One of the littlest things I ever did which had the greatest impact at my game table was kind of a two part thing.  Firstly, I quit loaning my RPG materials to others , and I then required that everyone gaming own their own materials (corebook, dice, paper, etc.).

Instantly, I got rid of a couple of hangers on who were worthless anyway.  I never "lost" a book or dice again.  The quality of play greatly improved as everyone had their own book to reference, and there weren't constant requests to "borrow" something or other.  It also acted as a wonderful screening method for future players.  When I asked new players to show up with their own materials, the good players accepted in stride.  The bad players threw a fit of entitlement and went away.

Quote from: GabrielOne of the littlest things I ever did which had the greatest impact at my game table was kind of a two part thing.  Firstly, I quit loaning my RPG materials to others , and I then required that everyone gaming own their own materials (corebook, dice, paper, etc.).

I do this as well.  I won't run a game without the understanding that everyone will have their own books.  It has the secondary function of weeding out the people who don't give a damn, but want to be with their friends.

Wow.  I can't imagine requiring anyone to buy a corebook to be in my game, but to each their own.  I also have loaner dice for my groups, but I made sure they were ugly and distinctive as hell.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstWhat are the tricks at your table you've found has helped you with a rough spot in GMing or in creating a certain mood/feel?

Creating  mood/feel is perhaps the most important aspect of my games Once we're all on board, everything seems to fall into place esp the roleplaying. I normally have a file of artwork, films, passages from books for each campaign I'm about to begin.

It's basically reference stuff for the campaign that I show my players a couple of weeks before the game. It's not really about plot details or anything like that ( interestingly enough, once I expose some of the background inspiration to the players, they almost always come up with stuff they want to do in the campaign) but more of the imagey or tone I want to establish.

Movies are off course the main inspiration for my campaigns. In my current Hunter game, based on the early work of John Carpenter, we watched films like the Thing, Fog, Halloween, Escape from New York, Assault on Precinct 13, etc. I also showed them pictures from film mags of the era, and artwork which seemed to evoke the tone I was aiming for. I also based all the main npcs on actors from that era.

There is a lot of discussion about how the players can contribute to the tone/atmosphere of the game. Most times they come up with some really cool stuff. When describing stuff during the game, I make sure to throw in some of the locales from some of the movies we have watched.

All in all this seems to work. But, really sometimes the atmosphere/tone seems to evolve on it's own, which is pretty cool. I mean for the Hunter campaign, it seems to have changed into a cross between Boogie Nights and Dario Argento(sp) slasher flicks - I have no idea how this happened.

Regards,
David R

I have been known to set out the miniatures of the party and some big scary monsters or treasure or a banana on the battlemat, so as soon as the players enter the room, they wonder what is going on, and already start thinking about their characters and the game, even if it is a little while before we play while waiting for all the players to show up.

I also like props. Set out a scroll or a stack of plastic gold coins or a tarot deck and players can't help but play with them.

Banning electronics is the best advice ever. I understand if a player needs a cell phone because they're expecting a call from spouse or parents, but mostly electronics are the biggest game bane imaginable. Leave them at the door.