GMing advice

I need absolute most basic tips for GMing you couldn't do a proper game without. I'm fairly new, there isn't many players around and I already feel like falling into forever GM category. Wouldn't want to fuck up the experience with some basic shit. Help appreciated.

The best advice is usually right in the game books. A lot of the advice you're going to get from here is already available to you in them, so the best bit of advice is to make sure you read the books. More likely than not, you're not really going to appreciate the best advice at first, but after a few games make sure you revisit the books and you'll be able to see things you initially glossed over in a new light.

Clear communication is key. There's a lot to GMing, but clear communication, both conveying things to your players and learning to listen attentively to what they tell you, will make your job so, so much easier.

Part of it is creating an atmosphere that allows for discussion. Don't shut people down or dismiss them, but if you'd really prefer to talk about something later, politely ask them to save it till after the session. I think a good rule in general is that anything which can't be resolved quickly should wait until after the session. Preserving the flow and the momentum of the game is very important, and the only reason not to is if the game just can't run without resolving the issue.

Also, take all advice with a hefty pinch of salt. GMing is an art, not a science, and there are as many different styles of doing it as there are GM's. Particular techniques others swear by might be useless to you, while something another GM claims is worthless or harms the experience might be something your group really loves. Be willing to experiment, to question and to figure out the best way to run for your group. Don't be afraid to make mistakes- As long as you're communicating clearly and honestly with your group, they should be on board for it to be a mutual learning experience, getting better and better at running for and playing with each other as time goes on.

Characters are easiest to connect to and are easy to implement. A wide cast of accessible and likeable characters is probably the best way to prevent murderhoboing. It's also one of the most straightforward ways to interact with your world. I try to introduce at least one new character every session if at all possible, though they obviously all need to serve some kind of purpose in the bigger picture.

Don't withhold information needlessly. Newbie GMs especially do this one a lot. It'll be hard to get a grasp on how much information you should divulge at first, so lean towards more rather than less until you get the hang of it. If your players are always aware of what their goals are and the general means of achieving them while also not being bored and showing initiative of their own, that means you're doing things correctly.

try a variety of systems, different styles of GMing work better or worse for different games so try a wide range

The most valuable thing games like Apocalypse World have is the GM advice, because it speaks about how communication between the players and the GM works in unison with resolution mechanics. It's much more explicit than normal GM modules which still have a lot of useful advice. If you are DMing D&D, the Dungeon World book is very useful for learning to DM and is more specifically gear to that style of game. There's even a free GM tag-along book to be even more explicit if you don't understand what it is saying.

I like Sly Flourish's advice on his blog, and in particular his book The Lazy Dungeon Master gives a simple and clean system to make planning campaigns and sessions. It includes a lot of good information, and while not perfect he bases a lot of his advice on fairly large surveys of DMs to give suggested places to approve so it speaks to a large number of common issues.

Know the system. I'm not telling you to have an in depth knowledge and official ruling but know the common stuff that you'd read about in "How to run system X" intro.

Get your players playing the game they want to play. Talk to the party is a kind of Session zero, if they want a murderhobo boss rush so that. If they was a noir murder mystery do it, you will get a lot more engagement from them all if they are doing what they want.

Don't be afraid to incorporate ideas from other places. Nothing is original, so why shouldn't you take plot strings from a book/movie/game? Be Careful not to take too much as players might know where you're taking it from and know how your campaign ends.

Get good at improv, really good. I've yet to have a session follow my plan spot on. But you should have at least an arching plot of what should happen this session.

Practice some GMing mental exercises. I find a good way to build confidence and proficiency in a system is to roll up some characters of your own and run them through some encounters. I'm a fairly new GM and I find this helps me understand the system from many levels I wouldn't learn if I just focused on GMing. Im of course mostly referring to combat encounters, but trying to play through your own encounters is a good creative exercise

Before any session, write out half a dozen names, small descriptions and personality quirks. Whenever a player wants to interact with some random fucking NPC you didn't plan for at all, bring up the list and pick one unused combo and apply it to the NPC to make it seem like you're very fucking good at planning

Also never write your campaigns as "What will happen", but more like "What would happen if the PCs didn't meddle with it"

Always discuss when the next session is held, decide on time and place and food, and keep to it. Mind the noise, you don't want cops busting your dungeoneering sessions. Mind the mess, you don't want the host (or his parents if you're b&) never hosting at his place again.
Kick out shit players; sometimes good friends make for lousy players.

don't worry about leading the game, most people have low standards
don't be afraid to ask for a smoke break to organize your notes or write up new enemies or items or shit

be mindful of the energy level in the room; if you're kinda down and gloomy as the GM, everyone else will have a shit time.
Also be prepared to steer the game back on track away from OOC chatter and such, and be stern with it.
Read read read read and read Gamemastery guides.

If your players are having fun, you did it right.

Saying "No" to your players is iffy. "Yes, but" allows for more interesting gameplay.

Have a list of names handy. It will always be useful.

Also never try to use mind control powers/unstoppable charm effects etc on your players. If you're telling them what they're doing they're not playing the game. I don't add in any mind control into any of my games and haven't felt any issues.

you could always use sealing wax

Lots of good advice here. My two cents (I may repeat some stuff):

>Execution > Originality
Don't sweat novelty. Focus on running a good game, not a "new" one. That'll come with time.

>DON'T plan, DO prepare
Trying to write a fantasy world (aka the "novel") is foolhardy. One, it's frustrating to play these games if players don't get to choose what they do. Second, it's too much damn work. Don't be a busy idiot--focus on immediate, relevant info and expand outward as needed. Prepare generic names/places/objects to get the juices flowing or for when you need to pull stuff out of your butt.

>ASK QUESTIONS
This goes for you and the players alike. Ask yourself "Is this working? Is this a good idea? Is this fun?" and ask players for their expectations, their questions, and their concerns, both in-game and out. Happy players are one thing, but you don't want to grow complacent or frustrate players who may have good advice of their own.

>COMMUNICATION
As above, be transparent, inquisitive, and critical. Good games can still have moments of downtime, but it'll never be a dull moment if everyone at the table is feeling good vibes. Think of the GM as a movie director: they don't call all the shots, but they have artistic vision and keep everyone's eyes on the prize.

>Remember: it's a game
People are more relaxed about changes, arbitration, scheduling, and all manner of shit than you might think. Don't get into your own head and sweat the details to your magnum opus. Everyone's just here to have a good time, and focus on keeping the game fun to play. It's much more liberating that way.

>Find what works for the table
Everyone's table is different. Don't be discouraged if a game doesn't take--reflect, look at different systems, and stick to your guns. Trust your gut; don't let contrary opinions on your favorite RPG change your mind.

Above all:
>RUN THE KIND OF GAME YOU'D LIKE TO PLAY
That enthusiasm will motivate you, and it trickles down to the players.

dont be afraid to fudge a roll or 2 behind the dm screen if it leads to a more fun session. dont do it to often and if it's d&d i have a rule that i dont hand out magic weapons until like lvl 4 or 5. and even then it's iffy.

in addition to this guy I'd like to point out that doubling or halving a boss' HP may be necessary sometimes

Tag yourself

>dont be afraid to fudge a roll or 2 behind the dm screen if it leads to a more fun session.

Literally never do this unless you want your players to find out some day and immediately lose all sense of thrill and accomplishment.

You can't win against all odds if the odds are manipulated to make you win.

I thought that was a condom in her mouth for a second

Take it easy. Don't expect to churn out regular magnum opus tier sessions for longer campaigns. Start with basic shit, a goblin cave or somesuch and work your way up in complexity and experiment with themes, mechanics, etc. Don't plan too far ahead, give your players situations and not plots - don't assume, that, say when meeting some monks out in the desert they will either JUST help them OR fight them. Just give the NPCs a goal, some means of achieving it, and a bit of reasoning. The players will try to do something unexpected to those monks, and you'll have to improvise the appropriate reactions 90% of the time anyway. So, in this case the monks are going to a monastery to fulfill their role in an important ceremony. They will defend themselves if attacked, but would prefer to flee if possible, maybe try to convert the player characters. With this you have a sort of a toy that you can toss at your players whenever, and both you and them figure out heads and tails of it. Similarly, don't invest too much in the worldbuilding, learn to bullshit and build on your players questions as you go.

People running outside with condoms in their mouths is now my fetish.

Have a good sense of the setting and what's going on in it. That way if the players go off the rails you can ad lib some instead of being bamboozled.

The most important thing: Communicate with your players. Tell them how you think it's going, ask them what they feel about the game: What's good, what's bad, etc.
Ask them to speculate about the plot, this will give you an idea if they're fumbling around in the dark or not, and can also give you some pretty good ideas that you might not even have thought of.