How To Lead A Group of People

One reason some people are nervous about stepping into the position of Game Master is that the idea of leading a group of people can be daunting. This may not be a problem if you play with close friends, but many people have to seek out fellow players in the public. In the years before covid, I linked up with my local library and advertised a public D&D game every two weeks. Or maybe the game shop is the only place you can find people and you're looking at running a game with relative strangers. Whatever the situation, this post is all about helping you lead people. Leadership skills can be very important to any game master and in any group. 

I've picked 5 categories that will help you become a better leader and talk about how these relate specifically to running a TTRPG. So, let's dive right in! 

1. Expectations

Whether you realize it or not, you have expectations for how you want your game to play out and how people will behave. A leader will be conscious of their expectations and know how to voice them. You should make your expectations known as soon as you find players or even before. When I am looking to run a game online, I put some basic guidelines in the description of my game. You can use this to avoid serious and obvious differences of opinion. For instances always put phrases in my descriptions such as "all inclusive," "no bigotry," "all identities welcome," and anything that will prevent unwanted personalities. 

Still, once you've found your players you still need to set more specific expectations. An example is that when I run a Roll20 game with strangers I get everyone on discord for a talk about my expectations. I make it clear that only one player should speak at a time, I'll be implementing X house rule, be conscious of not taking all the attention, and etc. 

Think very clearly about what you expect NOT to happen in your games, and then tell the players in positive language that you want such and such to take place. Try not to focus on saying, don't do this or don't do that. The expectations that you lay down in the beginning are an agreement and anyone who enters your game has agreed to meet those expectations. You can and will have to hold people to this in the future. 

2. Preparation

Preparation on your part plays a big role in making the group run smoothly. If you have your world built and your quests planned, then you'll always be able to nudge players forward instead of letting them devolve into indecision and argument. 

Campaign plans are not the only thing that is important. You have to prepare to make rulings and decisions on potential problems that may come up. It's helpful if you research what rules are being argued about, or which issues fall into GM's personal decisions, and what you have planned in your game that may raise issues. For example, you may know one of your players wields a weapon that has a vague description for its abilities. You want to plan ahead for this rather than letting it become a fight at the virtual table. 

Including this type of planning takes learning and practice. If you're a new GM, your number 1 expectation should be patience. Anyone who is not willing to be patient with you should find a game with a more experienced GM, rather than complaining about you. 

3. Leadership

What does leadership at the table (virtual or not) look like? Yes, you've gathered together to play a fun game with friends or strangers. Still, when you take the role as the GM you assume a position of leadership and control. Obviously, you don't want to go overboard with this and I can address that more in a separate post. Here I'm going to describe how things should look. 

You want to lead by giving direction and by example. You decide when the game starts, and the moment it does you should be guiding the group through your world. I suggest always having a preamble ready at the beginning of each session. Let the players know clearly what their options are and prompt them to make a decision. If decisions are a problem for your players you can either adjust your plans so that the story happens to them or you set a time limit for discussion. Be proactive about providing description and prompts at all times so your players don't become stagnant or distracted. 

Problems often arise when one player is taking up time, doing something the group considers unfair, or does something that negatively affects another player. Remember that you are in control of all of these things. You control how much time to spend on each character, you set the rules and make callings on what's fair, and you can set rules ahead of time about characters interfering with each other. 

An important part of leadership that should not come up often is settling conflict. It is the mark of a good leader to firm and assertive when it is needed, but you should never be rude or disrespectful. If you're firm, but kind with a player they should still respect you and want to keep playing. If you abuse a player because you feel they've done something wrong, you will lose their respect and invite more conflict in the future. 

4. Conflict Resolution

How do you solve a conflict? Here is a lesson in basic conflict resolution. 

Step 1. End the fighting and aimless yelling. Call for calm and make it clear that you are going to address the situation as the leader of the group. The longer you allow people to go back and forth, the more upset, angry, and frustrated they become. If things are intense right from the beginning than it's usually a good idea for each person to have some space and get out of the situation. This may mean going for a walk, separating into different chats, or even ending the game. 

Step 2. Make sure that you, the moderator, understand each person's point of view clearly. If you have any questions about someone's opinion or why they are upset then ask them to calmly explain why they are upset. It's important not to minimize or distort someone's feelings or point of view. 

Step 3. 90% of the time it takes two people to cause a problem. That means that both probably have a valid or semi-valid point. Unless one person has done something gravely wrong, recognize each person's position and validate their feelings. 

Step 4. Remind people that we are all there to have fun, and while their disagreement is valid it doesn't need to turn to hostility or bitterness. 

Step 5. If the argument is about the game, then take the argument out of their hands and tell them that you will make a ruling and you will do so in good faith. If the argument is not about the game then you need to determine if those involved can move past this now or if they need space before trying to play. This may mean ending the game early and trying again another time. 

5. Making A Ruling

Making a ruling can be one of the most stressful parts of being the Game Master. The first thing you need to know is that you never need to make a final decision on the spot. A good leader will think about an issue and take it seriously. You usually cannot do that in 2-3 minutes. The second thing you should know is that you can never make anyone happy, especially in a situation that will favor one player or another. You may have to make a tough call. Never make those decisions based which player you like more or if one player was being annoying. 

When you're a leader in any situation it is crucial to always do your best to be fair and act with good intentions. People will know right away if you're not being genuine. If you don't do this then you will lose the respect of your players. What will most likely happen is that they may start causing small issues in other areas, because they no longer respect your leadership. They may begin to argue with you or disrespect your rules. It's difficult to gain someone's respect back after you've burned them. So always be genuine, transparent, and well intentioned. 

As usual, you can contact me if you have any further questions. If you'd like to see me write a post on a specific topic. I am a GM supplement writer for hire. I will talk to you about what you're trying to create and put your ideas into a design to improve your campaign. 

You can find me on Twitter @flayer85

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