I think the main thing a GM brings is helping to bring out the [i[]story[/i] of the scenario. Yes, you can add rules for randomly generated weather, events, etc, but then they're just that - random. A GM controlling the scenario can apply special events when necessary (or when it's funMike the Pike wrote:While there is certainly a place for GMs in Wargames, especially when demo-ing games or trying out a new system etc, IMHO they aren't really necessary even if players want to add additional Fog-of-war type elements.
I don't want to sound dismissive, but what can a GM add to a table top wargame that two reasonable opponents can't come up with themselves? Weather, special deployment, reserves, fate-decks etc etc What about them needs a GM's involvement? Some of them don't even require much input from the players either. There is plenty of stuff on-line and in the back of rule-books etc for the more popular systems. Even hidden troops aren't too much of a stretch if the players are mutually agreeable, reasonable folks. As for special scenarios, what's to stop the two players from coming up with something themselves?
), rather than when the dice say so. It means you can have unforseen events that neither player knows about. For example, consider a scenario where a Space Marine player is trying to capture an artefact from an Eldar force. Let's say that if the Marines kill the Farseer before the Seer Council have finished their ritual, a warp rift opens and daemons invade, forcing both players to ally for survival. Without a GM, the only way you can do that is to have the Eldar player in possession of the knowledge of that event, which means he can "game the scenario" if he feels its in his interest to allow the Farseer to die because he thinks the arrival of the daemons will actually be an advantage for him. In addition, you need to script the daemons' actions once they arrive. If there's a GM, both players can be kept in the dark, and if the daemons arrive, the GM can control them in a more intelligent fashion.Looking at comments on The Miniatures Page, this sort of thing appears to be the norm, at least for multiplayer participation games at conventions in the US.