Shared language for GM craft across systems

One short session run cleanly beats a shelf of unread GM guides on week one.

Prep budget

Hours you can honestly spend.

Spotlight pass

Ensuring each player drives a beat.

Fail forward

Complications instead of dead ends.

Session zero

Expectations before dice.

Threat clock

Antagonist progress meters.

Recap ritual

How you restart continuity.

Guest PC kit

Onboarding drop-ins fast.

Debrief

Five minutes of feedback after play.

Use these terms when you scope prep and pass spotlight—so facilitators argue about craft, not jargon.

Date NPC notes and house rulings. A guest GM should inherit a one-pager, not a vibe.

Cite designers and freelancers when you share facilitation tools.

Spoiler labels. Separate rules fights from fiction talk. Escalate to mods.

Seasoned GMs still drop basics: spotlight passes, initiative clarity, downtime hooks. Revisit them on purpose.

Track spotlight, threat clocks, and prep hours like hit points—they are the facilitation pressure.

Terms evolve. If your table uses a different gloss, write it into your house doc and tell newcomers which dictionary you are using. Shared language beats winning an etymology fight mid-scene.

When a word is edition-specific, say so out loud. Borrowing vocabulary across systems is fine; silent assumptions are what cause arguments.

Keep notes short enough to reread before a session. Long wikis that nobody opens are not preparation; they are archaeology.

When in doubt, run the smaller scenario, teach one procedure well, and leave room for player ideas that were not in your outline.