'll never be a gifted GM. You cannot learn brain speed nor quick wit.

There is a solution to get better. Most players will never and should never learn the rulez. Gives the Ref his advantage. The Ref needs to know the mechanics and setting--most of them, some of them--more than the players. Regardless, every game is mediocre when the referee is overwhelmed by his players. Be that rulez lawyers or wanna-plays ready to do everything to test the ballistics of the physics and esoteric that they read or imagined.

In role-play, player knowledge is a buzzkill. Most Refs should have simple rules and be constantly changing them as their players adapt. Better still, most gamers will never know the difference between lousy and inspired story play. That's why there's hope in thinking anyone can run a game session. Just with no expectation it won't be dull as ditch-water.

Yours,