Hi all, I’ve been looking for some advice for running my first MotW session and am having some difficulty finding…

Hi all, I’ve been looking for some advice for running my first MotW session and am having some difficulty finding…

Hi all, I’ve been looking for some advice for running my first MotW session and am having some difficulty finding resources (outside of the actual manual). I decided I wanted to run a one-shot based on some gory history of the town I’m from (nicknamed Screamersville bc of Confederate medical camps where the screams of the patients could be heard) after listening to The Adventure Zone: Amnesty arc. My main problem is that I’ve never been a GM and I’ve only had player experience in D&D for about 6 months now. I know MotW is a lot looser and more focused on narrative than D&D, so I’m just worried about having too much or too little prepared before my first session. I just don’t want to end up sputtering and not having an answer when a player asks a question or stump them by not leaving enough clues. Just want to make it fun!

TL;DR– I’m new to being a GM and looking to run a ghosty one-shot, but need tips!

15 thoughts on “Hi all, I’ve been looking for some advice for running my first MotW session and am having some difficulty finding…”

  1. Review the tips in the Rule book (very good advice), listen to more good examples of play and run a really simple mystery to start. If you’re Confederate Mystery is complicated do not make it the first session; hold it for later. Michael has specific advice on one shots in the rule book somewhere…

  2. Two specific things:

    1) It is absolutely OK to not have an answer when a player asks a question. If that happens, just make something up on the spot (easier said than done, I know), ask for a minute to think, or even have the players give you an answer. This is a collaborative hobby, and the MC doesn’t have to be responsible for everything.

    2) Don’t worry too much about not leaving enough clues. MotW isn’t really a mystery solving game; it’s a dealing with monsters game. Both your players and their characters know there’s something supernatural going on. That is the premise of the game. There are moves, namely Investigate a Mystery, that will give players and their PCs good information. That being said, it’s always a good idea to give them as much info as possible. The point of the game isn’t really to discover what’s going on, but what to do about it.

    Your mystery sounds cool. If you haven’t done so already, read the chapter in writing mysteries and try to structure yours in the same way. The two examples in the book should give you a decent idea regarding the amount of prep you should need. ❤️

  3. Thanks for the quick responses!

    I’m not looking to make anything complicated. What I had in mind was maybe like a haunted house type situation where the hook is some local teens dare each other to spend the night in an old house and go missing. I thought the big bad could be a confederate ghost (or a few?) with limited weaknesses like iron or what have you. I was also thinking a crappy YouTube ghost hunting crew could be “minions?” I know they don’t directly help the ghost, but thought maybe that would be a neat way to provide interference?

    I have read most of the manual, I guess what I get hung up on is figuring out how to pace it without writing too much detail. Everything seems so ambiguous to me. Also, since I would be a new GM/Keeper and all my players would be new to MotW, I feel a bit overwhelmed about needing to know the ins and outs of their move options/abilities. I suppose it’s just one of those learn as you go type things.

    Lastly, I was also wondering– what kinds of moves have you all given ghosts before? Trying to figure out how to best make them a threat.

  4. Tory I don’t like using ghosts as the villains because they are so incorporeal. Michael has an example ghost mystery in the rule book and he uses the House as the monster which is a very good idea. Why not make your crappy ghost hunters the monsters and the ghosts friendly? The ghosts could be guarding something evil the crappy ghost hunters want to foolishly find and unleash for cable ratings. If its a one shot the artifact (a Black Box, literally?)could unleash the end the world by summoning … (Anti-Christ, Cthulhu or a giant pissed of Mr. Rogers, your pick)

  5. Mark Tygart Oh now that’s really neat. I figured the crappy ghost hunters would cause interference by wanting to hog the house to film, but I like that that’s a more direct/real problem than just “get outta here, we’re trying to make youtube money”

  9. This was like Bobby taking Sam under his wing… +20 from me Mark (Troy if you want inspiration check out marks posts they are gold for just seeing how to simply put something together with some clocks and a concept)

  12. Yay! TAZ! I like your idea. I too am doing my first mystery and setting it in Weston, WV, focusing around the ruins of the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum with a flavor like the Outlast video game (ghosty/inbred chainsaw freaks).

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