I look back at my 20 years of experience in role-play gaming, and I ask a question: What kept my players coming back? In those years, I ran several role-playing games (RPGs): Star Frontiers, Dark Conspiracy, Call of Cthulhu, Reich Star, Shatterzone, Star Wars d6, Alternity, Fading Suns, and now Star Wars d20 and Dragonstar. However, that is not all that I am familiar with. Those are just the games I was a Game Master for during those years. I enjoy sci-fi a lot more than fantasy. I also enjoy space fantasy and horror. I'd like to think I have had good games. My players always seem to come back. Most of my campaigns have lasted over a year or so, and I have a few very loyal players. Yes, I have had bad game sessions, but over-all, most of my game campaigns have been brought to a proper end and I am quite proud of what I have accomplished.

But what made them so good? What can I tell a GM that would make their Sci-Fi game go well? That is a question that opens up a whole host of discussions. There are several things a GM needs to know ahead of time along with many ways a GM can approach his game. A lot depends on the type of players he has as well as the type of game or the genre the GM wants to take the game. Most of my advice can be applied to any role-playing game, but I primarily apply the pointers in this article to science fiction, science fantasy, or science fiction horror.

Types of Players

One of the most important aspects of having a good game is for a GM to know his players. A GM that knows how to properly "cater" to his players when appropriate will have a good game. A GM has to remember that the game is as much about the players as it is about him. The GM has to remember that what he finds interesting and fascinating isn't always what the players find interesting. Never make the game totally about the GM's enjoyment. The GM has to be able to enjoy watching other people enjoy themselves in the game.

With respect to role-playing in general, there are several types of players, but how they apply to a sci-fi game is usually a challenge for a GM. Figuring out what type pf players a GM has is usually his first challenge. However, while there is no single way to define a player, there are characteristics within players that are apparent. Most players have all or many of these characteristics in them to some degree or another. The GM needs to identify the predominant characteristics in his players and appeal to those in his campaign.

I combine similar characteristics simply because they have similar sources. What drives players to these characteristics is the same reasons why they game in the first place. Each one looks for something different in the game. What they get out of gaming usually defines their enjoyment. 

Techno-geeks/stuff-mongers

If you drool when the new Equipment sourcebook for your RPG is released, then you might be a techno-geek or stuff-monger.

"That which does not kill us, inspires us to buy bigger guns..."

One of the aspects of science fiction that make it different from fantasy is the cool technology. Tech is something you can hold and touch. It is not mysterious or arcane (but it can be) and it is usually dependable. It's the gun in your hand or the computer at your fingertips. It's the cybernetics that make you better than you are or the ship you rely on to get you across the galaxy.

Techno-geeks love technology and how to use the rules to create more things for their character to use against the bad guys. These are the engineer types that draw the schematics and have the engineering figured out for their weapons or equipment to fine detail. They sometimes have detailed plans of their vehicle of choice - be it a ship or a land craft - with security systems and AI computer systems so that when they're away, the vehicle can think for itself.

Stuff-mongers are similar in that they love technology but they love lots of it. They have several versions of their weapons, all somehow carried on their back or on some servant droid following them along. They have strong similarities to the techno-geek especially where the vehicle is concerned. However, the function of the vehicle is more to store and protect the other stuff the monger has collected.

These guys like opportunities to use their stuff. If they have built up a horde of cool technology, they like to know that they can use it. Usually, to accommodate this type of player, I have a portion of a party challenge or encounter that hinges on some use of cool technology that person might have or can make. They also love opportunities to get more stuff, either in a bazaar or an ancient alien tech cache... or of course, off the dead bodies of their enemies

However, they hate loosing their stuff and usually spend a lot of time figuring out ways to keep that from happening. They feel cheated by the GM when things simply disappear and want to see the rolls that defeat the elaborate security systems they set up to protect their stuff.

One hard aspect of a pure techno-geek or stuff-monger is that they tend to treat their characters as a means to an end. The character is more a piece of paper than a role in the universe. Fortunately, it is rare to get a pure techno-geek or stuff-monger, because he/she is usually mixed with a good amount of drama-king/queen and enjoy a good story behind his/her character. I've experienced a few near-pure techno-geeks/stuff-mongers and they tend to be, in my opinion, less enjoyable in my type of games.

There is a fine line between techno-geeks and stuff-mongers, and power gamers, although they do tend to cross over. See below for my interpretation of a power gamer.

Classic Power gamer/max-min/munchkin

I think back to my early years of Star Frontiers, when I allowed my players to build power armor out of exoskeletons and a bunch of Flak vests, or created a Jedi Knight "class" that was nothing short of a wizard that could in the end manipulate black holes. Those were the days...

The Classic Power Gamer or max-min'er or munchkin is more or less the same thing. Practically everyone goes through a stage in their gaming experience where they concentrate on this side of their gaming personality. Most gamers eventually mature away from it.

A pure version of this type of player uses the rules to make their character as powerful as possible, and is able to defeat whatever challenge the GM can throw at them (or at least they like to think so). Like techno-geeks, they are into the "cool tech" but also into the "powers" the game can give the character as well as the best and most maximized attribute configuration.

It is frustrating to most GMs to have one of these types of players in a game. This type more than any other view a character as a simple piece of paper to number crunch. I've always believed that a pure version of these types would be better off playing computer RPGs.

The goal in any RPG with this type of player is try to encourage him/her out of this phase and to have more of a good mix of characteristics. The GM should make him/her care about all aspects of the game, including strength and power, but also including character, background story, and depth in role play.

Drama-kings/queens

If you roll your eyes when action occurs requiring dice rolls and write 10 page dissertations about your character, his family and his life, you might be a drama-king. 
The advent of the "story teller" style systems brought out a different kind of role player in a lot of people. Now these players are more diverse and come from systems that care less about the mechanic and more about the story being told. 

This makes for in-depth characters and people who are more familiar with the universe. Players of this type tend to read a lot on the universe and immerse themselves deeper into the universe than most.

The strongest drawback to these drama-kings/queens is that they get bored in combat or heavy rule-usage situations. They tend to view the rules as something that gets in the way, no matter what system it is. This is most apparent in sci-fi because sci-fi games tend to be strongly action based and skill based.

In sci-fi, it should be easy to appease a drama-king/queen. The politics of Sci-fi are as real and complex as real-life and sometimes even more. Use the politics to draw in these players. This would also give you the opportunity to bring in elements that a lot of GMs ignore at times Use factions and intrigue to drive the drama-king to involve himself in the game. If it involves some rules usage, it's OK. He will see it as driving the story along.

Rules-lawyer/Physics-Experts

In one of my Dark Conspiracy games (Sci-fi horror), I remember a guy (former Army ranger who probably saw a little TOO much action) who argued with me about how a dark elf should die if shot in the head. Because he had real life experience in shooting a man in the head, he thought he had the right to argue with me in-game about how a dark elf would die. It's a dark elf...duh!

Rules Lawyers and Physics or Science Experts are similar because they tend to follow certain rules strictly and require others to be the same. May it be the rules in the book or the rules of the universe, they tend to require certain strictness to those rules. 

In Sci-fi, this is more prevalent because the GM doesn't have "magic" to fall back on. And there is only so far an "alien wonder" is going to take a GM. These types of players expect the GM to have some knowledge of the physics behind them. It is a good idea to know something about physics and the real world, but it is also a good idea to be familiar with theoretical physics and the stuff they haven't proven yet, like dark matter or black holes. One book I have read that is handy in this is called Writers Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe (by George Ochoa & Jeffery Osier). Books like this are very handy to read to get a rudimentary understanding of physics that are important in the sci-fi realm.

As a side note to this, it also is good to have a good mental dictionary of techno-babble (to borrow a Star Trek term). It's important also to have something that sounds like it could be real even though it can't. For example...

Player 1: "What's wrong with our hyperdrive?"

Player 2 rolls on his engineering skill.

GM: "The Hyperdrive manifold conduit leading to the main power lead has a hair line fracture and is leaking plasma. The plasma has damaged circuitry in the guidance systems and the main astrogation computer interface with the drive computer."

The funny thing is when your players try to pretend to know exactly what you are talking about and make up techno-babble right back at you.

There is a good side to having these types of players in your game. A GM can learn a lot from both types. A GM should use the physics or science expert as a person to consult and learn from when it comes to areas of science the GM is not well versed in. With the rules lawyer, if you like a game to stick to the rules as close as possible, if done with tact, a rules lawyer can help a game stay within the boundaries of the rules that maybe the GM forgot. It sometimes relieves the GM of some of the pressure if he has a player that has a little rules lawyer in him.

Hack-n-Slasher 

The classic hack-n-slasher wants nothing but action, and hopes that action involves killing something. In sci-fi, a pure version of this is less prevalent but not unheard of. These are a version of power gamers and techno-geeks that seek the biggest gun possible to kill as many enemies as possible. Again, perhaps a player that is better off playing online computer games.

Most every player has a little hack-n-slasher in them and they are easily dealt with in Sci-fi because there tends to be a lot of action anyway. Fortunately, a pure hack-n-slasher is rare. 

Advice to Players

To help the GM and the players to come to a middle ground with their personalities and be able to game together, I have a little advice to the players (I'll have advice for the GMs later).

Character Concept - The idea of a character concept is very important in my games. When you are planning a character, create a simple character concept and pitch it to the GM so he can get an idea of what kind of character you like to play. A concept can be based on a character in a movie or a character in a book, or a combination of characters. Know your literary archetypes and expand off those.

Another good thing to have is a fully fleshed out background. I am not saying write a novel about your character's exploits before the start of your campaign, but highlight every phase in the character's life, from childhood and adulthood. A good tool for that is something like Heroes of Tomorrow by Task Force Games.

Know the Universe - The GM appreciates those that know the universe, but not too much. He doesn't like someone who knows it so well that a discussion in-game starts out with a player saying "That can't happen because..." 

Know your role - Know your party and your role in it. During character creation, communicate with the other players what you are planning and work with them to work it in. The GM should always have a say in this as well.

Know your GM - A player should know what kind of game the GM likes to run. Never make a character that won't fit in his style of running. Does he like epic or dark-and-gritty? Does your concept fit in his style?

Advice to the GM

Player Questionnaires - The best way I have found to determine what kind of players you have is to ask questions that draw out the type of stories and characters they like. Below is a list of questions I asked my players at one time.

• Describe your character archetype? Rogue Warrior? Questing Knight? Warrior Monk? Scoundrel Noble? Something else?
• How do you see your character in the universe? Examples: Questing for the truth, just getting along, out for revenge.
• Have any enemies?
• Have any allies or allegiances?
• Any of the above secret?
• What would another character's first impression be of your character?
• What is your favorite movie?
• What is your favorite movie character?

A good sci-fi game is very dependent on a lot of things. This article covers the relationship between GM and players. There is more to cover about a good sci-fi game, and that will come in other parts of this series. For now, GMs - get to know your players and what they like about gaming. Players - get to know your GM and what kind of storyteller or gamer he is.

And game till you drop...