Personal Gaming Assistant Part 3: Planting the seeds

So I've planted the seeds for the PGA. I've asked some friends to keep an eye out for anyone who would be interested in the paid work. Only time will tell how things pan out, but I don't have to be idle. I will be giving instructions after all, so I might as well detail my plans, instructions and expectations so that I can quickly pounce on a lead.


Setting some realistic Expectations.

Its going to be like any process of hiring, I'm going to go through a lot before I get what need. I'm probably going to lower some expectations because its never going to be a perfect, I'm comparing everything to an idea and ideas appear perfect until tested. I guess I'll have to consider some key-performance-indicators: competency, communication skills, time-management, priority-management, and these all maybe collected as some kind of professionalism score. 

Other than key performance indicators, a way to measure and interview potential candidates after the project. A series of questions to find out more about behind the scenes. Also improve my scanning skills by having some of my own interview questions and ways to spot some red-flags. I guess this is not so bad, its like some of the stuff I made for sales.

Transcription 

The kind of work that would be most common would be transcription. This is one of those tasks that are under appreciated (until you put a price to it). The transcription the GM does to prepare for the game, can be a lists of equipment, rules, character generation options, inventory people, items, and locations in the setting or locale. Sometimes this list needs to be further detailed based on the peculiarities of the setting. What pet-peeve that comes to mind is when players start poking around where they shouldn't and use rules or equipment that GM's finite attention and free-time could not have prepared for. 

When all the material is transcribed into spreadsheet this makes my job as a GM easier. It becomes easier to find, group, array and sometimes automate some game processes. In GURPS, it helps give the players and the GM inventory of all the options they have agreed on for the game.

Another transcription task that is very laborious is taking the minutes of a meeting... in another case, asking for an 8-hour game transcribed and transferred to the campaign journal. But this is better saved for later.

What are the Games I have in mind?
There are a lot of games I want to run. Not only do I want to run the games I'm writing about now, but try recapturing some settings I enjoyed that could use an "update".

If I were to make a list in no order.

• Traveller Game inspired by Firefly
• Traveller Game inspired by Honorverse Naval Campaign
• Harn Inspired Banestorm, A domination campaign starting from young and ambitious characters who get caught up in a war. (A game that uses GURPS Mass Combat).
• The First Crusade with an Alternate Cast
• The Reconquest of Rome, Byzantium 6th Century with an Alternate Cast 
• Byzantium in the 3rd Millenium. A campaign that is about the "A Day in the life of Knights in the Service of their House".  
• Survival Scenarios, near-ordinary characters randomly generated in extraordinary events (Kidnapping, Assassination, Serial killer, Chaos, etc.)
• 19th Century Philippines Alternate History and a separate game that is a Historical Immersion
• The Warring States
• (As a player) The Romance of the Three Kingdoms (hopefully I can find a free audiobook about it or buy one)
• Ancient Era 1300BCE, Before the First Dark Age. Before the fall of Empires of Egypt, Myceneans, and Hittites. (with a Conan Theme; inspired by The Teaching Company's Ancient Empires before Alexander and Origin of Civilizations)  
• The Axial Age 700BCE 
• Forgotten Realms with very little magic (Game of Throne-ish).
• Lodoss War using GURPS Dungeon Fantasy
• Convert an OSRIC Mega Dungeon into a B3M stronghold, than run that as a game.