@Kurt “Telas” Schneider – Thanks! That’s exactly what I’m going for.

I totally agree. Without playing to see what stands out, how can one get a clear idea of the design philosophy (without extensive forum reading, creator interviews, etc)? I simply meant that each game comes with its own “play flavour,” to so speak. Playing without that knowledge in mind (even for the first time) tends to lead to poor experiences when trying new or different systems as people bring old conceptions to the table (they expect apples and but it’s all about oranges).

Ex: Approaching Dogs in the Vineyard as though it were the Dark Tower RPG means you lose the entire moral/religious authority element, which drives the entire conflict system. The “I’m a gunslinger! Woo!” player will be quite disappointed when he realizes he’s required to judge Brother X for sleeping with Sister Y, though Sister Y is betrothed to Brother Z, who thinks Sister Y is his property… and not just blow a hole in some demon-possessed jerk.

@Patrick Benson – …GMing is really less about control as it is about reaction.

I smell an article here.

That said, I do agree with the advice that you shouldn’t bring your “D&D expectations” to the table when playing a different system. Keep an open mind and really indulge in the system.

Martin – I’m liking this series. I would add that new GMs should not expect every game to be the “BEST EVAR!” Keep your expectations realistic and just plan for the evening to be fun for you and your friends regardless if the fun comes from the game or from the socializing via the game.

Your plot does not have to be an epic and original work, your prep does not have to include every last detail, and even your rules knowledge does not have to be memorized word-for-word.

Just relax and be prepared to ride with the chaos. GMing is like surfing. We don’t control the waves (the players and their reactions and perceptions of what occurs in the game world), we just seek them out and ride them for as long as we possibly can. Along the way we might try a trick or two, but GMing is really less about control as it is about reaction.

One critical element is understanding the RPG’s purpose or underlying philosophy: How does it get to the fun? For instance, if you approach Dogs In the Vineyard with a D&D mentality, the game will fail horribly. The same can be said for most RPGs. Understanding the theme/philosophy of the game system itself goes a long way to having fun with that system. Players and GMs have to adopt new perspectives and be willing to “unlearn” other RPG methods to have fun with different systems/games.

So, from my perspective, it’s critical to know how a particular RPG runs and delivers the fun.