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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lord Ipplepop" data-source="post: 5688086" data-attributes="member: 39914">Bad DM's fall into a few realms for me:1) No imagination- even if you are using pre-printed modules, the players WILL do something, usually more than one thing, to screw you up. A good DM needs to handle it and find a way to allow the characters to do their insanity and get them back on track. A DM who is writing his/her own adventures and can't get beyond the, "you meet in a bar and the bad guys attack." needs to work on their imagination. (my recommendation is go back to the 1ed missions)2) No flexibility- Again, regardless of how many clues you give them as the the fact that they need to talk to the person in front of them, or go down the left hallway, or kill the Green Power Ranger, or whatever, they WILL do everything except what you have spent the last 3 hours of game time hinting to them about. A good DM will deal with it and continue on.3) Not knowing the rules- If the DM doesn't know the rules (mostly), then the above are magnified. Also, if a DM is required to continue to dig through the books to find out what it is he needs to know in the middle of this particular mass melee, then the game slows down, and eventually stops.4) Not being able to de-stress on the fly- We always build in cigarette breaks, or soda/beer runs, snack runs, whatever... usually after an intense battle, or every hour or so. That way, the DM gets a chance to look ahead and get ready for the next portion, and to take a breather. It also gives the players a chance to breathe. Built up pressure makes all of the above worse.5) God Complex (the worst)- "I am in charge, what I say goes, I have control over your characters, I decide who lives or dies.</blockquote>

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