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Cyno's Role-Play: Supplements: PowerQuest: Game Master Guide |
Game Organization
PowerQuest Games are relatively easy to organize and run, often requiring only a few minutes of preparation before each session. Despite this, it is wise to set a time each week during which you will plan out likely locations in the game world that your players may wish to visit, including major Non-Player Characters, and generally flesh out regions of the realm that may be encountered. This will help to lend an essence of reality and depth to your game, and its storyline.
Settings
These are places in the game world that may be encountered. A Game Master cannot plan every single location players will wish to go, and must be prepared to make things up as the game is played, but should map out vital locations such as dungeons, castles, ruins, and other such places of potentially intense activity. Include in your descriptions as much imagery as possible, to give your players the feeling of actually experiencing it. Keep a detailed record of object, creature, and non-player character positions.
Non-Player Characters
These are characters other than the ones
created by the players; they are the population of your game world,
with which the Player Characters must interact. You, the Game Master,
control these NPCs, define their personality, and actions. When NPCs
battle with PCs (Player Characters) you must be as ruthless as the
character should be, in controlling their actions; the element of
danger, the possibility of PCs being killed in the game, adds to the
realism. This is not to say that every game should be a virtual blood-
bath...far from it. The most interesting games will have no battle of
swords at all, but rather be ones in which the players must use their
wits, and interact on a meaningful level with one another, and NPCs.
Quests
The PowerQuest world is vast beyond imagining. Unknown to the Human residents, and mentioned only in passing in the legends of other races living in the forests, deserts, mountains, and waters, the land of Arin is infinite in area, with millions of continents, and other settings, cultures, and beings. Do not be afraid to guide your players into completely unknown regions of your own design; the basic game world is provided as an example of Arin, not as the only available location. Quests for treasure, exploration, conquering, and many others are possible. Use your imagination heavily; be creative!
Parties
These are adventuring groups formed of the Player Characters and any Non-Player Characters the Game Master chooses to send with them on Quests. A Party may have a group-designated leader, or an informal one, arising from natural leadership qualities of players. Often, naturally arising informal leaders lend a better quality to games.Fast Forward - Playing in Compressed Time
In a realistic world, many quests would require lengthy preparation, travel, and activity times, during which little exciting occurs, and a plan is followed perfectly unless unusual circumstances arise. In a Role Playing Game, similar events will occur; for example, traveling through endless miles of relatively boring desert, or long Power Wielding preparations. For this reason, Game Masters employ a technique known simply as Fast Forward, during which it is assumed that a plan of action stated by the group, and individual players, is carried out in accelerated or instantaneous real-world fashion. Player actions are handled and taken into account by the Game Master, then the results are announced and the game returns to normal time. Frequent use is made of this method in the average game, and players may request it if something is particularly monotonous in nature, or well planned.
The Game Master, likewise, may ask the players if they wish to go into compressed time play, at any time it seems appropriate to make the game go more smoothly.
