Interview with a GM - Freddie

Hi as one of the three GMs for the October Rotation in venue, I thought of a bit of a mini interview on you.

When did you first start playing RPGs and what were they?

About 4 or 5 years ago. I moved to a new area and did not know anyone. Looking on MeetUp, this looked quite interesting so I gave it a go… 

I started playing in a Cthulhu game and then played some D&D 5e. I enjoyed the stories and interaction.

What was the most memorable part of those sessions?

I enjoyed the roleplaying aspects, playing different and wacky characters. I also enjoyed the stories and developing characters within the world. It is those interactions that were most memorable.

If you have put time and effort into creating a character who has a nice backstory, acted consistently within the world and developed a personality, it’s tough to roll a D100 sanity and hope that this one roll does not mark the end.

Why did you start GMing?

Just wanted to give it a go to be honest. Seemed fun…

How long have you been GMing?

I have GMed one campaign only so far (Curse of Strahd) and the odd one-shot.

What systems have you GMed?

Only D&D 5e

What are the pleasures and pitfalls of GMing?

It’s nice and flexible. You never know what happens and you can react to the players. I also like to think of scenarios where player choices have consequences that they might not expect. 

Personally, I am more into story telling than technicalities in fights, so I like to be fairly liberal with rules… 

I sometimes feel that being too concerned with rules can slow things down too much. I also don’t like meta-gaming.

It’s not about building the strongest character, but about having one that you enjoy playing. Hence, this is what I try to do as GM. It’s not about finding the toughest monster or encounter, but maybe a scenario the players have not seen before or acts in a way that it unusual.

What was the most memorable part of the sessions you GMed?

You really have to ask the players. Personally, I enjoyed a session where the group had been captured and split up into 3 couples. Each couple had to try and escape a very different situation. 

It was a challenging session with multiple things happening at the same time, but I really enjoyed it. In this particular campaign (Curse of Strahd), there are not good choices, so I enjoyed working out all the ways the players’ actions had horrendous consequences...

What is your current game about?

The group will be starting in Baldur’s Gate and find out that there is a huge number of refugees from another city. 

Something has gone down, but what? It is not a major secret that they will end up in hell, one way or another at least. And if you think hell is a place where you can fast travel from a to b to complete a quick quest, think again.

What do you get out of GMing?

I like the interaction and coming up with hopefully interesting story points that make players want to come back next week.

I started RPGs because I like stories and Going gives me an opportunity to tell one.