Gamemaster Guide
[This page is based on a similar page used by the organizers of AmberCon North. Used with permission.]
First, let's define and comment on the four broad types of games we're looking for at TBR so we all know what we mean.
Amber Diceless Roleplaying is roleplaying using Phage Press's "Amber Diceless Role Playing" (ADRP) as its base. Of course, every GM has their own little tweaks and changes, so feel free to bring yours. If you do anything dramatic to either the setting or the rules, however, we suggest, as an aid to your players if nothing else, that you note this in the game description and, if possible, make any extensive changes available to the players in advance. A web site, if one is available to you, can be a very good way to communicate these things.
Amber Gaming is any gaming set in or directly inspired by Roger Zelazny's Amber novels and stories. Board game versions of throne wars, Amber-themed card games, non-ADRP Amber roleplaying, 25mm scale miniatures fighting up the side of a scale model Kolvir... Anything Amber is included. In most cases, GM's should plan on teaching any rules they plan to use and the game description should refer to any published rules players could familiarize themselves with in advance.
Diceless Roleplaying is roleplaying without dice or, more properly, roleplaying without any deciding game mechanic except the GM's decision. Just replacing plastic polyhedra with coins, cards, hand games or whatever doesn't make you diceless; it all hinges on moving the decision power from a 'neutral' mechanic to the non-neutral GM. In this context, the lack of the word "Amber" indicates Diceless Roleplaying in a setting not based on Zelazny's Amber novels.
Indie Games are, at their simplest, independent roleplaying games. At TBR we take that one step further and use the definition popularized by The Forge, in which "the main criterion is that the game is owned by its author, or creator-owned." The ADRPG (at least in its original form) would qualify, as would most of the many games discussed on The Forge and those put out through Wicked Dead Brewing. Games that are not indie RPGs include those from Wizards of the Coast, White Wolf, Steve Jackson and other large gaming interests. If you're in doubt about whether or not a game you'd like to run is actually indie in the eyes of the TBR staff, just ask. When running an indie game, you should anticipate needing to teach some or all of the rules to players who may be unfamiliar with the system you are using.
Now let us look at some of the terms you'll find on the Game Submission form and offer some basic "just what are they asking for?" sort of advice.
Name of the Game
Clearly, this is up to you, the GM, to determine. We advise a bit of thought go into the name, as it will be the first impression a potential player gets of the game when they are looking through the events list. Just don't make it too long, OK?
Number of Players
Again, this is your decision. As the people who will be trying to schedule everyone, however, we will certainly appreciate flexibility where you can offer it. Games that allow a larger number of players do make it easier for us to do the game scheduling.
Game Type
These are broad categories and several of them may apply to your game.
Amber Diceless RPG [ADRPG]: A game that uses the Amber Diceless RPG system (modified or unmodified).
Other Diceless [OTHER]: A game that uses a diceless system other than the Amber Diceless RPG.
Other Diced [DICE]: A game with a system that uses dice (or some other randomizer).
Amber [AMBER]: A game that is set in or directly inspired by Roger Zelazny's Amber novels and stories.
Non-Amber [NON]: A game that is not set in Amber.
Indie [IND]: A game that uses an indie RPG system (other than the ADRPG) and is intended for the indie game track.
Series [SER]: A game designed to run as as a series of continuing episodes, with a cast of players that can vary from year to year.
Campaign: A game designed to run as a series of continuing episodes, year after year, either just at TBR or at other cons as well, with the same group (or at least the same core group) of players. And, to TBR, campaigns are a tricky issue.
You see, campaigns have negatives. Significant negatives. For one, they are very difficult to schedule, for convention organizers, for GM's and for players; anyone who has ever had three of their campaigns all shift into the same time slot will agree there. Also, campaigns can cause new con-goers to suffer, either by presenting a clique-ish barrier from taking part in "the best games" or by just leaving them with few, if any, real choices in convention slots heavily loaded with campaigns. And many campaign GM's find their grand plans getting bogged down in unexpected difficulties due to the long gap between sessions, player migration, and other game-changing disruptions common in convention-based campaigns.
Therefore at TBR we have decided not to allow campaigns, though we won't rule out making an exception if a GM can make a good enough case for why we should.
Preferred Slot(s)
Here, again, the decision is yours. If you have one and only one slot in which you wish the game to run, tell us clearly. If you are more flexible, however, it could really help us in our scheduling.
If, for some reason, you wish your game to start or end at an unusual time, make that clear to us and definitely include it in your description so your players will know.
Character Generation
The following three terms are useful in explaining how characters are to be created for your game, so please use one if it is appropriate. You should detail significant restrictions, modifications, or anything else you plan to impose so players know what you expect
BYOC is shorthand for "Bring Your Own Character", asking players to bring a ready-to-play character for the system being used.
Pregens are a common alternative to BYOC events. For a Pregen (shorthand for "pre-generated"), the GM prepares characters in advance and gives them to the players, possibly with a bit of a briefing on just who they are. BYOC and Pregen can be combined as "BYOC or Pregens available", meaning players can either bring characters or use ones provided by the GM.
Created Onsite is an alternative to both BYOC or Pregen. Here, GM's and players create characters at the start of the game. This is not entirely uncommon, but might be too time-consuming, especially for the shorter slots, depending on the system being used.
Whichever type of character generation you chose to use, it's a good idea to err on the side of giving too much information. You should detail significant restrictions, modifications, or anything else you plan to impose so players know what you expect and come with appropriate characters/ideas.
Game Description
You're on your own here. Remember that the goal of the description is both to inform and entice potential players. We would like to see most descriptions be one or two paragraphs, but be certain you say what you need and want to say even if that means you go a little long.
As mentioned above, the game description should definitely include information about any setting or rule modifications, rules to be used for non-ADRP games, or any unusual scheduling the game may require. Clearly, a reference to a web site or some other form of contact information would be good if this sort of information would be extensive.