For m_streight

Over the holiday weekend, a friend of mine (m_streight, as you might guess from the title) and I were talking about gaming. He wanted to increase the amount of role-playing in his group. And yes, he'd read Robin's Laws already.

Where's my soapbox? Ah, here we are...

I think Robin Laws had it right: if a holistic, "do what works" approach doesn't work, it's time to try a methodical, analytical approach. His book primarily addresses figuring out what your players want and then giving it to them. It's excellent.

I'm going to drop back and look at the GM for a minute. I think you want to do an KSA - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities - sort of assessment first. What're you good at? What're you not-good at? Then, what are your goals? Goal-setting is its own skill. "More role-playing" is a nice idea, but what's that mean to you? Break it down into the specific behaviors you want to see. Now consult your handy behavioral psychologist, to see how you can encourage these behaviors in your players.

But one thing at a time. Let's start with a Knowledge inventory.

( KSA Part I: Knowledge for a Game Master )