Introducing GM101, a hands-on workshop for novice GMs

GM Academy
Written By Bill White

We talk to a lot of practicing gamemasters to inform the design of Campaign Composer, but in the course of that research, we also encounter a lot of TTRPG players who want to run games, but are not ready to take the plunge. These “nervous novices” are objectively well informed of GMing tools and techniques, but they do not feel ready. They tell us things like, “I’m not ready,” or “I’m worried about not doing it right,” or even, “I’m afraid I might suck at it.” The GM advice blogosphere is full of evidence that this sort of fear is incredibly common.

This is a two-fold tragedy. Firstly: the finite supply of gamemasters is a hard cap on the size of the hobby, and these aspiring gamemasters could help alleviate a consistent and drastic shortage of GMs. Secondly: being a GM is wonderful, and performance anxiety is preventing these worthies from experiencing that rewarding side of the table!

GMing is the core of the traditional role-playing experience, and it’s also the engine for innovations in design and play. Even the newfangled “GMless” kind of role-playing games work better with people who have the creative and social skills associated with the GM role.

GM’s Are Made, Not Born

Because of all that it entails, though, you can get the impression that GMing is a rare talent that only a few people possess in full, or so complex a set of skills that only a few people can fully develop it. This is what makes aspiring GMs hesitate. It’s no wonder that, faced with this daunting array of responsibilities and the expansive scope of the job, some people shy away from taking it on, even though the appeal of being a GM remains compelling to them.

These would-be GMs don’t need more time, techniques, or advice. What they need, we discovered, is a coach.

What’s a ‘Nervous Novice’?

Let’s take a moment to outline what we mean when we say “nervous novice.” We’re not trying to be flip; we think this is a real category of role-player that you’ve probably met even if you don’t fall into it yourself. When we asked online about this, in an unscientific poll, many people recognized the description.

Only about a quarter of the people who responded didn’t know anybody who both aspired to be a GM but lacked the confidence to start. The majority knew at least one or two people who fell into that category, and some knew several. We had a conversation with one anxious aspiring GM who volunteered to share their perspective:

Honestly, I worry too much in general thanks to my anxiety. I want players to have a great time as well as I; but I fear I won't be able to narrate well enough to make them feel captivated by the premise and their surroundings. Not to mention that there's a lot of things to manage during a game, and I don't know if I'll be able to keep up enough to run a fair game. The perfect balancing that makes a game be engaging and fun only comes with practice and time, and not all depends on the GM, but it is daunting to have people's time and investment on my hands and somehow disappoint them. 

The fear is real! Google “dungeon master” or “game master” and “fear” and you’ll find, among the advice on how to handle the rules for monsters scaring characters to death, earnest explorations of topics like these:

One solution is to encourage people to give it a try, proffering advice for how to run games. But a lot of the  advice that’s out there assumes you’re already running a game and just need a little encouragement to keep at it or fine tune it. You should, they say, be prepared, practice, ask for feedback, go easy on yourself because it doesn’t have to be perfect, and remember that players have some responsibility for making it fun as well. 

Another approach implies that it is actually really hard and what you need is more resources and play aids, specifically the resources and play aids they have to offer.

What Do You Have Against Giving Some Advice?

Nothing, really. It’s just not what nervous novices are missing. We’re not saying that any of this is bad advice. All of it will help somebody. But it won’t help the ones we’re particularly interested in, the ones for whom saying “just give it a try, you’ll be fine,” or “use this tool, it’ll help,” doesn’t actually give them enough to pull the trigger on running a game.

We know this because when we ask if they’ve sought out advice about GMing, from social media or books or anything, they say, yes, they have. One told us, “I've watched just about every type of video on YouTube, not just about GMing but worldbuilding, and everything in between.” It still wasn’t enough.

What would be enough? Our anxious aspirant offered an idea:

First, have a GM who's experienced in the system, and would be willing to go through some of my planning for sessions just to see if something was overlooked during prep, or could be improved. Just for some time until I get used to the dynamic. Second would be to have open-minded players at the table, new and experienced ones if possible, willing to help during the sessions. I'd learn together with the new players, and the experienced ones could help me keep track if something goes unnoticed.

This got us thinking. If someone needs to practice being a GM before being a GM, then why not let them practice? What we began to envision was a way of allowing potential GMs to actually give it a try and see what happens, in a space where they could get feedback and advice as they worked to build the skills and practice the techniques that they’ve read about or seen other GMs use.

Enter GM 101

The emphasis is hands-on. Educators say that active learning, or learning by doing, has real advantages over traditional pedagogies, which emphasize abstract or theoretical knowledge--knowing about rather than active learning’s emphasis on knowing how to. We want people to know how to run games, not just know about running games. So why not design a hands-on workshop as a game--a role-playing game!--that lets participants act as GMs and players?

We call it GM 101, and our goal is for the people who participate to walk out excited to run games and with a clear vision of what they need to do to make that happen. This is the sort of problem-based learning that gives people an opportunity to apply things they’ve read about or been told about to a realistic situation. No lesser authority than E. Gary Gygax himself thought that role-playing was more about thinking through problems than teling stories, and who are we to contradict the master? A pilot version last year at GenCon produced very promising results, incorporating scenario design and game-running skills into a combined exercise that showed us our method has real possibilities.

It also showed us that there’s a potential audience for the workshop beyond nervous novices or anxious aspirants. Educational theories of reflective practice are tied to active learning, and are based on the idea that one’s continued growth and learning as a practitioner depend upon a willingness to think seriously about one’s own practice, to challenge one’s own settled assumptions and established ways of doing things, and to revise long standing habits and routines in light of the results of introspection and critique. Ultimately, this is what GM 101 is all about.

Brought to You By the Bringing Fire Academy!

We’ll be at GenCon 2023, where we’ll run the four-hour GM 101 workshop in the morning each day. We also plan on offering online sessions later in the fall. If you’re interested in trying out GM 101, check out the Bringing Fire Academy page for more information. If there’s someone you know who might get something out of a hands-on GM coaching session that lets them practice and experiment with their GM skills, send them our way.

Bill White
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