What makes a good GM?

Goddess FallenAngel

Explorer

• Nov 13, 2006

• #1

So... what, in your opinion, makes a good GM/DM great? Engaging storylines? Letting the PCs have the spotlight? Creating the stories around the PCs histories? Ability to run 'off-the-cuff' when the PCs go in an unexpected direction? Just wanting to open up discussion, not necessarily get the answers to the above questions. They were just things I threw out there as hallmarks of a good DM, in my opinion.

I can imagine that most will have the same opinion, or at least simular, but I was wondering, after a recent conversation with some of the others in the gaming group I play in.

 

Last edited: Nov 13, 2006

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Crothian

First Post

• Nov 13, 2006

• #2

The ability to run a fair game that the players want run. And many times a DM has to be able to tell what the PCs want without them telling him.

 

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero

• Nov 13, 2006

• #3

I think it really relies on the group of players. But it goes both ways: A DM isn't a "bad DM" if they don't want to do what the players do. Sometimes it's better just to part ways and let everyone find a group that's more to their liking.

 

Crothian

First Post

• Nov 13, 2006

• #4

Whizbang Dustyboots said:

A DM isn't a "bad DM" if they don't want to do what the players do. Sometimes it's better just to part ways and let everyone find a group that's more to their liking.

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He is a Bad DM for those players though. A Bad DM is not a bad DM to everyone, like a good DM is not going to be a good DM to everyone.

 

Goddess FallenAngel

Explorer

• Nov 13, 2006

• #5

I figure that most of it would depend on play styles - if Jim wants a hack-n-slash type, Jan's immersive roleplaying game isn't going to work for him. There's nothing wrong with either gaming style, they just need to find groups that fit.

But, if the group otherwise has the same play style....

 

Goddess FallenAngel

Explorer

• Nov 13, 2006

• #6

Crothian said:

The ability to run a fair game that the players want run. And many times a DM has to be able to tell what the PCs want without them telling him.

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I've met players that didn't know themselves.

 

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero

• Nov 13, 2006

• #7

Crothian said:

He is a Bad DM for those players though.

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No, he's a bad fit. "Bad DM" suggests something very different, such as if he were a "Good DM," he would knuckle under and let the play the game the players want to play.

 

I

Inconsequenti-AL

Breaks Games

• Nov 13, 2006

• #8

Crothian said:

He is a Bad DM for those players though. A Bad DM is not a bad DM to everyone, like a good DM is not going to be a good DM to everyone.

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Very true!


IMO, a good DM is one who's sessions I enjoy. There's lots of different ways they can be good. My fave thing is if there's something (constructive!) for me to think about between sessions - whether it be complicated plotlines or what the hell do we do now?

If you want a proper answer, some good DM qualities - knack for characterising memorable NPCs, good at explaining a situation, memory for detail, fast thinking on the feet.

 

Zhaleskra

Adventurer

• Nov 13, 2006

• #9

Goddess FallenAngel said:

So... what, in your opinion, makes a good GM/DM great? Engaging storylines? Letting the PCs have the spotlight? Creating the stories around the PCs histories? Ability to run 'off-the-cuff' when the PCs go in an unexpected direction?

Click to expand...

Such an open-ended question and my original intention was to answer your direct questions rather than list my "laundry list" of things I think make a good GM. I will place on the top "the capacity to ignore the rules when rolling dice is not important."

 

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero

• Nov 13, 2006

• #10

Goddess FallenAngel said:

But, if the group otherwise has the same play style....

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It's not just about playstyle. It can also be about shared expectations and interests, along with personality, maturity levels, tolerance for gore, etc. There's a million different ways that a DM and players can be a bad fit for one another.

All that said, a good DM is one that has a good-enough-for-the-group knowledge of the rules, a command of the setting good enough to not slow play down or create problems later with on the fly calls, enough imagination to be able to come up with responses to all the players' curveballs (contrary to popular opinion, I don't think RPGers are any more or less creative than the general public, even if it's a useful trait in the world of RPGs), has a sense of humor about things going wrong, and has enough focus to keep the game reasonably on track (so that Monty Python and South Park quotes don't grind the whole proceeding to a halt every time).