[Circle of Hands] help for a fledgling GM

[thegrinder]

So i'm about to start a Circle of Hands campaign and I'm struggling with how to GM it. I've been playing D&D for a decade and carry all the bad habits that come with it.

I have a specific question and a general request for help:

-Can someone help me grasp the concept of Crosses? I'm lost. I have no idea what they are.
-Do you guys (and gals) have some general advice for managing die-hard D&D/GURPS players, who are used to being sheparded by the GM?

Thanks in advance

Arturo

[Ron Edwards]

Hi! Let's see what I can do.

Maybe it will help with Crosses if I say what they're not. They aren't "HEY PEOPLE OVER HERE" signals.

Or maybe, conversely, you're using them already. Nothing more than ... well, let's say some player guy punched a guy a few minutes ago. No one "important," not one of your OMG-NPCs who has secrets or will be in on the upcoming fight, or anything like that. Now, some other player characters are talking to someone or role-playing or doing whatever the players are saying they do. So you're describing things and you have the punched guy walk past the current action.

Like I said, not because you "want" them or are "telling" them to follow him or talk to him. Not because anything. Just because the two events (the punching and the current dialogue) are happening in the same general area, no other reason.

It is possible that nothing will happen due to a Cross. The players say "ha, there's that guy you punched" to their fellow player and that's it. And that's fine. Just keep Crossing every so often. If and when a player wants to turn a Cross into a proactive motion, doing or saying something about this "wander past" visual event, then play anyone involved just as you think they'd respond.

Circle of Hands provides you with the ascension option if that response makes the concerned NPC more interesting, so that can happen too.

Let me know what you think. Maybe I just said what you already know and missed your question, or maybe it's a lightbulb, no way for me to tell.

Your general question is definitely harder to work with. In my experience, you can tell people "I'm not leading you" until you're blue in the face, and they won't believe you. Everyone says that anyway, right? And even if you do play and don't fall into holes like players turtling up until you provide The Guy or The Clue, then they'll congratulate you on leading so subtly, "I totally couldn't tell! You're getting good at it!" All I can say is, be prepared for a couple of players not to like this one bit. If that happens, just play with those who do, and bring the grumpy ones back for a game they do like. The only solid do/don't I have is this: do not try to "convert" anyone, or pose this as a "better way." It's just another game which plays a certain way, that's all.

[thegrinder]

Thanks Ron! That was very helpful.

Now I get Crosses, I just needed an example.

Thank you for your other advice as well. I hope I'm up to the task of GMing this game. As I was reading the second half of chapter 3 I felt like I was un-learning how to ride a bike.

[Ron Edwards]

Great! Always hard to tell across the screens.

I like to think of it as unlearning how to ride a huge and perhaps dubiously-working contraption and saying, wait a minute, all I have to do is ride this bike, but then again, I would say that. So see what you think and let me know.