5 Things Game Masters Can Learn From Game Of Thrones

1. Houses & Alliances

In Game of Thrones (GOT), all the main characters belong to prominent families, known as "Houses". All of these houses wield consider political, militarist and economic power. Some houses are the ruling elite of kingdoms, while others are incredibly wealthy. Together, these different houses form alliances to run empires. This causes considerable allegiance conflicts between loyalty to a house/family and allegiance to the throne. In turn, rivalries are formed between different houses.

These type of political house of cards are nearly nonexistent in Dungeons & Dragons styled RPGs. In D&Desque games, the conflicts are usually external (e.g. orcs attacking a village, a rogue wizard trying to open a portal to a chaotic plane of existence, etc). The various kingdoms within most Game Master's worlds reside in the background; serving as a quest giver, or swift arm of justice when the party gets out of hand.

However, the dynamic of allegiances and rivalries can not only serve as an interesting backdrop, it can be the primary driver of the plot. Player-Characters (PCs) starting as honorbound knights can serve a house (or king). This provides players with a sense of duty for their PCs to full-fill (rather than the done-to-death merc hobos looking for work). Additionally, making the players choose where their PC's allegiance truly lies creates a fertile soil for moral dilemmas and strategic planning of the future.

2. Secrets & Betrayals

In most RPG adventures the objectives are pretty clear: clear out the dungeon, defeat the big bad monster, or acquire a priceless artifact. But in GOT the plot (and everyone's goals) are constantly evolving, reshaping and changing. One king takes the throne, then is backstabbed, only to be replaced by another. Secrets are the currency of the powers-that-be; and knowing who to trust them with and how to wield them is the name of the game. This creates a sense of a living world, full of other people; each with their own goals and hopes of achievement. Learning who is on your side and who is secretly plotting against you is a very useful skill.

Adding these elements to your own RPG adventure will bring the PC's charisma score front and center; and in some ways perhaps make it their most important attribute (instead of being considered a "dump" stat for most players).

Betrayals also play an important role throughout the series. Think of them more like "power plays"; as a swift and deadly move of a rook across the board in an attempt to take the throne or place another side in check mate (forcing them to bend the knee). PCs can also engage in this sort of behavior to move up the social ladder, acquire more wealth, uphold a loyalty pledge or seize a throne.

3. Low Fantasy

When I first started watching GOT, I actually thought there was little magic or fantasy in it. But the more I watched, the more I realized that there certainly is magic; but its kept low-key. Mentions of dragons, giants, undead, blood magic and so on add a nice garnish to an otherwise human-centric TV series. No elves, nor dwarves nor halflings.

Instead, the magic that is displayed feels more special. It gets more focus, more details. It feels more down-to-earth and even plausible in some ways. Most D&D style games, in contrast, have huge amounts of magic. Level 1 characters can start out as wizards, and magic is used throughout every demographic of society. It's always felt a little strange, to me, for so many people to know magic; but not see magic dramatically change the human condition of the in-game world.

In Game of Thrones, very, very few people know or understand magic. Mostly sorceresses. The dragons were thought to be extinct (the same with giants and other large mythological beasts). Humans reign supreme, and the focus is squarely on secrets, steel and steadfastness. People have to rely on their wits to keep their mortal bodies from easily being destroyed. No healing potions, no magic missile, no fireballs.

4. Morality

Game of Thrones is a very adult show. There are many depictions of brutal torture, executions, war, treason, rape and so on. It paints a picture of a cold, cruel world of survival. There are many, many people in the show who are evil and revel in sadistic pleasures. But there are also genuinely good, honorable folk who refuse to sacrifice their honor for power.

For me, it's a breath of fresh air to see such a raw, dramatic depiction of human nature. Moral and ethical choices are constantly being made by everyone, and the consequences of their actions soon follow. It all makes for a dramatic show, but also leaves me pondering my own thoughts and feelings about certain moral situations. Would you lead a coup to overtake the throne; if it meant you would be a more benevolent leader than the king's heir? Would you execute your rival if you felt they were truly evil and could not be reliably kept under guard? Would you choose to keep your honor and integrity or lie and aid an evil force to save your family?

Try adding more moral dilemmas to your game, and you'll be offering something far more deeper and rich than just killing vampires, lichs and zombie hordes.

5. History & Nature of the World

Any D&D player will recognize certain, familiar elements within Game of Thrones. One of my favorite is the "Night's Watch", a military unit tasked with guarding a northern, icy wall from invaders. Within this military force is an elite unit, called the "Rangers". In D&D there are also rangers, but the background history and story of them is typically left up to the GMs to decide. What I like a lot about the rangers in GOT, though, is the amount of history added to them. We don't just hear about the rangers, we meet some of them. We see how they train. We learn how they travel beyond the wall--and into the snowy wilderness--for months on end as scouts. They talk with "wildlings" (natives of the north), gather intelligence, and report back to Winterfell. They even have an awesome honor pledge they take to protect the world from invaders. Adding an entire backstory to various orders, is what makes the world feel alive. Details about not only what they are, but why they do it, how, and the conflicts they face.

The same can be said for the world as a whole. Their world operates much the same way as normal earth, but with a few twists here and there. For example, their seasons can span for many many years. Winters can last a generation. These twists add a nice "theme" to the setting, and allows for the viewers to explore how the characters react to such changes. This reminds me of the "Dark Sun" campaigns in D&D, which are similar to a generic fantasy--except it takes place in a post-apocalyptic desert world.

It's this extra level of detail that, to me, makes the whole world feel a "cut above" more generic adventures.

How to Use Strategy & Tactics to Improve Your Game & Life

In this post I want to start a series discussing strategy & tactics; both general and specific--as well as old and new. I'll discuss how strategy can be applied to nearly any game you play; as well as how you can use some of the lessons here in your own life for personal success.

The concepts outlined here are learned from years of me playing strategy games like chess, real-time strategies video games; as well as my own personal study in the subjects. However, I'm by no means a de-facto authority or expert in this field; and will leave more advanced topics to the true masters.

General Strategy

To start, let's begin by talking about strategy and tactics as a whole. Instead of copy-pasting the definition of each term; let's jump straight into some basic idioms; which I'll call "Kyle's Laws of Strategy" that can be applied to most situations & games.

Rule 1. Maximize Your Strengths and the Opponent's Weaknesses; Minimize Your Weaknesses and the Opponent's Strengths: It may seem like a simple concept--and that's good; it's easy to remember. The general rule here is to take inventory on what kind of advantages you have; and work towards bolstering them. At the same time, you should also work to minimize or mitigate your own weaknesses. Similarly, taking advantage of your opponent's weaknesses and eroding their strengths will also work in your favor.

Take the real-time strategy (RTS) game "Starcraft", for example. Imagine you have a military base and a modest-sized army. But, your opponent has a much, much larger army. Your opponent begins marching towards your base. What in the world will you do?

Your opponent's military is clearly stronger; but their size makes them slow and monolithic. Perhaps you attack and harass their forces while they're enroute; slowly killing off a few units at a time. Or maybe you wait until they're at your door step before your own forces invade their under-defended settlement. Or maybe you set up your defensive stand on a high ground, or funnel them into a tight wedge. The point is; no strategy is perfect, and understanding your own strengths and weaknesses (as well as your opponent's capabilities) will allow you to convert a bad situation into your favor.

Rule 2. When the Enemy Pushes, You Pull; When They Pull, You Push: This is a very ancient strategy that is used in many martial arts, such as Jujutsu. The idea here is when your opponent attempts to throw you off balance; you use their momentum to pull them off balance, instead. In this way, you're actually using their own energy to sabotage their efforts; rather then you having to exert your own.

This may seem like a pretty broad theory with hard-to-utilize application; so I'll give you an example on how I did this very thing in a game. Recently I won $80 in a poker game between myself and six other friends. It wasn't a lot of money; but the way I played allowed me to come out as the final winner.

When the poker game came down to just myself and one other man; the situation looked dire for me. You see, my opponent had been winning most of the hands of the night and had amassed a small fortune of chips--nearly quadruple what I had. Because he had so many more chips then me, each time new cards were dealt to us, he would "bully" me by betting a large amount of chips equal to the total amount I had left. I was forced to make a decision each hand; bet everything I had or fold. If I folded, my chips slowly bled away since I had to bet each round to play. If I bet everything I owned (known as going "all in"), one of two things would happen: I'd win a hand; or lose everything and be out of the game. My opponent knew this all too well, you see, which is why he was betting so much each round; in hopes that I'd play a hand and lose--thus winning him the spoils of war. So what did I do to win the game?

Well, it turns out I also knew what he was doing. He was using his weight to push me around. So, I waited patiently for a decent set of cards to come my way. It wasn't easy, as my pot was slowly disappearing to the bets I lost each time I chose to fold. Yet I continued to remain patient. Finally, a good set of cards came my way. My opponent, thinking he was mere minutes away from winning, was continuing to bet high in hopes I'd fail. But not this time. I called his bet, and thus "pulling" him as he was "pushing" me. We each revealed our cards; and I had the superior hand. I won the bet and instantly doubled my pot! All the spectators were astounded; and thought I got "lucky" with my cards. The truth is, my move was very planned and deliberate.

After that bet, my opponent was frustrated from losing. He wanted to win back his chips and make me lose. So, he continued to push hard; this time more aggressive than the last. With my newly-acquired chips, I easily could have been more aggressive as well. But that would be playing his game; of which he had the clear advantage. Instead, I was once again patient; waiting for the right moment for me to catch his push and pull him off balance. A few rounds later I had a decent hand, and his hubris got the best of him. It wasn't long before I was the heavyweight and my opponent was dumb-struck on how the tables had turned so fast. Everyone at the table couldn't believe my "luck".

Rule 3. The Aggressor Tends to Win: I see this maxim ring true all the time; such as during boxing matches. The person throwing the most punches will eventually get a lucky strike and knockout their opponent. This isn't always true of course (which is why I said "tends to win"). But, the logic is sound: a good offense can indeed be a good defense; and the team that brings the fight to the doorstep of their opponent doesn't need to worry about collateral damage nearly as much as the defender. This also creates a closed space for the defender, leaving them less space to maneuver (more on this shortly).

When you're barraging the opponent, they can fall into what I call a "backstep death spiral". That is to say, they begin spending all of their time, energy and resources simply on trying to stop your advance, and regain their forward momentum, rather than expanding their own objectives.

Rule 4. Embrace the Five Swords of Victory: There are five main forms of advantage you can gain over your opponent. Memorizing and understanding each one will prove pivotal in most competitions.

• Material Advantage: Materials are anything you, or your army, have to wage a war. This includes soldiers (such as pawns, rooks, knights, etc), as well as resources like minerals and vespene gas (in the "Star Craft" game), as well as buildings, defensive structures, and so on. Simply put, strength in numbers is a clear advantage. Inversely, causing your opponent to lose material will quickly limit their options in the game.
  
  For a beginner, losing a few small units may not seem like a big deal; but over time it can add up. In Chess, a pawn is the smallest unit of the game; but collectively they add up to 8 points (1 point short of the queen; the most powerful unit in the game). Exchanging material for another advantage (such as a better position) is called a "Gambit", and may well be worth the trade-off. However, don't forget that losing material is permanent; whereas other advantages are often fleeting.

• Positional Advantage: It's been said that superior play flows from a superior position. Understanding the game board, and how the natural layout and terrain can work in your favor, is paramount. Whether it's taking the high ground or channeling your opponent into a "fatal funnel", or a broader strategy such as "center control".
  
  
  
  In chess, and in most games, taking and holding the center provides a clear advantage. From the center, you have equal distance to all corners of the board, more maneuvering space, and can threaten the opponent's nearby pieces. Inversely, forcing your opponent to the side -- or in a corner, will quickly cram them into a crowded situation. Positional control also covers where the frontline of battle is drawn. By expanding your forces outwards quickly, you can claim more land than your opponent; affording your pieces to frolic and gamble. However, it's equally important to be aware that the farther out you expand, the more your defenses can thin, and the greater distance your forces will be away from support.
• Temporal Advantage: Also known as "tempo", a temporal advantage means to develop and advance at a faster pace than your opponent. Each side is jockeying for space, resources, new technology and better weapons of war. If you're slower at acquiring these materials than your opponent; you'll quickly find yourself playing catch-up. Temporal advantages can be gained by targeting, and destroying (or threatening) your opponent's fledgling enterprises and expansions. Force your opponent to deal with a clear danger you pose--rather than advancing their own objectives; and you'll quickly gain more tempo than them.
• Tactical Advantage: This section will be covered in greater detail in the future; but suffice it to say, tactics cover maneuvers such as forks, double attacks, skewers and other situations where one side is presenting a sticky situation for their opponent to deal with.
  
  
• Psychological/Informational Advantage: Another subject that will be covered in-depth in a future post. Informational advantages cover everything from misinformation, secrets & propaganda, to exploiting your opponent's ego, pride, morale & fears. Such matters have been present in nearly ever war throughout history; and used to great effect in the second world war. Other examples include using decoy vehicles, sending false information that was known to be spied upon by the enemy, demoralizing propaganda, and using disguise & deception to hide one's true intentions.

 

Rule 5. Hard Should Target Soft; Soft Should Target Hard: When two swords clash, they dull and chip one another. So, too, do two large armies destroy one another when locked in battle. Instead, the swords should cut flesh; not steel. Large forces should focus on and target small, under-defended resources of the opponent. The image above is an example of two powerful forces destroying each other; neither side gaining much ground on one another; meanwhile, a small, undefended outpost of the opponent's rests to the east.

Instead of the large army trying to march through the gates of the opponent's fortress, it would be better utilized by destroying a necessity of the opponents' economy. It might not be as flashy or dramatic as toppling their castle in a single stroke; but slowing the opponent's economy will give the attacker a tempo advantage; which could contribute to winning the war.

Likewise, some opponents have such a large and unbeatable army, they cannot be challenged by conventional means (e.g. hard vs hard). Instead, a small, clandestine "soft" unit, usually cloaked in secrecy, flexibility and guerrilla tactics, may slip through the cracks of the opponent's defenses (something a larger conventional army could not do). Behind enemy lines, this small unit acts like a back-stabbing dagger; by focusing it's sharpened tip at a very specific point to cause damage; or like a bull in a china shop by inflicting as much damage as it can before being forced to retreat, surrender or die.

One way to think of hard and soft units is in the resources it cost to produce them. Whether the units required money, minerals, time, or energy; each unit has an intrinsic value. Therefore, you should strive to keep your units alive; lest they die resulting in a "loss" of resources. A large army costs many resources; and therefore should not be sent on suicide missions, nor dulled over time by fighting fair fights. Longevity is the way to offset the cost-to-benefit ratio. Smaller, softer units, inversely, don't cost as many resources; and can be used in riskier missions to cause high damage to targets of high value.

 
Rule 6. Think Three Moves Ahead: Most of us, when strategizing, only think "What is the best move I should make?". So, we study the board and all of our available moves, then take an action when we find one we enjoy. However, playing a game like this is the equivalent of feeling around in the dark; unsure of what is two steps away from you.

The true strategist will not only find which move works best for them, but also consider what response their opponent will take. What is their best countermove to your move? Does the enemy even see this opportunity, or are they more likely to take a lesser posture? Figure out what the opponent's best move is--and why that move is the best (what are the weaknesses of the other countermoves?). From there, you'll then know what your next move is--three positions in the future--in response to their countermove.

You could continue to predict additional moves ahead (four, five or even six moves ahead), but practically speaking this is extremely difficult and many unseen (or un-realized) variables will usually change the game board before that theory becomes reality.

Stick to move, countermove, move, and you'll quickly put your opponent on the defense; confused by how you constantly have a response to their maneuvers.

Conclusion

These concepts are only general strategy. Next post we'll dive into the I.L.O. process, and the steps involved within. We'll cover the importance of intelligence & information, how to gather it, and the importance of secrets and surprise. Until then, thanks for reading!