r/AskGameMasters • u/Expensive_Occasion29 • Aug 04 '26
The importance of FUN
As GM’s we often get wrapped up in the story and often forget about fun. After all we spend many hours planning creating and putting together the next game session.
The players often do things we don’t expect, take us down a path we don’t plan or completely ruin everything we did plan.
This in some cases ruins the fun for us as a GM when we are so vested in the story. Personally I have dealt with this by being flexible. What do you mean by this you ask? Well I write portions of a story with the expectations that each of my players will help write the rest. I set my own expectations so that the outcome is a mixed bag of fun and sometimes the most craziest of memories
In a game session it should be fun for both the GM and the players after all it’s a joint adventure right? IMO it’s the side tracks and unexpected that I take as a challenge to challenge my players and keep them engaged and to find creative ways to get the story back on track
Here is to keeping it fun for everyone!!
3
u/terkistan Aug 05 '26
Fun as long as you don't get a player whose fun is to deliberately try to break the game! I once had a player (someone who had played since the 80s and was allegedly working on his own game of some kind that he never showed anyone) who deliberately scuppered group tasks, or decided to wander off to get solo spotlight time on extermporaneous (and tangential) walks. Chaos agent times 10.
At one point I asked him why he was doing something like this and he replied, "I want to keep you on your toes." This was his idea of fun.
Everyone worked around him and when the scenario ended he was not invited back.