The Social Contract

TRIAL GAME MASTER: GAMING LITE

The First Step: You should be aware that becoming a Game Master for the World of Ohr is an involved process that includes you writing a piece of sword and sorcery fiction, running several test games while being shadowed by another game master who is already a part of the team, and keeping track of your adventures in the form of summaries in a short-story format. If none of these sounds appealing to you - Stop here. As a trial game master you can run games on our server but it still requires you to follow the expectations detailed below, In addition, you are not eligible for our Legacy Game Master Rewards system.

Already an official Game Master and looking for our guide? Click here!

BECOMING A GAME MASTER FOR THE OLC:

Becoming a Game Master for the Ohr Living Campaign isn't all that different from running a regular campaign, with a few differences. If you're reading this we assume that you've already read through the character creation process on this website, which covers everything players need to know to participate in a campaign. If you haven't read about character creation or our house rules, please do so before continuing. You need to know what the players know; what their expectations are; and how characters are created, played, and advanced, before you start reading about GM rules or how to become one for our community.

WHAT IS A GAME MASTER?

A Game Master, or GM for short, is a person who controls the elements of the world and story that the players explore. They're also responsible for adjudicating the rules. As a GM for the Ohr Living Campaign, your role is provide a fun and "fair" game for everyone involved and to ensure that the setting of the game is a consistent experience in relation to the games that have been played before and the games that will be played after.

WHO CAN BECOME A GAME MASTER?

Anyone who’s experienced with the rules and backstory of the game, and who has an inventive mind, can fill the role of a Ohr Living Campaign Game Master. In addition to that you will be required to write a piece of fiction related to the World of Ohr, one that is grounded firmly in the themes of the setting and the Sword and Sorcery genre in general. Another GM will also be required to vouch for your abilities and to ensure that you have a sense of what sort of game you're playing in.

REQUIREMENTS FOR BECOMING A OLC GM:

Write a piece of fiction or a short story that takes place in the World of Ohr. What do you think is setting appropriate? Submit your story HERE.
You will be asked to run three trial games for players. There are no schedule requirements when it comes to the days or times you choose to play, but all three trial games must be completed within a months time.
The OLC council will ask you a number of questions pertaining to our lore, game rules, and more.
Make sure that you have read through the entire Torches in the Dark game booklet.

GAME MASTER EXPECTATIONS:

The Game Master is the person in charge of ensuring a fun and interesting gaming experience while arbitrating the rules as well as you possibly can. As a Ohr Living Campaign, you'll have the following obligations:

Before hosting a game you should have an adventure planned and ready to go. It should have a mix of combat, role-play, skill tests, and an actual story. Dungeon crawls are fine but if each and every game you host only amounts to players moving from room to room and killing a mixture of monsters it grows boring quickly. We want more than that.
Schedule your event on the event calendar. We recommend scheduling events at least 1 week ahead of time to ensure that your players can sign up early for your event. It is encouraged that you let the core GM team and staff members of the OLC what type of adventure you're planning on running.
Show up and gather your players at least 30 minutes before the start of a game. Make sure tokens are completed. Have characters test their character sheets and ensure that each character is completely finished and all details have been completed.
Introduce new players to the group and encourage them to introduce their characters.
Look over each PC's character sheet. Quickly check their gold, equipment, calculations, and other relevant information. See if you can't utilize their character's knowledge or specific story hooks during the game if it makes sense for the setting and game.
Run adventures. Our game is set in a sprawling fictional universe with a remarkable amount of depth and lore thanks to our players and the settings we’ve drawn from inspiration from. Like any story, Ohr isn’t just about epic battles and dungeon crawling: it’s about characters. Character choice should matter, and should absolutely affect game-play. Don’t just follow the rails you’ve laid out in front of yourself when creating a game. GMs are encouraged to follow the players wherever they seek to go, with the story bending and twisting depending on the choices they make. You’re also encouraged to incorporate factions that are previously present in the world, reference previous events from other GMs games, etc. This is a living world. Make it feel that way.
Game Masters should give players the freedom to be part of the story. Let them interpret their own dice rolled, their own abilities, and make sure that players do not speak out of turn while someone is attempting to take theirs.

DEALING WITH DISRUPTIVE PLAYERS:

Harassment - If one player is ever harassing another player this is disruptive and should be dealt with immediately.
Backseat Player - If a player constantly interrupts other player's turns to give them advice, or to influence what they're trying to do that is being disruptive. Players should only be talking on their turns during combat. If a GM needs help with a question or a ruling, they can ask for it.
Rules Lawyer - If a player is constantly quoting rules in a matter that stops the game, disrespects the Game Master, and takes fun away from other players, that is disruptive.
Unwanted Player vs. Player Combat - If two players engage in an opposed skill check and it is willing between both parties, that is fine. If one player attempts to force another player against their will to perform an activity or if they attack another character and lack an RP reason for doing so, that is prohibited and an example of a disruptive player.

DEALING WITH DEATH:

Ohr is filled with many dangers, and in the Ohr Living Campaign games, character death is a very real possibility. In fact, the danger is necessary to maintain a sense of risk and the desperate fighting needed to survive on a world that is slowly falling to decay. The problem is that for new players, a violent death in their first-ever adventure can turn them off from the game forever. We don't advocate the fudging of dice rolls, but at the same time, we encourage GMs to consider the experience of the player. For that reason each person who joins the World of Ohr is given a single 'Fate Point'. These points allow the characters to stave off death where they would surely die anyways. This can help to soften the blow of a character dying and to potentially save a character that they devoted time and effort into creating.

Obviously, total party kills can potentially happen, and sometimes the dice just isn't on the side of the players. Players who complain or make a fuss after their character dies, especially in the middle of game are being disruptive. Death happens, roll up a new character!