As a GM, trust your players and let them co-GM as much as you can.

It takes so much of the pressure off.

It lets them get a taste of GM-ing if they don't know what it's like already.

If Player A asks you what the bartender's name is, ask Player B to decide. Hell, ask Player A to decide themselves.

If details don't matter, let the players fill those details by asking them to. Seriously. It keeps them engaged, and they're way more likely to remember names they came up with.

I'm also having players create their own side villains, the bane of their characters' existences, and they love it. They get way more personal and focused when they're up against a villain they came up with, cus obviously that's who they want to fight.

We all collectively describe the mood or ambience of a scene that doesn't require suspense, like a plot dump at a busy diner or a battleplan being put together at an arcade. The sights, the sounds, the smells, NPC's who'd be present - ask the players who and what they're perceiving. Ask them what stands out to them. The more details they describe as a group, the more time you have to think as a GM.

Ultimately you just need the GM to act as a referee on what's officially happening or not, and maybe not even then.

  • math_tutor_throwaway [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Hell yes, nice. I've always thought that the more you feel like you're telling story together, instead of the DM telling the story and everyone else is there to be entertained, the more fun it is for everyone at the table.