Lesson 6: GMing

GMing, or Game Mastering, is different than just participating. You are the god. You created this idea, this world, this fictitious universe that your roleplay takes place in. You created the villain and his cronies. You brought your characters together. The other players are your minions, your archangels. They just helped. But when you GM, you have the control over close to everything that happens to your characters.

Step 1: Planning
Planning is crucial in your roleplay. Before you have the characters, you can only have so much planned. But it's important to know the plot, have it organized, and a setting. Mayari has a giant document of plans for her RP, Runic. Organization makes for a better roleplay.

Step 2: The Interest Check
Once you have a plot, write up a basic synopsis. Something to draw people in. Then think of a title, and head to the Interest Check forum. Tag your roleplay with the level it's in, and then put your synopsis in the thread. Wait for people to show interest.

Step 3: The OOC
Once you have enough people, post up the OOC. What you put here is most of your notes. The stuff they need to know to succeed. Maps if you have them, country descriptions, anything else they need to know. For example, in my Doctor Who based Blink RP, I'd put a link to a profile of the Weeping Angels on the Doctor Who wiki page for the people who hadn't seen the episode or even Doctor Who. In Haunted House on the Hill, I put maps of the House. Basic stuff, but not your plot twists or any spoilers. Keep the suspense up, and let the players want to be there and stay there.

You also will want to write up a character sheet. Some RPs want you to wing it, like Requiem of Depravity by xenophobicAtrophy. But this is rare, and be ready for a character sheet. The basics are mainly Name, Age, Appearance, Personality, and even Bio. Some withold Bio to be saved for reveal in character. Other things can be added to a basic character sheet to fit to your RP. In a war RP, you may want weapons. In an elemental RP, you add what power you control and even a description of what it does. Feel free to accept or deny characters as they come. As the GM, you have a right to.

Step 4: In Character
You make the opening post. Set the tone, set the scene. For example, in my Mystics RP on our affiliate ZEJ, I set the tone by having a memory sequence of the death of my character's father. I put it in italics to show it was a memory, and it set the tone fairly well. From there, it may be best to establish a posting order. You can say "I want to post first, then I want Mayari to post next, and then Susie, and Joe." and keep a cycle going. From there, you're god. You can emulate Steve Moffat and lead your characters everywhere and be a massive troll with complicated plots, or you can be like Andrew Hussie and make little details important later. Pretty much, have fun with it and use your notes. Make it relevant somehow