[Q&A] Jim Pinto (A Good Book for Bad GMs and a Book of GM Inspiration)

[2:24 PM] jim pinto: I’m jim pinto. Long time veteran of the gaming industry and maybe the worst self-promotor there is. How’s that for a logline? I’ve been working in some capacity in gaming since 1991, but didn’t really publish my first book until… 1996 was it? With the L5R GM’s Survival Guide. I’ve been writing GM advice since the beginning.

[2:24 PM] jim pinto: (done)

[2:24 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Thanks, @jim pinto! The floor is open to questions!

[2:24 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What can you tell us about your current Kickstarter?

[2:25 PM] jim pinto: Here’s the link, if that matters. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/218255739/a-good-book-for-bad-gms-and-a-book-of-gm-inspirationKickstarterPostworldgames Jim PintoA Good Book for Bad GMs and a Book of GM InspirationGamemastering advice for all levels from someone with 40 years of experience. Plus a second book filled with muse-like inspiration.

[2:25 PM] jim pinto: I promise this is going to be the best book of GMing advice, ever.

[2:25 PM] jim pinto: It’s chockful of everything

[2:26 PM] jim pinto: It walks you through how to run your first game session, tells you all your jobs as a GM, breaks down all the kinds of GMs, and teaches you how to create stories

[2:26 PM] jim pinto: It’ll be well-over 100 pages

[2:26 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Nice!

[2:26 PM] jim pinto: I’m not even close to finished and I’m on page 75 of the writing.

[2:27 PM] jim pinto: My hope is that the language and conversations in this book become the industry standard about how we discuss gamemastering.1

[2:27 PM] jim pinto: With the exception of the word collimate, which is in there. I don’t see that becoming regular parlance. (edited)1

[2:27 PM] jim pinto: 

[2:28 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Now, please bear with me here, as I figure out what I can ask without you just giving us the contents for free. :0

[2:28 PM] jim pinto: Ha.

[2:28 PM] jim pinto:1

[2:28 PM] jim pinto: Here’s some free content

[2:29 PM] Dan the GMshoe: First off, I note that you say “GM” and not “DM”, so I’m assuming that your advice is applicable to a broad range of TTRPGs, not just D&D.

[2:29 PM] jim pinto: Correct1

[2:29 PM] jim pinto: The book uses fantasy as the benchmark throughout

[2:29 PM] jim pinto: Because that’s the most common kind of RPG.

[2:30 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Makes sense.

[2:30 PM] jim pinto: And my favorite kind of game.

[2:30 PM] jim pinto: But the advice applies to all games

[2:30 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How difficult would it be to translate the advice to other genres?

[2:30 PM] jim pinto: Not difficult at all

[2:31 PM] jim pinto: Obviously, the examples of play focus on fantasy. PCs meeting at a tavern isn’t an issue in a pulp 30s game.

[2:31 PM] jim pinto: But the advice is still relevant to ‘getting the PCs together.’

[2:31 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Gotcha.

[2:32 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Just how broadly to you cover the hobby? Do you, for example, cover GMing “storygames”?

[2:32 PM] jim pinto: Oh. Great question.

[2:33 PM] jim pinto: I dont’ really see GMing savage worlds and Pbta being all that different, with the exception of how controlling gamemasters can be in the former vs. the latter.

[2:33 PM] jim pinto: But lots of story games already have deep GM advice sections.

[2:34 PM] Dan the GMshoe: nods…

[2:35 PM] Dan the GMshoe: To be even more specific, I know of games that barely have any mechanics at all, and where they do, they involve the control of the narrative rather than the outcome of actions. Do you consider such games to be the same sort of activity, or do you think they require more specific GM advice?

[2:35 PM] jim pinto: I think I need to add a section in the book about learning to share space, if I haven’t already.

[2:36 PM] jim pinto: There’s an important section on teaching GMs about ‘spotlighting.’

[2:36 PM] Dan the GMshoe: (brb)

[2:36 PM] jim pinto: But your question is a good one. I hadn’t considered that, because I’ve already written two advice books on GMless and story gaming.

[2:37 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Oh, have you? Interesting!

[2:38 PM] jim pinto: the intro to GMless gaming and the Protocol Primer

[2:39 PM] jim pinto: there’s a lot of repetition in them

[2:39 PM] jim pinto: but they really cover the gammut of story gaming

[2:39 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Can you share any advice for storygaming that wouldn’t apply to traditional RPGs?

[2:39 PM] jim pinto: you have to get used to being a player and an author in the game

[2:39 PM] jim pinto: you have more responsibility in a story game

[2:39 PM] jim pinto: you can’t just show up and start punching bartenders

[2:40 PM] Doctorfuzion: Gosh if only I was not at work and could participate in the discussion

[2:40 PM] jim pinto: Get out of here, Mike. Shoo. This is my time. You can’t steal my thunder!!!!11

[2:41 PM] Doctorfuzion: I only steal wind

[2:41 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What are some of the hardest GMing lessons to learn?

[2:42 PM] jim pinto: The difference between authority and leadership2

[2:42 PM] jim pinto: I think we come to gaming as teens

@Dan the GMshoeWhat are some of the hardest GMing lessons to learn?[2:42 PM] m_nikolaev: To shut up and listen to your players discuss your plan.1

[2:42 PM] jim pinto: At a time when we feel powerless

[2:42 PM] m_nikolaev: Howdy!

[2:42 PM] jim pinto: So gaming becomes a power struggle between player and GM2

[2:42 PM] jim pinto: Because the GM wants to feel power just the way Scrugg the Barbarian does

[2:43 PM] jim pinto: So people argue over the dumbest stuff, because they don’t want to ‘lose.’

[2:43 PM] jim pinto: Oh. And for the love of god. Stop arguing at the table.2

[2:43 PM] jim pinto: Talk about it after the game.

[2:43 PM] jim pinto: Gaming in the 90s became a me vs. the GM exercise

[2:43 PM] m_nikolaev: You, sir, are absolutely right.1

[2:44 PM] jim pinto: And with 3.0, wotc gave the victory to the players (long analysis there)

[2:44 PM] jim pinto: And now the GM is doing a job and the players are playing a game. Fighting for control doesn’t improve the game and just makes everyone resent one another.

[2:44 PM] m_nikolaev: Also, admitting when you are wrong and just moving forward was a very hard one for me.

[2:44 PM] jim pinto: Yeah.

[2:44 PM] jim pinto: We all suffer that m_nikolaev

[2:45 PM] jim pinto: I personally have just learned to shut down and let other people have the floor. As a player and a GM.

[2:45 PM] jim pinto: I don’t need to shout.

[2:45 PM] Doctorfuzion: Yup. Now it’s easier to share control, and I find new players SO engaging that I did 20 years ago.

[2:46 PM] jim pinto: I ran 5E at a con just before covid. The players started shouting and making urine jokes. And I just sat there quiet for 5 minutes and let them do what they were going to do.

[2:46 PM] jim pinto: We’re just going to resent each other if I have to yell to be heard.

[2:46 PM] jim pinto: So. Dan. You got a very long answer to a great question.

[2:46 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Thanks!

[2:47 PM] jim pinto: If it would sell, I would write a book for players, too. Btw.1

[2:48 PM] Dan the GMshoe: So you’ve been in the biz since 1991, but when did you start playing TTRPGs?

[2:48 PM] jim pinto: 1981

[2:48 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Nice. Same here, give or take.

[2:48 PM] jim pinto: I read about D&D in the old scholastic newsletter.

[2:48 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Really? That’s awesome!

[2:48 PM] jim pinto: The next year, I met this kid adam. He played D&D.

[2:49 PM] jim pinto: The rest was history.1

[2:49 PM] jim pinto: There’s a story in the book about getting to college and realizing how BAD i was as a GM

[2:49 PM] jim pinto: I mean BAD

[2:50 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Do you offer any advice relating to “metacurrencies” like Fate points that allow the player to (among other things) introduce elements of their own into the game?

[2:50 PM] jim pinto: Charts for everything. Nothing interesting for the PCs to do. Keeping the story on a leash.

[2:50 PM] jim pinto: Ugh. Embarrasing.

[2:50 PM] jim pinto: Yes. I call those drama points across all my games.

[2:50 PM] jim pinto: There’s a whole section on defining and exploring agency

[2:50 PM] jim pinto: A lot of people use this word wrong

[2:51 PM] jim pinto: So I take the time to explain what it means to have agency over the story and your actions (because those are two different things).1

[2:52 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Does the book include tips on running games across the gritty-to-cinematic spectrum?

[2:52 PM] jim pinto: yep

[2:52 PM] jim pinto: I take time to explain realism vs. escapism

[2:52 PM] jim pinto: So. It’s not really a spectrum in the book. It’s just an analysis of the difference and why once you go gonzo, you can’t come back.

[2:53 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Ah. That’s a good point.

[2:54 PM] Dan the GMshoe: It’s kind of like the movie Trainspotting trying to introduce a dead baby, then veer back to comedy. Sorry. Dead baby. Comedy’s done.

[2:54 PM] jim pinto: Yeah. Great example. Tone is a hard tool to master.

[2:55 PM] jim pinto: Most people don’t even understand the word. I’m shocked at how many times I’ve had to explain tone to people. (edited)

[2:55 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Really? Wow… That’s a pretty basic concept, even if you haven’t mastered it, I’d think.

[2:56 PM] jim pinto: If your favorite genre of movie is schlock horror or campy films like reanimator, I can see how tone is something you don’t grok.

[2:57 PM] jim pinto: Dune has a lot of tone. The Batman has a lot of tone. And those tones — when done right — can swallow you.

[2:57 PM] jim pinto: And you forget it’s there

[2:58 PM] jim pinto: So bad tone is ubiquitous in bad film making. And a warm blanket in great films.

[2:59 PM] jim pinto: It’s one of the reasons I get into arguments with people about objective good vs. subjective good.

[2:59 PM] jim pinto: I can’t tell you what to like. But I can tell you if something is bad.2

[3:00 PM] jim pinto: I see henry is over in the general room. 1

[3:00 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Yep. Hopefully he can talk and chew gum.

[3:01 PM] jim pinto: Have you met him. He’s old.

[3:01 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Oh, yes. He’s been a guest of mine, and I’ve done reviews for him.

[3:01 PM] PCIHenry: Gee, thanks, buddy!

[3:01 PM] jim pinto: Uh oh. I summoned him.

[3:01 PM] jim pinto: Just unwrap some ribbon candy, and there’s Henry.1

[3:01 PM] jim pinto: 

[3:01 PM] PCIHenry: heh

[3:01 PM] jim pinto: Lord. I’ve know Henry, what? 20 years now? Since before witch hunter.

[3:01 PM] PCIHenry: Just showing you some support. (edited)

[3:02 PM] jim pinto: You’re one of the few people left in the hobby that I like. Hahahaha.

[3:02 PM] jim pinto: I’m not helping my game selling cause with jokes like these, am I?

@jim pintoLord. I’ve know Henry, what? 20 years now? Since before witch hunter.[3:02 PM] PCIHenry: Before that, I think. From our L5R days.

1. [3:02 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Still on the subject of tone, how do you manage players who aren’t contributing to the game’s tone, or, worse, sabotaging it (with comedy during a serious horror game, for example)?
2. [3:02 PM] jim pinto: Yeah. Lord. We’re both old.
3. [3:02 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Or perhaps that’s for the hypothetical player book?
4. [3:03 PM] jim pinto: That’s in the book.
5. [3:03 PM] jim pinto: There’s a section called ‘Dealling with Doug’
6. @Dan the GMshoeStill on the subject of tone, how do you manage players who aren’t contributing to the game’s tone, or, worse, sabotaging it (with comedy during a serious horror game, for example)?[3:03 PM] PCIHenry: That’s a great question. Something that’s happened to me several times.
7. [3:03 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Me too. sigh
8. [3:03 PM] jim pinto: Doug is the pseudonym for the player that causes all the problems.
9. [3:03 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Aha.
10. [3:04 PM] PCIHenry: I know many Dougs.
11. [3:04 PM] jim pinto: Doug makes puns, monty python jokes, he spills snacks, he interrupts people, and so on.
12. [3:04 PM] jim pinto: I’m not giving away the milk for free on this one. Buy the book.
13. [3:04 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Oh, I get it.
14. [3:05 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Again, trying to tip-toe around giving away free content.
15. [3:05 PM] jim pinto: Sure. I get it.
16. [3:05 PM] PCIHenry: That piece of advice alone makes this a ‘Must-Buy’.
17. [3:05 PM] Dan the GMshoe: No foolin’.
18. [3:06 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Does all of the advice you give in the book spring from your actual experiences, or is any of it more theoretical?
19. [3:06 PM] jim pinto: Nearly all of the advice from this book is because I’ve dealt with so many headaches over the years.
20. [3:06 PM] jim pinto: I’ve attended over 100 game conventions.
21. [3:06 PM] jim pinto: I’ve gamed with countless strangers.
22. [3:07 PM] Dan the GMshoe: (You realize that you’re writing an RPG country & western song now, right? )
23. [3:07 PM] jim pinto: Ha. I didn’t. But I love it.
24. [3:07 PM] jim pinto: My girlfriend took my dice and my screen and left my dog and I with nothing to game
25. [3:08 PM] jim pinto: It writes itself2
26. [3:08 PM] jim pinto: There’s a list of people I thank on the credit’s page. Not all of them were good players, but I thank them anyway for teaching me how to deal with their crap.1
27. [3:08 PM] Dan the GMshoe: That’s perfectly reasonable!
28. [3:09 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Do you specify which players are which, or do you leave them guessing?
29. [3:09 PM] jim pinto: I probably need to write a page about setting boundaries
30. [3:09 PM] jim pinto: Just because you’re nice to the players doesn’t mean you’re weak
31. [3:09 PM] jim pinto: I leave them guessing1
32. [3:10 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Speaking of boundaries, to what extent do you delve into player (dis)comfort, the “X Card”, and so forth?
33. [3:10 PM] jim pinto: It’s in there
34. [3:10 PM] jim pinto: I point them to where to find the veil, x-card, and so on. But I don’t copy/paste the text.
35. [3:11 PM] jim pinto: Some groups don’t need it. Others really really do.
36. [3:11 PM] jim pinto: I think people need to make judgments themselves.2
37. [3:11 PM] Dan the GMshoe: I was just going to ask whether you, personally, find such things necessary. Sounds like “it depends”.
38. [3:12 PM] jim pinto: Mike (doctor fuzion above) recently ran and online game for us. The other four people I’d never met before. We didn’t use or need the x-card, but I was shocked that we didn’t. I would have assumed with that many strangers we would.
39. [3:12 PM] jim pinto: Yeah. It just depends.
40. [3:12 PM] jim pinto: I’ve never had to point to the card, except when people are making stupid jokes like “The Great Moose Wars” in a science fiction game.
41. [3:12 PM] jim pinto: but that’s more about ‘hey. you’re ruining my fun.’1
42. [3:12 PM] jim pinto: but i never censor people
43. [3:13 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Does your book point to any experiences you’ve had with other game industry folks and the games that they’ve run for you?
44. [3:13 PM] jim pinto: but i understand the need for it
45. [3:14 PM] jim pinto: I really should tell the story about Don Corcoran running burning wheel set in the artesia world. It was at gencon. A singular experience. Ten people at the table. We had an amazing time.
46. [3:14 PM] jim pinto: It would be a few pages to be sure to tell that one.
47. [3:14 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Ten people, you say? Impressive!
48. [3:14 PM] jim pinto: But I’m still writing, so maybe I can make room for that.1
49. [3:15 PM] jim pinto: Yeah.
50. [3:15 PM] Dan the GMshoe: (Especially with Burning Wheel, in my limited experience.)
51. [3:15 PM] jim pinto: Tobie Abad ran a game at a con for myself and three strangers.
52. [3:15 PM] jim pinto: I was quiet for most of the session, letting people do their thing.
53. [3:16 PM] jim pinto: I didn’t want to interrupt and say, “Okay. This is how you REALLY story game.”
54. [3:16 PM] jim pinto: that kind of thing is obnoxious
55. [3:16 PM] jim pinto: so i just watched and paid attention to who was doing what
56. [3:16 PM] jim pinto: at the break, tobie turns to me, “Are you having fun?”
57. [3:16 PM] jim pinto: and rather than answer his question, I just said, “Point at the camera at my character when everyone gets back from the bathroom.”
58. [3:17 PM] jim pinto: and in the very next scene, my character scales a fence (we were all children)
59. [3:17 PM] jim pinto: i rolled really really well
60. [3:17 PM] jim pinto: and tobie let me narrate three facts about how well i did (story game stuff)
61. [3:17 PM] jim pinto: i made up two little silly things. my shirt gets torn. my landing looks really cool.
62. [3:18 PM] jim pinto: and then for my third fact, i said, “Someone important spots me.”
63. [3:18 PM] jim pinto: and this is a really good lesson, I should definitely put in the book
64. [3:18 PM] jim pinto: because i didn’t say ally or helper or friendly
65. [3:18 PM] jim pinto: i said important
66. [3:18 PM] jim pinto: i was turning a success into a failure
67. [3:18 PM] jim pinto: on my own
68. [3:18 PM] jim pinto: the evil lady in the story in the house on the top of this hill spots me
69. [3:18 PM] jim pinto: and she knows i’m coming up the hill now
70. [3:19 PM] jim pinto: i think most gamers would use all of their successes to give themselves bonuses
71. [3:19 PM] jim pinto: but in that moment, all the other players stopped and say, “Oh. Crap. This is what story games can do.”
72. [3:19 PM] jim pinto: it was a great moment
73. [3:19 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Definitely good advice, although seems like that’s more player advice than GM advice. Is it?
74. [3:20 PM] jim pinto: and i didn’t have to be a dick about it. or “talk down” to anyone, the way people sometimes do in teaching moments
75. [3:20 PM] jim pinto: i just led by example
76. [3:20 PM] jim pinto: and they got it
77. [3:20 PM] jim pinto: right right
78. [3:20 PM] jim pinto: absolutely
79. [3:20 PM] jim pinto: but if a GM can read that story and convey that to players, that helps everyone
80. [3:20 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Ah, so advice to a GM to pass along to players.
81. [3:21 PM] Dan the GMshoe: That makes sense.
82. [3:21 PM] jim pinto: yeah. because a lot of what this book can be at times is ‘how do you help the players help you’
83. [3:21 PM] jim pinto: why are you organizing the start time of the game? don’t you have enough to do?
84. [3:21 PM] jim pinto: why are you hosting and running and providing snacks?
85. [3:22 PM] jim pinto: why are you flipping through the rulebook when there’s a question?
86. [3:22 PM] Dan the GMshoe: That’s good practical advice!
87. [3:22 PM] jim pinto: those sorts of ‘tasks’ that can be delegated to others
88. [3:22 PM] jim pinto: dammit
89. [3:22 PM] jim pinto: i’m giving away the workshed
90. [3:22 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Sorry!
91. [3:22 PM] jim pinto: not your fault
92. [3:22 PM] jim pinto: i did it to myself
93. [3:23 PM] Dan the GMshoe: In a way, this is like trying to do a Q&A on an adventure: There’s only so much you can say without spoilers.
94. [3:23 PM] jim pinto: right
95. [3:23 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Now, there’s a second book in this Kickstarter as well, correct?
96. [3:23 PM] jim pinto: yes
97. [3:24 PM] jim pinto: a book of inspiration
98. [3:24 PM] jim pinto: this is much more loose
99. [3:24 PM] jim pinto: it’s just a book of writing prompts
100. [3:24 PM] jim pinto: to get your brain moving

1. [3:24 PM] jim pinto: “A character has lost something? What is it? Can they get it back?”
2. [3:25 PM] jim pinto: sometimes it’s a chart of things overheard
3. [3:25 PM] jim pinto: or things stolen
4. [3:25 PM] jim pinto: or NPC names
5. [3:25 PM] jim pinto: it’s going to be chockful of that kind of inspiration
6. [3:25 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How big will that one be?
7. [3:25 PM] jim pinto: roughly the same size
8. [3:26 PM] jim pinto: but so much easier to write
9. [3:26 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Are you writing these at the same time, or one at a time?
10. [3:26 PM] jim pinto: mostly one at a time
11. [3:26 PM] jim pinto: but i drop a note into the inspiration book when i think of something
12. [3:26 PM] jim pinto: 20 pages are done so far1
13. [3:27 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Without giving yet more content away, do you cover any games that you, personally, found difficult to GM?
14. [3:28 PM] jim pinto: i try to avoid mentioning specific games by name unless i have to
15. [3:28 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Understandable.
16. [3:29 PM] jim pinto: but, honestly for me, i tend to find games that don’t have a clear goal that hardest to work with
17. [3:29 PM] jim pinto: i can work with just about any set of rules (even ignoring stuff i don’t like), but what i can’t do is take say “Unknown Armies 1st edition” and really use it for anything
18. [3:29 PM] jim pinto: it’s just a rudderless set of rules
19. [3:30 PM] jim pinto: so getting a campaign going with it, i could just as easily use any set of rules to create a weird modern horror-magic game.
20. [3:30 PM] jim pinto: so. maybe a few notes on that in the book wouldn’t hurt.
21. [3:30 PM] jim pinto: getting gamemasters to develop some context before starting
22. [3:30 PM] jim pinto: but i do talk about session zeroes
23. [3:30 PM] jim pinto: and writing world primers
24. [3:31 PM] jim pinto: so again. all of my suffering pays off for others.
25. [3:31 PM] jim pinto: (brb)
26. [3:31 PM] Dan the GMshoe: (k — me too)
27. [3:34 PM] Dan the GMshoe: (back)
28. [3:34 PM] jim pinto: (moi aussi)1
29. [3:35 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What’s been the most difficult part of the GM advice book to write? Has there been anything that’s just difficult to get across on paper for some reason?
30. [3:35 PM] jim pinto: Saying anything without sounding like a jerk, honestly.
31. [3:35 PM] jim pinto: I’m writing in a conversation tone, but I want to avoid ever blaming the reader for not knowing something
32. [3:35 PM] jim pinto: I had to learn all of this the hard way
33. [3:36 PM] jim pinto: The book is about helping people get better, without judgment
34. [3:36 PM] jim pinto: It’s a tightrope walk1
35. [3:37 PM] Dan the GMshoe: In the process of writing the book, have you stumbled across ideas that you’ve taken for granted as a GM that actually need discussing?
36. [3:37 PM] jim pinto: oh yeah
37. [3:38 PM] jim pinto: just the core basics of what being a gamemaster means
38. [3:38 PM] jim pinto: while outlining, i had to really sit there and say, “what are all the hats gamemasters wear?”
39. [3:38 PM] jim pinto: simple stuff too
40. [3:39 PM] Dan the GMshoe: I imagine some of that is like stopping to think about how you tie your shoes.
41. [3:39 PM] jim pinto: where is the game taking place, who adjucates rules questions, what’s the difference between being a ref and a facilitator
42. [3:39 PM] jim pinto: i had to approach it like an HR manager, almost
43. [3:39 PM] jim pinto: yeah
44. [3:39 PM] jim pinto: what’s the value of a GM rolling in secret
45. @jim pintowhat’s the value of a GM rolling in secret[3:40 PM] PCIHenry: Where do you fall on that, jim? Is it something worthwhile or not?
46. [3:41 PM] jim pinto: there are absolutely rolls that need to be secret
47. [3:41 PM] jim pinto: but not attack rolls
48. [3:41 PM] jim pinto: not monster saving throws
49. [3:42 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Perception rolls?
50. [3:42 PM] jim pinto: right. good example.
51. [3:42 PM] jim pinto: more important, lore rolls
52. [3:42 PM] jim pinto: “What do I know about this place?”
53. [3:43 PM] jim pinto: the gm rolls that in secret
54. [3:43 PM] Dan the GMshoe: nods
55. [3:43 PM] jim pinto: True story: I know this GM in san luis obispo
56. [3:43 PM] jim pinto: He would run GURPS
57. [3:43 PM] jim pinto: But the players never saw their character sheets and never rolled dice
58. [3:44 PM] jim pinto: They told the GM what kind of character they wanted to play
59. [3:44 PM] jim pinto: And he made the characters
60. [3:44 PM] Dan the GMshoe: In the process of writing this book, did you end up taking any stands that go against the grain of gamer “common knowledge” about GMing? (edited)
61. [3:44 PM] jim pinto: Total immersion style GMing2
62. [3:44 PM] jim pinto: I absolutely call gamemastering a job (edited)
63. [3:44 PM] jim pinto: And I flat out say, it’s not always fun
64. [3:45 PM] jim pinto: I talk a lot about the various roles that people probably never considered
65. [3:45 PM] jim pinto: I even talk (this is a freebie) why equipment lists don’t matter
66. [3:45 PM] jim pinto: GASP1
67. [3:46 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Wow. That is taking a stand!
68. [3:46 PM] jim pinto: The most important thing I talk about is story conceit and story glue (a term I invented).
69. [3:46 PM] jim pinto: These are things everyone takes for granted
70. [3:47 PM] jim pinto: And no one, I don’t think anyone, has ever tackled these topics in any game book before
71. @jim pintoGASP[3:47 PM] PCIHenry: I agree. I also think that in some games, certain skills should be undefined until needed.1
72. [3:47 PM] PCIHenry: For example, when I run CoC, I tell the players to leave their language slots empty1
73. [3:48 PM] jim pinto: Yep. I do the same thing in D&D, but not twilight 2000 (with the language lists)
74. [3:48 PM] PCIHenry: When the time comes to read that ancient manuscript written in language X, one of the players can say, “My character knows that.”
75. [3:48 PM] jim pinto: Yep
76. [3:48 PM] PCIHenry: The rub is that they then need to give me a plausible explanation of why a mechanic would know Ancient Manchurain.
77. [3:48 PM] jim pinto: That would also be a great use of drama points, as Dan and I talked about earlier.2
78. [3:48 PM] jim pinto: Spend a drama point. “Oh yeah. I know a little bit of Coptic.”
79. [3:49 PM] PCIHenry: Exactly
80. [3:49 PM] Dan the GMshoe: In the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?
81. [3:50 PM] jim pinto: Without sounding arrogant, this book really is going to change people’s thinking. And I really hope people spread the word once they get a lot of it.
82. [3:51 PM] jim pinto: “Crap. I thought it, but jim said it. I feel validated.”
83. [3:51 PM] jim pinto: or
84. [3:51 PM] jim pinto: “Man. I never considered that.”
85. [3:51 PM] jim pinto: it would be great if i made a million dollars on this. but it would be even better if i helped a million gamemasters
86. [3:51 PM] jim pinto: that’s how much gaming means to me11
87. [3:52 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Very cool.
88. [3:52 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Thanks very much for joining us, @jim pinto!
89. [3:52 PM] jim pinto: thanks for doing this dan
90. [3:52 PM] jim pinto: always fun
91. [3:52 PM] Dan the GMshoe: My pleasure, as always!
92. [3:52 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Usual reminder: If you’ve enjoyed this Q&A and would like to treat me to a coffee or two, you can do so at https://www.ko-fi.com/gmshoe. Anything’s appreciated! Ko-fiBuy Dan Davenport a Coffee. ko-fi.com/gmshoeBecome a supporter of Dan Davenport today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love with no fees on donations.
93. [3:52 PM] jim pinto: again. sorry i was late.
94. [3:52 PM] Dan the GMshoe: No problem at all.
95. [3:53 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Now if you’ll give me a minute, I’ll get the log posted!
96. [3:53 PM] PCIHenry: Thank you, Jim!
97. [3:53 PM] PCIHenry: Thanks for hosting, Dan.
98. [3:53 PM] jim pinto: thanks, henry
99. [3:53 PM] jim pinto: bon chance, mon ami
100. [3:53 PM] PCIHenry: 

Message #q-and-a