A New GM

So, a while back, one of the players expressed an interest in being GM. I agreed, and on his request let him borrow the book and read it over.

Cut to about a month later, we've got a group together and we're gearing up to play. I say, "Hey, do you want to GM?"; "Gee, I don't know, I don't really understand the rules or how to do it..."; "Do it anyway. If you're totally stuck, ask me."

And he did. A man who's had no real experience with the system other than playing twice (because he didn't read the book). The game was absolutely fantastic. Everyone had fun. He just emulated the playstyle and made up scenarios that would be fun. So, I've realized experimentally that it doesn't take an especially skilled person to GM, or even a person with knowledge of the rules. So, what does it take? What makes a good GM? This is a rather difficult question, and it seems to be different based on which game you play. The only thing I know for sure is that the GM is chosen by the players. The GM has to be what the players want. What do you guys think?

Also, this has given me a few ideas as to GMing in our group. I want to give everyone a chance to GM, to try it out, and see how it feels. (Of course, if they want, and I'm sure they will.)

One of the players (acutally, same one who GM'd fantastically above) suggested we play musical chairs. We seat everyone at the table with a character sheet in front of them, and one behind the GM screen. After we play for 30 minutes, everyone stands up and shifts a chair to the left without moving the character sheets. Every 30 minutes you have a different storyteller, and you're playing something new. I think Paranoia is one of the few games that can do this because the characters don't exactly have epic back stories or complex personalities (it's pretty much limited to 2-3 tics), and the GM doesn't have to know that much or invest that much time into things, as shown above. I tell you all how it goes.

Until then, citizen.
-Flare

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