Could someone give me some tips?

[FerengiFan]

I've got some guys together and we've scheduled our first role playing session in about a week. This is my first time narrating and I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips. I have a plot outline and I know where I want the plot to go. In that respect, I'm prepared.

I just don't know what I should say or how much "prodding" is too much. What would really be great is if some kind soul out there would give me just a bit of actual dialogue between a typical narrator and PC. Please, somebody help me. I'm drowning.

[Paul]

Probably the best tips you can get are from the various Narrator's Toolkits. They contain plenty of Hints & Tips, Whys and Wherefores, Dos and Dont's, How-tos & how-not-tos, and lots more.

There are samples of some styles of play generally encountered in groups.

However, if you want tips from Outside The Box (C) -

a) Be Descriptive. There's nothing more useful to firing your players' imaginations than good descriptions of opponents, rooms, rooms, etc...
b) Reward Your Players. Don't just hand out XP for completing the mission. Reward them for good roleplaying, reward them more for excellent roleplaying, reward them for ingenious solutions. On the flip-side, don't be scared of penalising them for bad (or no) roleplaying.
c) Give Your NPCs Life. NPCs are characters too. Give them a name, a few skills, a brief history, and a couple of lines of personality. Have them interact with the PCs. Don't let the PCs bully them around. NPC Admirals dislike subordination as much as your PC Admiral would...
d) Enjoy Yourselves. Don't force the pace of the game along. If your players are enjoying the roleplaying, allow the story to take a back seat occasionally. Nudge the players in the right direction from time to time, but don't straightjacket them.

As for specific dialogue...I can't give you any (sorry). I GM my games by the seat of my pants. I have a story concept in mind, and who/what the protagonists are (if any), and I let the players run the story. I merely react to them once the game is in session...

I think that will do for now.

Now, if I could only follow my own advice...

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Why do banks charge you an "insufficient funds" fee on money they already know you don't have?

[SIR SIG]

And just go with the flow!
I narrate for a bunch of good mates (many RPGs) and there's always something jovial going on. Like one time a PC felt the need to assault someone and it turned out to be a SF Admiral. From there on it was a whole ne game (the plot being left far behind).

As you can see I'm very much play by ear Narrator, for all the work you put into a story PCs will wander. And if they wander in a good direction, just keep it coming.

This may not come naturally but its something to think about especially if you can back it up with a wealth of Trek knowledge.

Whooh! Hope I didn't scare him off

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SIR SIG a Aussie TREK Narrator

[Sarge]

There's no substitute for practice as a DM/GM/Narrator/Whatever. I'd recommend starting out with a simple training exercise, maybe a holodeck hand-to-hand combat situation. That will help you and your players learn how the system works and how to roleplay their characters, and no matter what happens you can say "End program" and nobody gets hurt.

After the game, talk to your players. Ask them what they did and didn't like about how you ran the game.

Of course, you might have to take their comments with a grain of salt. If one of your players complains that his cadet character didn't get a chance to participate in the Klingon officer exchange program and trade places with the captain of the battlecruiser Negh'var, tell him he'll have to prove himself and earn the position, and he might get the chance in ten years, if he's on the fast track.

If you want the campaign to last a long time, be sparing with experience points. Otherwise, your characters will grow into invincible demigods before the campaign ends. Instead of rewarding the players with buckets of XP, reward them with choice assignments and ask them what kind of missions they want to go on.

Here's an example of how one of my games might go.

GM: The captain stands up and walks toward his ready room. "Mr Janus, you have the conn."

Janus: "Aye, sir." I sit in the big comfy seat, stretch my legs and survey my domain.

GM: Don't get too comfy. The captain's voice comes over the comm system. "Intruder alert! Security to my ready- Oof!" You hear the sounds of blows and impacts over your commbadge.

Janus: I'm running to the ready room and drawing my phaser. Set for heavy stun.

GM: The door opens for you and you see the captain standing behind his desk and struggling with an alien. It's over two meters tall and looks like this. (Hold up picture from Bartlett's Guide to Extraterrestrials).

Janus: Ugly SOB, ain't he? I'll stun it with my phaser.

GM: The captain is in your line of fire, but the alien's head is half a meter above the captain's. Do you feel lucky today, punk?

Janus: With my dice? I'd stun the captain for sure. OK, I'll move through the door into the ready room and move to my right so that I can get a clear shot.

GM: As you come through the door, you discover another alien was pressed up against the wall next to the door waiting to ambush whoever comes through it. You're face-to-face with it, and it's already taking a swipe at you with it's claws.

Janus: I'll use my martial arts skill to catch it's arm with my left hand and fire the phaser at it with my right hand.

GM: (rolls dice for alien attack) OK, roll your co-ordination and reaction and add in your martial arts skill, minus one because you're doing two actions this round and minus another one for using your left hand.

Janus: (rolls dice) Total of eight.

GM: You caught its arm and stopped the claws about two centimeters from your windpipe. Its arm feels like an insect's shell, and it's so cold that your hand is frozen to its arm. Roll for your phaser shot.

etc etc...

Does that help?

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