Instant GM: A Bag of Tricks

Introduction

This product interested me from the moment I saw it on RPGNow's new product listing. After a month of waiting with it on the Wish List, I bought it. For $4.95, it's not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, its pretty good, but there is room for improvement though.

Overview

It is a good overview of improvisational GM'ing techniques with its plot seeds, library of stock characters and the use of props. This can make a GM's life much easier and potentially improve everyone's gaming experience. Its much better than the brief chapter on it Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering, but you can also steal from the best there.

Content

The plot seeds are interesting and potentially useful, especially when you take them and pair them with commercially available adventure seed products, or free like The Big List of RPG Plots.

The library of stock characters is a good thing. It provides almost an over detailed look at the various stock types you run into in most games. One thing that could improve it comes from Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering - lists of names for NPC's. Another would be a brief one page list of these character types with a sentence or two description for quick reference. Now, I would suggest every GM be ready to prune or add to a list like this based on the genre they're using, or their specific settings.

Rakugo props are quick, easily found and versatile props – and the reason I bought this after looking up Rakugo and getting very curious. This little section makes the book folks. It has only three props: windbreaker, baseball cap and the pen. Since this is in the teaser section for the product, I don't think I'm giving anything away by listing them. This is a very nice little section and worth reading. It also sparked my own imagination, and I may add to it. I bet other GM's will do the same.

Comments

This is a great little supplement for any GM looking to put some polish on his or her game, especially for more story centered games. It works best especially when paired with other GM advice books like Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering and The Big List of RPG Plots and articles (like those found at Roleplaying Tips).

It does need some better editing (allies for alleys springs to mind), and the artwork doesn't contribute to the work. Clip art for the stock characters could be nice (but not necessary Google images may do all you need). Illustrations or photos of using the props could also be good.

Verdict

This is an excellent piece of work worth my time and money – I think it would be worth yours as well. I hope the authors expand on this with either another edition, or an additional volume.

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