RPG: Today is International GM’s Day
Have you thanked your GM lately? Well today is a good day to do it…
I have played RPGs on-and-off for most of my life. At the center of every game and every story has been one person that has taken on the role of the Game Master. Now, I’ve had different GMs over the years but they have all shared one trait: their tireless dedication to ensuring that the players were having a good time.
via Morrus (ENworld.org) March 4th, 2017
“Today is International GM’s Day! GM’s Day was born on EN World in December 2002. Originally a simple messageboard post by EN World member Spunkrat, the idea quickly gained popularity, championed by Mark Clover of Creative Mountain Games and, of course, EN World itself. Marth[sic] 4th is also the anniversary of the sad 2008 passing of Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax.GM’s Day is an annual day to show your GM (or DM, or Storyteller, or Referee) how much you appreciate them. Publishers and retail outlets across the world now join in GM’s Day, offering discounts, sales, and other cool stuff. From a single messageboard thread, GM’s Day now includes hundreds of publishers, websites, bloggers, and more! In particular, check out RPGNow/DriveThruRPG’s massive GM’s Day sale. On March 4th, be sure to show some appreciation to your GM – perhaps buy them a gift, offer to pay for the pizza that night, even a simple “thank you”.”
So take a moment to say Thanks to GM’s today. And if you’re not currently playing in a game maybe drop a line to one of your previous GMs and thank them for all the fun adventures you’ve had in the past – who knows…maybe that could be the spark that gets them excited about playing again!
If you’re interested in becoming a GM yourself, Matt Mercer has a fantastic series on how to improve your GMing. It’s great for new GMs but even vets can learn a few tricks as well. Maybe you just need a break and a one-shot seems like fun or maybe you just need a bit of inspiration. Our own JarArr has some great Adventure Hooks for you to blatantly rip off and try for yourself!
I’ve already got a favorite of mime…
Personally, I think the biggest hurdle for GMing is just doing it. Let’s be honest, there can be a lot of pressure to run a game and that can be overwhelming sometimes. Balancing life, work, responsibilities and now managing & creating a entire world with a story/adventure is kind of a big ask! But I can tell you from experience that 1) it gets easier and 2) as a GM it’s totally worth it. Guiding a group of players through a story that you thought-up and worked on is a pretty cool experience. And if they happen to tell you how awesome the game was, even better!
So stop stalling and go shoot a note to your GM’s and say, “Hey, Even though you TPK’d us last time…Thanks for running the game!”
Have you thanked your GM lately? Well Go Do IT!
