Good DM's?

[Major Moab]

There is a thread a little further down about what a DM does that ruins a game, and that is a perfectly reasonable and helpful forum to a new Game Runner. I found a lot of things that I shouldn't do. Now I was hoping for a list of "things a GM should do." Not items specifically to a system, just things that make you want to go back and play with him.

So the topic is: What makes a GM the best I have seen? Discuss.

 

[Oryan77]

Most of the time we can all agree on what makes a DM bad. But what makes a DM good can kind of depend on who the players are and what their gaming style is like. Cause some things that make a DM good to one player will annoy the crap out of another player.

Examples:

It can make a game a lot more fun if the DM puts on a "voice" for his NPCs. If he is running a Lizardman NPC, then he'll do the snakey sounding voice. A lot of people enjoy that. I on the other hand can't stand it. It's very distracting to me and I find it a bit embarrassing. But I wouldn't say a DM shouldn't do it. I can see how it can be entertaining to other players.

I would say that a good DM would try and make the world as alive as possible. Which means even doing things like roleplaying shopkeepers when players want to buy stuff. You don't have to drag it on, but a bit of roleplaying makes the world more alive and it can help establish some NPC contacts for the PCs to come back to. Other players can't stand this though. They might not care for roleplaying with shopkeepers cause it has nothing to do with the "story". They just want to hand wave it and pick items from the book.

 

[Jon_Dahl]

Base the story around the characters and their abilities.
Ranger chooses orcs as enemies? Have them encounter orcs.
1st-level sorcerer has Disguise Self in his/her VERY limited spell selection? Have some intrigue and backstabbing in the game.
Cleric with feats that boost/enhance Turn Undead? Well looky here, we got some undead right around the corner!

Always calmly accept everything players say if it's not against the rules (table rules, unspoken rules of common sense or the rulebook). Also: Always move the story/action forward and in order to get to the story to flow, preparation is the key.

 

[delericho]

To a large extent, "good DMs" are quite hard to define - we know them when we see them, but what works for one guy may not work for the next.

Still, I broadly break DM skills down into three categories: "rules mastery", "story mastery" and "table mastery".

Rules mastery is, of course, knowledge of the rules of the game. A bad DM doesn't know the rules, interprets them wrongly (or in a stupidly rigid manner), or, perhaps worst of all, inconsistently. A good DM knows and can apply the rules of the game consistently and well. But the best DMs know when to use the published rules, but also when it is best to step outside the rules and do something else instead.

Story mastery is all aspects of storytelling, including descriptions, characterisation, plots, and so forth. A bad DM will have no plot at all, a badly disjointed plot, or a rigid railroad for the PCs. A good DM will have some notion of the plot in the game, even if this just amounts to having the world react sensibly to PC actions, will go some lengths to breathing life into the world, and will allow the PCs to also make their imprint on the world. The best DMs do all this, and make it all look easy.

(In some ways, story mastery is the most difficult of the elements to define, since what makes for a good story is equally hard to define.)

Table mastery is the handling of everything in the game that isn't rules or story. Like it or not, the DM is typically in something of a leadership role for the group - they tend to be the person who is looked to to resolve conflicts, to keep things moving, and in some sense to 'own' the game. A bad DM is likely to adopt a tyrant's role, imposing a heavy authority on the group (for about five minutes, until they quit), or have absolutely no control over events, so that nothing gets done. A good DM will try to keep everyone fairly focused, without becoming that tyrant. And the best DMs, of course, don't even have to bother about the issues at all, since it all just comes naturally.

Anyway, that's my (really bad) attempt to define something that I don't think can be readily defined.

 

[Cor Azer]

A good DM is one that makes their game consistently fun.

Everything else is means to that end.

 

[Zelda Themelin]

One dm I play with is really good most of the time.
Ok sometimes he has bad sessions becaue of work stress, but when not he is awesome.

He takes every character into account and let's everyone have some fun spotlight time.
He has great imagination and can create fun adventures. He is not so good with adventure paths though, he has trouble memorizing stuff.
He knows rules well for those systems he run, and is fair about rules. And he knows how to power up his monsters, when we feel making properly powerful (min-maxed) characters.

He runs many themes really well, best scifi dm I've ever had joy of playing with.
He playes his npc:s well and makes them interesting persons (doesn't do voices though).

He is really good at getting us interested in doing something (going to adventure), he allows evil characters and likes high level games too. We have good synergy in his group too, we don't make characters that mesh badly.

He had quality though, that not every one we have played with likes. He likes to do corruption plots. Nail characters with demonic deals, work for someone (they probably should not) etc. And he can trick even those players who hate this. He can manage corruption to idealistic goodness too never fear. They kept playing with him still, so.

I love his words. I just hope he still would have more time for rpg:s. I more often Gm to him than play.


He is not always so nice player though. He plays very opportunistic and tactical characters and hoards up all magic stuff/treasure others don't immediatly want. Likes to keep party hoard list anyhow, so that's partially that. Very dominating and very action hungry. Low tolerance for slow gaming.

 

[was]

1. creativity
2. flexibility
3. patience

 

[RedTonic]

I find that, as a DM, that being consistent in my rulings and punctual to my own sessions typically helps my players forgive my other sins. Being willing to work with players to accomplish the goals they have for their PCs, and helping their PCs each shine in their roles, makes my players happy. For every sweet encounter I (may manage to) design, and every mellifluous description I (may manage to) catch their interest with, it's really "that time in the bar that the monk and that NPC kept missing each other" and "that cleric keeps healing all the wounded NPCs" and "that time with the wolves when the ranger got KO'd" that really excites them.

What I'm saying is, my strongest role and most valuable job as a DM, in my opinion, is facilitating the PCs in causing memorable events. I can set the stage and dress the windows, but they're not going to remember that stupid/awesome/evil thing my NPCs did. They're going to remember the time the monk missed 6 swings in a row, the time the ranger took out a partially covered enemy 2x her HD with 2 shots on a moonless night, and the time the paladin KO'd a man from horseback on the very first charge of the encounter. If I can set up the stage for them to have a sweet time, and remember that the PCs, not my NPCs, are the stars of the show, then my players have a good time.

In other words, a good DM doesn't crawl up his own ego and wear his butt as a hat.

 

[delericho]

Now I was hoping for a list of "things a GM should do." Not items specifically to a system, just things that make you want to go back and play with him.

Okay, since you asked for specifics:

- Keep the game light-hearted and fun. Serious games are certainly possible, and if done right can be awesome. But IME you need an experienced DM and buy-in from all the players. If in doubt, stick with "light-hearted and fun"; do serious later.

- Keep the game moving. If you keep everyone involved, keep the pace up, and avoid getting bogged down (for any reason), it covers a multitude of sins. Consider this the "Dan Brown" effect - you're writing can be awful and your plot idiotic, but if the pace is fast enough nobody will notice.

- Prepare as much as you need, but no more than that. For a combat-heavy game, you probably need to give quite a lot of thought to monster groups, combat terrain, and complications. For a story-heavy game, you can probably get away with a web of character interactions and a bunch of pregen stats.

- Say "yes". The 4e DMG maybe takes this a bit too far, but it's still good advice. If in doubt, let the player try something. Especially if it's awesome.

- If in doubt, set a target number and roll some dice. 4e has "page 42", which is an excellent aide for setting DCs. For 3e, at low level go for DC 15 or 20, rising to 25 and then 30 at higher levels. Or just pull a number that feels right.

- Use 'gimmicks', but don't be a slave to them. If minis help you visualise combat, use them. If you find they slow things down, get rid. If power cards help, use them, but if they get lost... Experiment with background music, but if it becomes a distraction stop. And so on.

- Be on time, be prepared, be appropriately dressed, be... Well, you get the idea. Basically, if you're an adult, you should know how to act. Sometimes, it's shocking how few gamers do. Just by not being a jerk you put yourself in a good light!

- To your own self be true. Ultimately, it is you who is running the game. Not your rules-lawyer player, not your mentor, not some random guys on the net, and not me. So find the style that suits you, and go with that. You'll always do your best work that way - run the game for you, not for how you think others think it should be run. And if that means ignoring (or directly contradicting) any of the advice here, then do that. Honestly, I won't mind.

 

[nedjer]

rot grubs in the shepherd's pie