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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Odhanan" data-source="post: 3115653" data-attributes="member: 12324">It's all a question of adaptability. Maybe the way we define "experienced" DMs was wrong all along. Maybe the experience of a DM isn't only about knowing the rules, how many games the guy ran, an extensive culture or how many years he ran this or that successful campaign. Maybe an "experienced" DM is someone who learns how to adapt to different styles of players/genres/playstyles and can provide a high ratio of satisfaction and entertainment in most cases.Adaptability in RPGs is hard to learn. It requires a GM to stop thinking in terms of his/her years of expertise at running a game or a precise game style, stop in his/her tracks and think that the games that s/he ran before, even though they might have been great for the people involved, do not represent a panacea to the practice of RPGs. Heck, to stop pretending s/he knows how something alien to his/her gaming style works when s/he truly doesn't enjoy it (I come to believe that if one doesn't like this or that aspect of RPGs, it's not so much about tastes as it is about the understanding of this particular aspect of the hobby).  Or, in other, simpler words, it requires a GM to swallow his ego and think in objective terms. RPGs are not optimal tools to promote objectivity. A GM's position is very much about ego and self-accomplishment. Entertaining people, be a good host, create the coolest campaign ever... it's all about shining as a person. It's about being in the spotlight in many ways.That's where, I think, the problem comes from, because after years of running RPGs, GMs start to think of themselves as experts, that there's nothing left to learn for them, which couldn't be more wrong in my own experience. Variations are good. Running games for different types of players is good. If I may be a bit "Don Quichotte" too, it's certainly good to introduce new people to the game regularly, or for players to become GMs at least once in a while. This all develops an understanding of the hobby as a whole and the different roles people have at the game table. In the end, it makes the whole game experience all the more intense and enjoyable for the people involved, in my opinion.In the end, I agree with Mike: "I suspect that, in many cases, DMs who need to change how they do things just ignore the advice to change (that's why they're bad at what they do, they ignore opportunities to improve)." Being individually aware of this is the way to start improvements.</blockquote>

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