Following all those posts on prepping and story arcs I have to admit that my GM mojo has felt very weak to me. I've left game sessions feeling like I haven't done well enough by my players.
I think every GM feels this at some point. If not then please let me know how you do it, unless you're the GM who runs modules with no deviation and rolls in the open. Then we have such different styles that I don't know if there's any common ground.
Thinking about it I wonder how much of my uncertainty in my personal life spilled over into my gaming life. I'd like to have the two completely disconnected but I can't. I don't know if anyone can. But I play games to escape my real life!
GM mojo is hard to define. The players could have had a fantastically good session for them and the GM still feels like they didn't do things right. They didn't make a call correctly. They gave out the wrong information. They didn't set things up for the next game well enough. Things that the players don't really think about follow the GM like a balloon tied to the belt loop of their jeans.
I realized a mistake I made when I gave out information on a book a player found when searching a hideout. The information was that the history book was more fiction based on stories the author heard from people who'd been in the general area. My plan was for the player to use the book as a tool in trying to resolve his backstory, not knowing that everything was made up. But no. I lost that plot hook because I made the mistake. A sloppy mistake.
At the same time my story arc isn't really that great. Once they get out of where they are I have no idea how to motivate them to do something new. They'll be back where they started before this excursion, a little wealthier and a little more experienced. But without a clear goal. That's where I feel I'm failing.
Why am I putting all this in a blog post? To show that even the most prepped and ready GM can be insecure and make mistakes. That one slip can take an entire story arc out of play. And that happy players are great but if the GM ain't happy there's a problem.
I can solve my problem. I know this. I need to take a step back and see where to send them. I know the players better now and have ideas about what motivates them. This will help me with more enticing plot hooks which can lead to better and richer games.
By the time this posts I'm hoping that I've resolved the big issues and am diligently chipping away at the small ones that continually crop up. I'm still not at all great about gemstones as treasure but I'm working on various methods to combat that. If that's my biggest ongoing problem I may be the best GM in the world.
So what happens when the GM mojo is gone? That's a tough question. Is it something temporary? Is it a group dynamic? Is there a problem player? Or is the GM burnt out or in some other way not invested in the game anymore? Each question and others not listed has a different solution. It's not always to end the game. It's not always to give up the GM chair. But sometimes it is.
In my case I'm going to read some short adventures to see what ideas I can glean from them for my own game. I'll read the introduction to longer modules. I'll ask other GMs for ideas. If I can think my own way out of it I'll find help wherever I can. And if I still don't feel like I'm doing my best I'll ask my group what they think is lacking. If they don't think anything is then it's a very personal problem. If they do then I have guidance on what I can try.
Notice that asking the players is the last option. That's because I don't want them to panic or to put doubt in them if it isn't already there. I'm lucky that my current batch of players isn't shy about asking me about things so if they have issues I think I would know about them. This isn't hubris - not asking the players. It's about exploring other avenues before bringing the problem to them when it isn't theirs to solve.
Here's a hint. If you're afraid to ask the players what they want you to do better, you need to do better. If only for your own state of mind.
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