On the 2nd January 2021, I shared my “Thirteen Game Master Rules” and it caused quite a stir in the community. These rules arose from my entering therapy and commencing my first sequence of sessions using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). As I wrote in that blog post:

As I understand it, within the theory behind CBT, our Thoughts lead to Emotions and, in turn, to Behaviours. Thus, what we do is rooted in what with feel and think. By extension, what we think is rooted in a litany of Rules. In common parlance, we might simply say that these Rules are our Beliefs. 

Four years later, I revisited these rules in RPR Season 15, Episode 3. As it turns out, I now disagree with most of what I said back in 2021. Even the beliefs I have some affinity for have several added qualifications. That episode riffed off the original Thirteen GM Rules and helped me see that I had changed.

Once I’d recorded the episode, I took a stab at re-writing the original Thirteen GM Rules. Because each of these is a re-write of the original entries, I’m not sure that I approve of the order nor the inclusion of them all. What I do know is that, wow, my thinking has changed:

1. Roleplaying games are for enjoyment and every table enjoys differently.
2. It is every person’s own choice to make the most of the games they play.
3. Remember: the GM only really needs to know enough to run today’s session.
4. Less stress comes when you have a scenario to run and prepare to improvise.
5. Players make decisions and characters take actions.
6. The GM adjudicates whatever decision the player makes for their character.
7. The GM minimises rules intrusion by handling most stuff behind the screen.
8. If you need dice to adjudicate, make honest die rolls and accept the result.
9. NPCs and creatures are more engaging when they act on their motives.
10. The game world feels more immersive when it appears coherent and consistent.
11. Allow the players to discover the answers they seek through play.
12. Players expect challenge and to find a pathway to victory but mistakes are inevitable.
13. Death of the the player characters is the ultimate price of failure: accept it.

Make of that what you will.

Game on!