In this series of Game Prep Advice blogs I want to share how I prepare tabletop roleplaying game sessions, as a visually impaired Game Master. My method is certainly not the best and definitely not the only approach. Taking on the role of Game Master as a hobby, is a continuous pursuit of improving your skills. In fact, if I were to write this blog series in two years, I have no doubt that it would look quite different. My hope for this series is that I can encourage other Game Masters in our community to submit posts for us to share as blogs on our website, offering different perspectives and advice for aspiring Game Masters.

Including this introduction, I will be sharing a total of seven blogs in this series, filled with advice on preparing your tabletop roleplaying game sessions. Below is a list of the six topics I will be covering in future blog posts.

• Combat
• Encounters
• Investigations
• NPCs
• Preparing Notes
• Example Notes

What these blogs will not cover is running games. At the end of this first post, I have provided a list of resources for learning to run games, which I hope can inspire you to get started as a Game Master. Don’t be afraid to try new things and learn from what doesn’t work out. Running games can be intimidating and some people ask, “Don’t I have to play the game first?” Matt Coleville said it best with, “This is a chicken and the egg situation. Someone had to be a Game Master, before there were any.” I know it can be intimidating, so in this first post I want to acknowledge what apprehensions may be keeping you from running a game.

Fear

If you are scared to run your first game, that is natural. Many things plague the anxieties of those aspiring to try out running a game. Being visually impaired certainly compounds those fears, so I’m going to do my best to put your mind at ease and convince you to give running a game a try.

First thing’s first: tabletop roleplaying game players are looking for a friendly group and a fun game. That’s it. Players have few expectations and will typically find their own fun within your group. As long as you provide a welcoming environment and an opportunity to play, players will be happy. The highest expectations at your table, are yours. No one is as harsh a critic as yourself. I’m here to tell you that no one knows your weaknesses and shortcomings better than you do, so criticizing yourself is never a fair fight. This blog series seeks to give you tools to create fun sessions, with as little preparation and pressure as possible.

The second thing you are likely concerned about is not being experienced. I have run many, many games and some of them have been quite boring. Initially, I was terrified of not providing the best session possible for players. Eventually, I had to make my peace with the fact that I learn by doing and I learn by failing. Nothing provides greater experience than running games and learning from your mistakes. Notice how at no point in this section of the blog have I mentioned visual impairment. While the rest of this blog does address managing a game as a visually impaired person, I wanted to emphasize that fear of getting started is a universal barrier. So set a date to run a game, find a group and get going. Pressure creates diamonds.

The Rule of Cool

Fear mostly stems from feeling underprepared. Despite your best efforts to feel prepared, It can be overwhelming and stressful to get caught with your metaphorical pants around your imaginary ankles, when a player makes an unexpected deceleration, like, “I want to wrestle this alligator and feed it a bomb!” I do not know the rules for that and it is not a part of the adventure I prepared. So before I begin a game, I explain to my group “The Rule of Cool”.

If a situation arises that I don’t know the rules for, I make my best approximation, present it to the group and ask if everyone is happy with the proposed resolution. Once everyone agrees, we use the proposed rule and move on. That is The Rule of Cool. As long as you are consistent in your rulings and have a good enough understanding of the game’s basic rules that you can make a reasonable estimation, your players will be happy. In fact, most players are happy to use whatever rule you say, as long as it is fair and also consistent. If I have to use The Rule of Cool, I typically make time after the session to look up the actual rule for next time.

Sharing responsibilities also helps to run a game more smoothly. I make it clear that it is a player’s responsibility to learn how the special abilities work for their character. When a player declares the use of a special ability, I ask “Explain how that works?” I have found that once this is established, players then begin learning additional rules to help you. Do not be upset when a player butts in to explain a rule, embrace it and thank them. If you have sighted folks at your table, it can be helpful to assign them tables to reference during play. For example, I run Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, which features many critical hit tables, so I ask a sighted person to read the results off the table when they are needed. If you don’t feel prepared to flip digital PDF pages back and forth or trawl through headings, then assign tables and rule sections or ask for rules lawyers to volunteer their services. Accept help, all of the work shouldn’t fall on you, because you are there to have fun too.

Theatre of the Mind

“Theatre of the Mind” refers to running the game without visual prompts. That means no plastic miniatures, no intricate maps, no pictures of characters, no visual component of any kind. Instead, the entire game is run through describing every location, character and event using your imagination to interpret them.

If your initial thought is, “I’m no good at describing things,” then do not fret. Throughout this blog series I will be sharing advice on how to deliver an engaging game, using Theater of the Mind. I’ll let you in on a little Game Master secret though: We make it all up. That’s right, if we haven’t prepared a location, a character or an event, we just make it up on the spot. An important rule when improvising is to commit to what you are saying. Players are willing to buy into what you present (as long as it is fair!), so say what you plan to say with confidence.

Speaking with confidence isn’t something you can switch on, it takes time. When you run a game, just using your voice, it’s important to work at learning ‘public speaking’ for your players. Advice I would give you to get started, is teaching yourself to stop using filler sounds, such as “Uhm” or “Er”. The same goes for filler words such as “Like” or “Yeah”. When you begin running games, you may notice some players have these habits. Get comfortable with silence. If you’re not sure what to say next, stop for a moment. Players don’t think, “The Game Master doesn’t know what to say next,” quite the opposite, players will often think “This dramatic pause means something big is coming!” I won’t go much further into speaking at the table, as this blog series concentrates on preparing for games and not running them.

Keep It Simple

When most people run their first game, they have the intention of creating the most epic, gripping story of all time. Complicated intrigue rocked by twists and turns at every step of the way. This has to be the best game anyone has ever played! Don’t do that. At least, not for your first game (or second, or third).

Plan a simple, straight-forward adventure with only a few key points to follow. In a future blog (titled “Example Notes”), I’ll be providing an example of notes I used for a one session adventure, so hopefully that can also help you to understand how much or how little preparation you need to run a game. Importantly, for us visually impaired folks, it also means less notes. As ill discuss in a future blog in this series, trawling through elaborate notes with a screen reader or magnification software can be cumbersome. Play grinds to a halt and you feel pressure as you frantically search for information. Keep it simple.

In your first adventure, all you need is a bad guy for the players to focus on and provide a clear understanding of how to get to them. This could be on the path of adventure or through the discovery of clues. Players will create the complexity for you. Trust me. I once had the mayor of a town hire adventurers to kill a basilisk and the players (somehow) turned the end of the session into a political commentary. It was a ton of fun. My point is, keep it simple and allow players to make it as complex as they need.

Accessibility Tools

If you have stumbled upon this blog, you may be wondering about accessible tools for Game Masters and players. If you visit the “Accessibility” section of this website, you will find a list of accessible tools for tabletop roleplaying games. We are constantly expanding and improving our Accessibility section, so I would encourage you to explore our website.

Audiobooks

Below is a list of audiobooks which contain great advice for running tabletop roleplaying games. Is there a book which has provided you with good advice? Share it with us in the Knights of the Braille Discord server!

• Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering
• Return of The Lazy Dungeon Master
• So You Want To Be A Game Master

YouTube Content

Below is a list of popular tabletop roleplaying game channels on YouTube. Is there a channel which has provided you with good advice? Share it with us in the Knights of the Braille Discord server!

• Bob The Worldbuilder
• Dungeon Craft
• Dungeon Dudes
• MCDM
• Seth Skorkowsky

Blog Submissions

Do you want to write a blog and provide Game Master advice to the community? Contact us at KnightsOfTheBraille@GMail.com

Game Prep Advice Blog Series Links

Below are links to the other blogs in this series on game prep for blind and visually impaired game masters.

• Jim’s Blog – Game Prep Advice 1 – Introduction
• Jim’s Blog – Game Prep Advice 2 – Combat
• Jim’s Blog – Game Prep Advice 3 – Encounters
• Jim’s Blog – Game Prep Advice 4 – Investigations
• Jim’s Blog – GM Prep Advice 5 – NPCs
• Jim’s Blog – Game Prep Advice 6 – Notes