Running a Game for Heroes
Challenging the Heroes
Te Gamemaster might not be a Hero, but a great
In traditional fiction, the hero of your story is typically the protagonist. Tis means that he is the one who changes, learns, evolves, adapts and overcomes the challenges laid before him. Te story is about the protagonist changing, how and why he changes and in what way these changes and revelations are important. In S , your Heroes are controlled by other people—your players. Tis means that the way Heroes evolve is collaborative. You have some control and influence over this decision, but your desires are far from the only factor. In many cases, the player tells you how he wants his Hero to change through his Stories. In response, your job is to determine how those changes might take place. One of the most common vehicles for such change is in response to the actions of a Villain. A Villain’s job in the story is to ask the Hero why this change is important, usually indirectly. If your Hero is a former bloodthirsty pirate who wants to turn over a new leaf, his antagonist should either challenge or reinforce this notion. How will the former pirate respond when the Villain threatens his family? Or what if the Villain o ff ers him a chance to get everything he ever wanted at a price he doesn’t want to pay? Once you know how you plan to change your Heroes, you decide how the Villain goes about it. Tis means the Villain acts upon the world to achieve her goals. A Villain may not be directly aware of a Hero, but your job as the GM is to make certain that your Villains are fulfilling these narrative objectives, even if the Villain doesn’t know it. In most cases, it is the Villain’s job to act rather than react, especially in the early stages of the story. By being an active agent, the Villain forces the Hero to respond. Tis is how the Villain asks the questions the Hero must answer. Trough this answer, the Hero confronts her own beliefs by reinforcing or changing them.
Gamemaster is a treasure. As the GM, your job is to match the players’ energy and excitement with exciting Stories, daring adventures and a play environment that works for everyone. In other words, you need to not only write the game: act as the de facto leader of the table, a referee and authority figure in matters of both story and mechanics and a curator of the game experience for all. If those things sound intimidating, don’t worry—we have a few more tips (beyond what you might find in the S C R ) to help you succeed.
Leading the Table As the GM, it often falls to you to guide the others at the table both inside the game and otherwise. An easy example of this is at the start of a game—a session of S isn’t going to even begin until you, the GM, say so. It falls to you to manage the mood and pace at the table. If things are getting too intense, you can lighten the mood. If the players are spending time on their phones, it is your job to draw their attention back to the game at hand. Tis doesn’t mean you should rule your table with an iron fist. If your players are on their phone, it’s entirely possible that they aren’t interested in what is happening—and that could point to a failure on your part, meaning that you’ve missed the mark in your attempts to engage the players. It also means that you should be proactive in addressing these concerns. When you mess up it is on you to fix and address it. You are the first among equals at the table. You aren’t a dictator or queen or emperor, but the success or failure of the game starts with the tone you set at the table.
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CHAPTER 2 | HEROES
