Forum: Public Forum

Len>I did not have the time to learn the entire module to the extent needed. I found having to look up what happens if the players turn right instead of left to break my enjoyment of the game, and so probably that of the players too. Writing my own meant that I already knew the whole thing as far as it was written.

I really messed up on my first game GMing CoC. I completely lost the plot and had to start pulling stuff out of old Doc Savage novels, Sherlock Holmes, H G Wells and so on. Fortunately the players were too polite to point this out and claimed they had a great time. I was like a frayed rope at the end of it.

Since then I have worked from a map with various encounters/sites/NPCs on cards or sheets of A5 paper and a very loose plot script (about 10-12 bullet points). I usually base the whole thing around keeping the party in the general locale with a few generic sites to tag onto the borders of the map should they prove restless. It seems to work well without giving too much of that "on the rails" feeling.

I always found the hardest part of GMing (apart from remembering the damn rules) was convincing the players to cooperate with the each other/the scenario/the spirit of the game without seeming heavy handed. I tell a lie, the hardest part was not being able to play on the other side of the screen...