Ok so soon I will be DMing my first ever Blades campaign. To be honest I’m nervous because I don’t want to be judged for a different or inexperienced style, and I don’t want to run a shitty campaign. I want everyone to feel included and to enjoy writing a beautiful and interesting story along with me. I’ve had experiences in the past with groups that eventually aren’t fun to be in anymore. Every time I went to go to DnD I was excited but I also felt so insecure and uncomfortable because I just got judged the entire time for being inexperienced, or for literally anything I did. They would purposefully not respond to cues my character gave that I wanted to do something, for example I made letters and sealed them with wax with important pieces of the backstory of my character and they were left out in her room. Every time I mentioned they were there they ignored it to piss me off. I got shit on all the time for the videos I enjoyed on YouTube, and I got shit on for not shitting on others. That will not happen again. Everyone in my group will be excited to come to DnD, and will get to enjoy the company of everyone around them. So I want to ask you all for some help. If anyone has any tips or suggestions for DMing a Blades game specifically, like how to spice up a session, how to deal with “effect” for various rolls, how to give freedom to the players without letting them go freaking crazy and mess something up, I’m open to any tips or suggestions specifically for Blades since it’s such a unique game. Thank you all for being a kind group of people I can get help from when I need it, and share art or ideas when I have them. ❤️
Ok so soon I will be DMing my first ever Blades campaign.
Ok so soon I will be DMing my first ever Blades campaign.
I can’t speak to tips for running Blades because I haven’t gotten to run it myself yet 😀
What I would offer though is if you are playing with the “right group” of people you should have the comfort to let them know you are new to the system and it will be an “adventure together” for both the story and learning the game.
If they aren’t supporting you not only for taking the time and effort to GM a game experience for them to enjoy as players, but also simply as a person (and hopefully a friend) that’s a good sign they aren’t worth playing with.
While playing (whether new or experienced) mistakes WILL be made, both by you and by players. It happens in pretty much every game/campaign of any length. A rule will be missed or misinterpreted. A situation will use one set of mechanics where other mechanics would have been much more appropriate. It’s just part of playing. So don’t stress about that. It’s at those times that playing with the right group is so important, because as a group you’ll work through things together, and hopefully come out all the stronger and wiser for it 😉
Aaron Stockser Oh my goodness this is very nice of you! I will keep all these tips in mind thank you so much. I am excited, and I enjoy the people I am going to play with now, so it should be much better. I think its a new era of D&D for me, a good one. I can’t wait to share all the super cool things I learn and experience with you and everyone on here. Thank you again. :)))))
The D&D group you describe doesn’t sound like a very good one. I hope you’ve moved on to different players.
I’m fairly new to Blades myself, so I empathize with your apprehension. I’m a long time GM or many other rpg’s (mostly D&D), and my group is well tested and mature enough that I don’t have some of the fears you do, but certainly Blades can be daunting. It requires quite a shift in thinking. It is just NOT like most rpg’s.
But that’s a good thing! Once you embrace the philosophy of BitD you might never go back. I know I’ll take the lessons I’ve learned from Blades (and Dungeon World) into all the other RPG’s I play.
You’re in the right place to ask for advice. The community here is very helpful, especially when it comes to explaining the mechanics of Blades.
The book itself has some excellent advice for the GM. Go to page 187 and read all the GM stuff. Then read it again. Once you embrace those principals it opens the door to a whole different kind of RPG.
Finally, and I can’t stress this enough, go to youtube and watch the Roll Play Blades series. It’s a Blades campaign GMed by John Harper (the writer of BitD) and is a master class in running a game. Not only that, it’s enormously entertaining. I’ve watched the whole thing twice and I cannot overstate how useful I found it and how enthralled I was by the story he and the players weaved.
Weaved? Wove?
Anyway, seriously, watch it. It’s amazing.
Other than that, be a fan of the players, try to say “yes” as much as possible, don’t sweat the small stuff, and get that player input as much as possible! Remember, it’s a two way conversation! Every character comes loaded with an enemy and an ally. Let the players tell you why each is such. Ask them every question you can think of and use their answers. Don’t over prepare! Use the factions!
Good luck!
david xabth Dude thank you so so so much. God I love this community I am so hyped! I will definitely check out more blades on youtube and GM advice on 187! 🙂
I for one prefer the actual play on jhon harper’s channel (with adam koebel, stras acimovic and sean nitter): the rules change iterations during the episodes (the game was still in beta at the time), so be careful to not be confused by that, but I think it illustrates the style and the flow of the game better than the Rollplay ones.
There are tons to advices to give on Blades, and most of the times it’s better to figure things out with your group, so I’ll give you just one.
My advice:
The game is a very different beast from D&D and if you sometimes feel uncertain because the rules seem very structured, just remember to pick the rules you need to better present a situation and not feel constricted by them. There are many ways to use a clock, choose a position, choose effects (and evaluate factors for effects), and so on: you’ll eventually figure out what works best for you and your players.
PS: your D&D group sounds like the worst and you seem the best, so good luck with Blades and with your new (and hopefully much better) gaming group 🙂
MisterTia86 Thank you so much this gives me a lot of hope for the coming campaign. I am excited to start fresh, with new and fun people, and to always post fun things on here so we can all nerd out together. Thank you again!!!!! 🙂