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How does your favourite game ease the GM job ? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 10 months ago by Ziggurat@sh.itjust.works to c/rpg@ttrpg.network

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I keep reading over various internets communities, how being a GM is hard, how player are ungrateful spoiled kids, and how much GM struggles.

So which games have tools/mechanics to ease the GM job, and which are these.

For this discussion I would focus on the game itself, rather than on method used by groups.

Even though I feel like I know some answers, judging how active the community is at the moment, I try to open that thread and may-be a few others to keep the /c/ alive

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[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 7 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Pathfinder 2e has a number of things. The prewritten modules are mostly really good OOTB, unlike a lot of D&D modules. Also they have robust encounter building rules which make it easy to balance things correctly as a GM. Magic items have levels which tells you how balanced they are for a group of a certain level. Stuff like that where it's really easy to judge what can and should be included in your game.

[–] HipsterTenZero@dormi.zone 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The encounter building rules are what I was going to post. I've never been lead astray by them. A lv +2 enemy is hard at level 2 and 20, though the lv 20 party of course has more tools and resources to overcome it, and the monster has more wrenches to throw into the monkeyworks.

I wish I liked the modules more. They're certainly well put together, but I just can't run stuff out of a box; I feel an obligation to tell the story instead of playing the game, like it was a movie or something.

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 months ago

I suppose it depends on the module. I've been really enjoying AV, though I transplanted it into my homebrew setting and put my own spin on it.

[–] Ziggurat@sh.itjust.works 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Interesting, because I wouldn't thought about D&D/Pathfinder as game easing the GM job but indeed, well written module/campaign are really helpful, especially for a busy GM. Also a well balanced system is also a great tool

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 3 points 10 months ago

As someone who has run both, the organization of content and rules in the books makes a huge difference. D&D will reference rules that show up in other parts of the book with even telling you that it's doing so, or what page to jump to for the rest of the information. Meanwhile PF2e is free open source and has all of its game content in a fairly easy to browse free database online.