| Introduction | 7 |
| |
| First-timers' Quick Tips | 8 |
| |
| Before the Game | 9 |
| Basic Terms | 9 |
| Genre | 9 |
| Choosing a Game System | 11 |
| Reading the Book | 12 |
| Changing the Rules | 13 |
| When Rules Don't Apply | 16 |
| Selecting a Setting | 19 |
| Store-bought or Home-grown? | 21 |
| Gathering Your Players | 22 |
| Time and Place | 23 |
| Designing an Adventure | 24 |
| Tailoring | 26 |
| Bringing in New Gamers | 27 |
| |
| Starting the Game | 30 |
| Assembling the Characters | 30 |
| Setting the Tone | 31 |
| Fostering Party Unity--without the PC Stamp | 33 |
| Authority--and Interaction | 35 |
| On with the adventure! | 35 |
| |
| Running the Game | 37 |
| Daily Prep | 37 |
| Keeping Notes | 37 |
| Narrative Styles | 38 |
| Dialogue and Dialect | 39 |
| Props | 40 |
| Audio Aids | 41 |
| Hunger Pangs | 43 |
| Combat--Number versus Narrative | 44 |
| Minutiae | 45 |
| Zombies and Ghosts | 46 |
| Watching Your Game | 48 |
| Fudging Results | 49 |
| Holding Them Together | 50 |
| Split Focus | 51 |
| Asides | 52 |
| Notes | 54 |
| Interests--Party versus Personal | 54 |
| Power Levels | 55 |
| Experience | 56 |
| Adding New Characters | 58 |
| Modifying Characters | 59 |
| Killing Characters | 60 |
| Cheating? | 62 |
| Taking People Out | 63 |
| |
| Closing the Game | 64 |
| Player Satisfaction | 64 |
| GM Satisfaction | 64 |
| Leaving It Open | 65 |
| |
| Secrets from the Masters | 67 |
| Genre and Setting Simulation | 67 |
| by Steven S. Long | |
| The Joy of Research | 72 |
| by Kenneth Hite | |
| Creating Memorable Villains for Your Campaigns | 77 |
| by John R. Phythyon, Jr. | |
| Here Be Dragons: The Science and Art of Map Making | 82 |
| by Ann Dupuis | |
| Campaign World-building | 100 |
| by James M. Ward | |
| Gamemaster's Flowchart 101 | 104 |
| by Mark Simmons | |
| Character Creation | 105 |
| by Ross Winn | |
| Women at the Gaming Table | 108 |
| by Hilary Doda | |
| The Beginner's Game | 114 |
| by John Nephew | |
| NPCs--Not Paper Cutouts | 117 |
| by Lee Gold | |
| Winging It | 122 |
| by Jean Rabe | |
| Throw 'em to the wolves! | 127 |
| by Larry D. Hols | |
| Trust at the Gaming Table | 129 |
| by Frank Mentzer | |
| Treasure | 134 |
| by Steven Marsh | |
| Campaign Troubleshooting | 142 |
| by Lester Smith | |
| Running a Con Game | 145 |
| by Matthew Forbeck | |
| Gamemastering for Kids | 152 |
| by Sam Chupp | |
| |
| Contributor Bios | 161 |
| |
| Index | 166 |
| |
| Advertising | 173 |
| Grey Ghost Press, Inc. | 173 |
| http://www.fudgerpg.com |
| Action! System | 174 |
| http://www.action-system.com |
| Robin's Laws of Good
Gamemastering | 175 |
| http://www.sjgames.com/robinslaws/ |
| Dork Towers | 176 |
| http://www.dorktower.com |
![[GM Secrets]](head.png)
![[Game Mastering Secrets]](toptitle.png)
![[Cover Image]](gmsecret_cover.jpg)
![[Valid XHTML 1.0!]](valid-xhtml10.png){kind=small}