Best GMing Advice you've ever gotten

[Sacrosanct]

What's some of the best GM advice you've ever gotten? I'm putting a poll with things I've learned myself over the decades, but I'm sure there are others as well. Multiple options available naturally. And some of these may seem contradictory to each other, but that's because we have different preferences.

 

[Yora]

The game is about the actions and choices of the PCs. The players are not there to be spectators.

Failure has to be always an option for the players. Allow the players to make mistakes and fail.

As long as the players are talking about the game among each other, let them keep talking. Wait until they have questions for you and answer them.

 

[MNblockhead]

"Hey, you should run a game."

 

[Joshua Randall]

“Play to find out what happens.” (Apocalypse World)
”Say yes or roll the dice.” (Robin Laws, maybe?)

 

[Hex08]

"Stop bludgeoning your players with that spiked club"

Honestly, it was that I should realize not all of my players enjoy the same things and I should learn to incorporate as much of their varying play styles into my adventures as possible. Some like roleplaying or others like rolling dice to kill things, for example. Sometimes using the spiked club is easier.

 

[aco175]

Remember that it is a game and you are all friends first.

 

[Hussar]

Skip the boring stuff and get to the fun is, honestly, probably the best DMing advice I've ever seen. If the players don't care about X, then don't do X just to tick the box that you've done it.

 

[CleverNickName]

"Get a table agreement"?! Ha!! We can't even agree on a start time!

The best GM advice I've ever gotten was from Wil Wheaton: "Don't be a dick." I wish that option had been added to the list.

 

[overgeeked]

Player agency is king, never violate it.

You are the referee, a neutral arbiter or the world and rules, not the storyteller.

Whatever story happens as a result of the players’ choices, the roll of the dice, and any rules used is the only story the game has.

Play worlds, not rules.

Play to find out what happens.

Verisimilitude is more important than the rules.

If there is no risk or challenge, there’s no point.

It all comes down to a target number and some dice. Consider the circumstances, pick a reasonable number, and roll. It doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.

Winning all the time is just as boring as losing all the time.

 

[Grogg of the North]

A few spring to mind.

1) Everyone's first game is awful. Don't sweat it.

2) Have fun. If everyone at the table is having fun, don't sweat it. Maybe you're ignoring a rule from the book. Maybe you've added in something you saw online or in a magazine. If everyone is having fun, then don't worry. For every piece of good gaming advice, there is a game, probably with people you know, that will be ruined by it.

3) Your (the GM) fun is just as important as the players.