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<blockquote data-quote="Sacrosanct" data-source="post: 7437747" data-attributes="member: 15700"><p>We often talk about different player preferences, and while there is some overlap into DMing, we don't really talk about DM preferences in the context of what do you feel are the best traits of good DMs. On the surface, you'd think it would be obvious, but because we all want different things as players, I suspect we'll have different opinions on what makes a good DM. So I propose a poll. I only have one choice, because I'd like to see what really stands out if you're forced to choose, and if I allowed multiple choices, it would be muddied because all of these are pretty important (well, maybe all but one <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> </p><p></p><p>What do I hope to get from this? As a long time DM, I have a notion of what I think the most important traits are, and I'm guessing there might be a few popular answers I didn't think of, and that will help me be a better DM myself by placing more focus on those. Also, apparently there are only two people on this forum who have more XP than me (Morrus and Gary Gygax himself), so I'm pimping myself out to catch Morrus. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> I'm kidding of course, I really am curious to see how people view good DM traits lol.</p><p></p><p><strong>The poll options are:</strong></p><p></p><p><em>Organization</em>: Does the DM have the adventure memorized, papers in order, bookmarks, maps and minis organized, etc</p><p><em>Communication ability</em>: Can the DM communicate the adventure well, and articulate his or her thoughts effectively. Can the DM listen well to different styles of the players themselves</p><p><em>Letting players from the story</em>: Regardless of what the adventure says, is the DM willing to change all of that if the players want to do things differently. Do the players dictate more of what's going on in the game world. More of a shared story, as opposed to the players only controlling their own PC</p><p><em>Being a fair referee (objective)</em>: Regardless of anything else, is the DM fair and impartial, even if it means things might not go the way the players want.</p><p><em>Game knowledge</em>: The DM knows all or most of the rules, how things work, and has intimate knowledge of the setting</p><p><em>Storytelling</em>: Does the DM do a great job telling the story. More narrative than the above choice of players telling the story, and the story takes precedence over the dice rolls determining outcome</p><p><em>World Master/Creativity</em>: The DM runs a really good living world, where NPCs and monsters act and behave like living creatures, often independent of whatever the PCs might have been doing. The world is there to explore, and the PCs have the responsibility to take care. I.e., the DM won't remove the clan of ogres living in the hills just because the level 1 PCs decided to venture up there.</p><p><em>Reliability</em>: Does the DM always show up to sessions, and on time?</p><p><em>Player incorporation</em>: Does the DM make an active effort to incorporate all players into the game equally? Whether it be doing things to allow every PC to shine, or actually engaging players themselves who might not be so forward to contribute because they don't have the stronger personalities of the group</p><p><em>Prone to bribes</em>: Give the DM some food, good things will happen to your PC</p><p><em>Adaptability</em>: Unplanned things happen. This DM is good at changing things on the fly and making the adventure continue smoothly</p><p><em>Acting</em>: The DM brings life to the NPCs' personalities, and does a great job setting the atmosphere of the adventure</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sacrosanct, post: 7437747, member: 15700"] We often talk about different player preferences, and while there is some overlap into DMing, we don't really talk about DM preferences in the context of what do you feel are the best traits of good DMs. On the surface, you'd think it would be obvious, but because we all want different things as players, I suspect we'll have different opinions on what makes a good DM. So I propose a poll. I only have one choice, because I'd like to see what really stands out if you're forced to choose, and if I allowed multiple choices, it would be muddied because all of these are pretty important (well, maybe all but one ;) What do I hope to get from this? As a long time DM, I have a notion of what I think the most important traits are, and I'm guessing there might be a few popular answers I didn't think of, and that will help me be a better DM myself by placing more focus on those. Also, apparently there are only two people on this forum who have more XP than me (Morrus and Gary Gygax himself), so I'm pimping myself out to catch Morrus. :D I'm kidding of course, I really am curious to see how people view good DM traits lol. [B]The poll options are:[/B] [I]Organization[/I]: Does the DM have the adventure memorized, papers in order, bookmarks, maps and minis organized, etc [I]Communication ability[/I]: Can the DM communicate the adventure well, and articulate his or her thoughts effectively. Can the DM listen well to different styles of the players themselves [I]Letting players from the story[/I]: Regardless of what the adventure says, is the DM willing to change all of that if the players want to do things differently. Do the players dictate more of what's going on in the game world. More of a shared story, as opposed to the players only controlling their own PC [I]Being a fair referee (objective)[/I]: Regardless of anything else, is the DM fair and impartial, even if it means things might not go the way the players want. [I]Game knowledge[/I]: The DM knows all or most of the rules, how things work, and has intimate knowledge of the setting [I]Storytelling[/I]: Does the DM do a great job telling the story. More narrative than the above choice of players telling the story, and the story takes precedence over the dice rolls determining outcome [I]World Master/Creativity[/I]: The DM runs a really good living world, where NPCs and monsters act and behave like living creatures, often independent of whatever the PCs might have been doing. The world is there to explore, and the PCs have the responsibility to take care. I.e., the DM won't remove the clan of ogres living in the hills just because the level 1 PCs decided to venture up there. [I]Reliability[/I]: Does the DM always show up to sessions, and on time? [I]Player incorporation[/I]: Does the DM make an active effort to incorporate all players into the game equally? Whether it be doing things to allow every PC to shine, or actually engaging players themselves who might not be so forward to contribute because they don't have the stronger personalities of the group [I]Prone to bribes[/I]: Give the DM some food, good things will happen to your PC [I]Adaptability[/I]: Unplanned things happen. This DM is good at changing things on the fly and making the adventure continue smoothly [I]Acting[/I]: The DM brings life to the NPCs' personalities, and does a great job setting the atmosphere of the adventure [/QUOTE]
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