How can DMs improve? What makes a good DM?
just__al
First Post
My biggest piece of advice. Listen to your players speculate amoungst themselves. When they "figure out" something about what's going on and it makes sense, seriously consider it actually being what's going on (or at least 80% true)
They will feel all smart for figuring out the plot, you will have looked like you planned more than you did and the world will appear all that more real.
That being said don't forget the 20% false bit.
The big example I give.. My players ran afoul of a sorceror and his vampire father at 1st level. They unwittingly helped the sorceror find his father and unstake him. They kept the rather weak (at that time) father at bey with holy symbols and he fled.
Later they found out the father was a cleric and wondered out loud how he became a vampire. They figured he may have been a vampire hunter who's luck ran out. I decided that was a wonderful idea and I stole it. When the final battle came the Vampire gave them a HELL of a fight but he didn't drop the big bombs because deep down he wanted them to succeed but didn't want to "die" either.
They will feel all smart for figuring out the plot, you will have looked like you planned more than you did and the world will appear all that more real.
That being said don't forget the 20% false bit.
The big example I give.. My players ran afoul of a sorceror and his vampire father at 1st level. They unwittingly helped the sorceror find his father and unstake him. They kept the rather weak (at that time) father at bey with holy symbols and he fled.
Later they found out the father was a cleric and wondered out loud how he became a vampire. They figured he may have been a vampire hunter who's luck ran out. I decided that was a wonderful idea and I stole it. When the final battle came the Vampire gave them a HELL of a fight but he didn't drop the big bombs because deep down he wanted them to succeed but didn't want to "die" either.
BlackSilver
First Post
Prepare for everything, and expect your Players to do something that you are unprepared for them to do.
At least one fight per session, but starting with one, having one in the middle, and ending with one is a really good start.
Be patient.
Make your Players laugh. If you can get one to shot soda from his nose you know its a good session, cause everyone laughs at that.
Know your Players, don't GM for what they don't want to play.
At least one fight per session, but starting with one, having one in the middle, and ending with one is a really good start.
Be patient.
Make your Players laugh. If you can get one to shot soda from his nose you know its a good session, cause everyone laughs at that.
Know your Players, don't GM for what they don't want to play.
Odhanan
Adventurer
1/ Everyone's here to have fun. This means not just you and your "right way" of gaming.
2/ Listen to your players. Know your players. They have tastes. You're here to be a good host and make them feel comfortable. Fulfil their desires but make them earn their pleasure.
These are the keys to "good" game mastering.
2/ Listen to your players. Know your players. They have tastes. You're here to be a good host and make them feel comfortable. Fulfil their desires but make them earn their pleasure.
These are the keys to "good" game mastering.
Hjorimir
Adventurer
I often look at these DM threads and think how much pressure there is to perform. Where does the pressure come from? I'm guessing from us as much as from the players. There are layers and layers of skills that attribute to strong DMing. As it is something I've done quite a bit over the decades - damn, I'm old - this is a topic that's been pretty close to my heart. How does a DM improve? What makes for a great game?
When I look at those two questions together I see a hidden truth: A great DM or Campaign is subject to tastes. So, what is good for one group of gamers may not necessarily be good for the next.
Am I a great DM? I'm not sure. Some of my players think so and that's enough to make me happy and continue running games. There have been a lot of very insightful tips in this thread already, which advocate anything from mechanical knowledge of the game system to having strong people skills. They're all right. However, one of the things that mark how a DM will be judged is how great the actual campaign is and there is a hidden factor there, which without you will never have a great campaign. What is the secret ingredient? I will tell you:
It is having great players.
I don't care how much of your blood, sweat, and tears go into preparation and study, without great players your game will be bland. I am quite blessed with some extremely insightful, talented, and fun-loving players. They allow themselves to be sold on my ideas. They accept the verisimilitude of the setting. They get involved with the plots. They care.
I have quite a bit of dialog with most of my players outside the game about my gaming philosophies. Why I make certain decisions. It helps us get on the same page and sets us up all for success. Recently I wanted to run a different game for a change as we’ve played a LOT of D&D since the release of 3E. But my players are not really ready to play something different. One player even said, “You’re a victim of your own success…everybody wants to play in one of [Hjorimir’s] epic D&D games, not something else!”
I had to digest that and think about it. While it was a very flattering compliment I realized that I have become trapped. As long as D&D is the only game my players want to play they will never be as passionate about anything different. Without that passion any other campaign will be flat in comparison. I know a good thing when I see it and having friends over who love the game they are playing is worth its weight in gold.
Anyway, I've rambled enough and I would be surprised if this response is read in its entirety by many. Taking all of what was said here (and elsewhere) I would say combining the many suggestions together in order to give everybody the very best shot at a memorable, enjoyable gaming experience is more art than skill.
In order to offer at least SOMETHING of worth to the thread I will leave you with this nugget: Don’t discount the value of players upset with a character loss or death as it suggests that you’ve at least created something worth caring about; it isn’t always about capitulating to the player’s wishes as they often only see the here and now of a campaign and not what lies ahead…you have to know when and how to say no. Granted, this is easier if you have the player’s trust.
I’m a very lucky DM.
When I look at those two questions together I see a hidden truth: A great DM or Campaign is subject to tastes. So, what is good for one group of gamers may not necessarily be good for the next.
Am I a great DM? I'm not sure. Some of my players think so and that's enough to make me happy and continue running games. There have been a lot of very insightful tips in this thread already, which advocate anything from mechanical knowledge of the game system to having strong people skills. They're all right. However, one of the things that mark how a DM will be judged is how great the actual campaign is and there is a hidden factor there, which without you will never have a great campaign. What is the secret ingredient? I will tell you:
It is having great players.
I don't care how much of your blood, sweat, and tears go into preparation and study, without great players your game will be bland. I am quite blessed with some extremely insightful, talented, and fun-loving players. They allow themselves to be sold on my ideas. They accept the verisimilitude of the setting. They get involved with the plots. They care.
I have quite a bit of dialog with most of my players outside the game about my gaming philosophies. Why I make certain decisions. It helps us get on the same page and sets us up all for success. Recently I wanted to run a different game for a change as we’ve played a LOT of D&D since the release of 3E. But my players are not really ready to play something different. One player even said, “You’re a victim of your own success…everybody wants to play in one of [Hjorimir’s] epic D&D games, not something else!”
I had to digest that and think about it. While it was a very flattering compliment I realized that I have become trapped. As long as D&D is the only game my players want to play they will never be as passionate about anything different. Without that passion any other campaign will be flat in comparison. I know a good thing when I see it and having friends over who love the game they are playing is worth its weight in gold.
Anyway, I've rambled enough and I would be surprised if this response is read in its entirety by many. Taking all of what was said here (and elsewhere) I would say combining the many suggestions together in order to give everybody the very best shot at a memorable, enjoyable gaming experience is more art than skill.
In order to offer at least SOMETHING of worth to the thread I will leave you with this nugget: Don’t discount the value of players upset with a character loss or death as it suggests that you’ve at least created something worth caring about; it isn’t always about capitulating to the player’s wishes as they often only see the here and now of a campaign and not what lies ahead…you have to know when and how to say no. Granted, this is easier if you have the player’s trust.
I’m a very lucky DM.
DungeonmasterCal
First Post
jdrakeh said:You have described my ideal GM! Sadly, in 10+ years of gaming, I have only ever met four (including myself) who seem to take this approach. I think it is quite possible that I have merely lived in all the wrong places
Yup...you have. Cuz that's my style of DMing right there.
These are all great suggestions.
I think that my biggest improvement came when I started making changes in the way i built up my campaign. I used to prepare so much that I didn't leave enough room for the players to do some of the crazy things they like to do and it occasionally lead to me forcing something that didn't quite fit (The local lord needs to be the PCs good friend for this next adventure to work, but the PCs very recently ticked him off...bigtime, things like that). What I've come up with is creating very big, broad strokes for my story lines and filling in the details as i go or at least only when things get closer.
For example, in the campaign I'm running right now I know that the group should get in good with the local lord and become his friend, but that's all I know at the moment. I have no major adventures set up based on this need yet because they may not get in good with him and it's going to take a bit for them to develop that reputation.
I've also learned that you need to have multiple story lines running at the same time. That way if the PCs do something unexpected, you can simply shift the focus from one story line to another.
Again, for example, I recently finished a campaign where I had at least 3 major story lines going on at the same time (a local lord who had assassination attempts coming his direction, one evil guy trying to collect several artifacts, and a mystery woman who lost her memory). After several adventures focused on the story line, the group decided to no longer persue the artifacts. All I had to do was increase the frequency of the assassination attempts while I figured out what to do to fill the void.
Finally, when the players give you something to work with.....run with it. I had a player (playing a cleric) once begin an ongoing argument with the head of a local temple (of his clerics deity). I had never intended for this to amount to anything, but it got to be such a normal thing that I decided to make a storyline out of it. The head of the temple all of a sudden turned away from his faith, but managed to stay on at the temple thru the use of magic and deception. The player figured this out after a while and took the guy down.
Working on my campaign creation and story lines, especially being flexible with those storylines, have really improved my game according to my players and I think in one case it has made the difference between that player staying or leaving the group.
later
I think that my biggest improvement came when I started making changes in the way i built up my campaign. I used to prepare so much that I didn't leave enough room for the players to do some of the crazy things they like to do and it occasionally lead to me forcing something that didn't quite fit (The local lord needs to be the PCs good friend for this next adventure to work, but the PCs very recently ticked him off...bigtime, things like that). What I've come up with is creating very big, broad strokes for my story lines and filling in the details as i go or at least only when things get closer.
For example, in the campaign I'm running right now I know that the group should get in good with the local lord and become his friend, but that's all I know at the moment. I have no major adventures set up based on this need yet because they may not get in good with him and it's going to take a bit for them to develop that reputation.
I've also learned that you need to have multiple story lines running at the same time. That way if the PCs do something unexpected, you can simply shift the focus from one story line to another.
Again, for example, I recently finished a campaign where I had at least 3 major story lines going on at the same time (a local lord who had assassination attempts coming his direction, one evil guy trying to collect several artifacts, and a mystery woman who lost her memory). After several adventures focused on the story line, the group decided to no longer persue the artifacts. All I had to do was increase the frequency of the assassination attempts while I figured out what to do to fill the void.
Finally, when the players give you something to work with.....run with it. I had a player (playing a cleric) once begin an ongoing argument with the head of a local temple (of his clerics deity). I had never intended for this to amount to anything, but it got to be such a normal thing that I decided to make a storyline out of it. The head of the temple all of a sudden turned away from his faith, but managed to stay on at the temple thru the use of magic and deception. The player figured this out after a while and took the guy down.
Working on my campaign creation and story lines, especially being flexible with those storylines, have really improved my game according to my players and I think in one case it has made the difference between that player staying or leaving the group.
later
Joshua Randall
Legend
Read the Dungeon Master's Guide II. It has some excellent advice on DM'ing.
Read Johnn Four's website, www.roleplayingtips.com . There is enough information there to keep you busy for months.
Read Monte Cook's "Dungeoncraft" articles (in Dungeon magazine).
Read Johnn Four's website, www.roleplayingtips.com . There is enough information there to keep you busy for months.
Read Monte Cook's "Dungeoncraft" articles (in Dungeon magazine).
JoeGKushner
First Post
It's hard to improve your skills as a GM. People tend to fall into ruts of certain styles imagining that they're way is a glorious path to adventure salvation and that while other styles from other GMs may be good, that they'll be damned if they're going to change!
Now I'm not saying I'm above that. I tend to have a certain feel about the game in terms of it's morality and good vs evil and that I'm not running a game of PvP.
To become a better GM, one should be ready to admit that it sometimes takes a little money and a little help.
1. Miniatures: You can argue with me all day till you're blue in the face, but the looks on players faces when they see a miniature that is a pretty good representation of the monster they're fighting, or of their own character, is worth some DM points. Having terrain and other bits are also great things and help players get a sense of where they're at and what their characters are doing. I'm not saying by any means that they're mandatory or that you can't be a good DM without them, but they are useful.
2. Game Aids: Having little things like initiative cards to track initiative, or a white board numbered where you put the character's names when they roll, or some life point beads of different color to represent you're spells or index cards foled with the spell effects on them that you throw out when it's case, are all useful.
3. Be Open: This is the hardest thign to do because it in essence means you have to admit that there may be something you're doing that is not meeting the group's expectations. If you're running a power game and everyone wants puzzles, you could be the best damn power game GM in the world and it won't matter. This could be a simple case of your style vs. their style, in which case, it's time to step down.
4. Be prepared: This doesn't necessarily have to be tons of notes and written encounters, but you should know what your group is capable of and plan for it. If you GM by the seat of your pants, you should have names, locations, and commonly used monsters written dwon so that you're not bit in the butt when it comes time to find out something or to do something.
5. Start from the Core: I've seen players try to DM after only being players and at the same time, introduce dozens of variant game play concepts. For me, this gets back to the thing they tell an artists. don't show me you know how to take away Y and add Z until you get the basics down. Until you've run a few games from the core and know the rules from the basic stance, you shouldn't be adding and subtracting a lot of alternative rules and then expecting it all to run without issues.
Now I'm not saying I'm above that. I tend to have a certain feel about the game in terms of it's morality and good vs evil and that I'm not running a game of PvP.
To become a better GM, one should be ready to admit that it sometimes takes a little money and a little help.
1. Miniatures: You can argue with me all day till you're blue in the face, but the looks on players faces when they see a miniature that is a pretty good representation of the monster they're fighting, or of their own character, is worth some DM points. Having terrain and other bits are also great things and help players get a sense of where they're at and what their characters are doing. I'm not saying by any means that they're mandatory or that you can't be a good DM without them, but they are useful.
2. Game Aids: Having little things like initiative cards to track initiative, or a white board numbered where you put the character's names when they roll, or some life point beads of different color to represent you're spells or index cards foled with the spell effects on them that you throw out when it's case, are all useful.
3. Be Open: This is the hardest thign to do because it in essence means you have to admit that there may be something you're doing that is not meeting the group's expectations. If you're running a power game and everyone wants puzzles, you could be the best damn power game GM in the world and it won't matter. This could be a simple case of your style vs. their style, in which case, it's time to step down.
4. Be prepared: This doesn't necessarily have to be tons of notes and written encounters, but you should know what your group is capable of and plan for it. If you GM by the seat of your pants, you should have names, locations, and commonly used monsters written dwon so that you're not bit in the butt when it comes time to find out something or to do something.
5. Start from the Core: I've seen players try to DM after only being players and at the same time, introduce dozens of variant game play concepts. For me, this gets back to the thing they tell an artists. don't show me you know how to take away Y and add Z until you get the basics down. Until you've run a few games from the core and know the rules from the basic stance, you shouldn't be adding and subtracting a lot of alternative rules and then expecting it all to run without issues.
Odhanan
Adventurer
There's so much DMing goodness in this thread it's hard to pick up the gems. Actually, everything we said here is great. The last bits that stole my attention:
My DMing style right there. Add the mapping out/building of areas with Dwarven Forge, but with a key that may change according to the way the game unfolds, and this is it when it comes to D&D, specifically (I run games differently with every RPG I run).
Best post so far IMO: Joe's. His pieces of advice are really worthwhile.
One piece of advice I may add: you've never finished reading and knowing the rules. Ever. This applies especially to the Dungeon Master's Guide. So many people assume they know this book, when in fact they do not. Misconceptions about the XP Charts and what CRs represent, advice to set up dungeons (when people assume it's like 1st Edition because it uses the word "dungeon" ), I could go on forever. Get back to the core every once in a while. Refresh your memory and focus your attention on what makes the game fun, not what you wish was fun.
My DMing style right there. Add the mapping out/building of areas with Dwarven Forge, but with a key that may change according to the way the game unfolds, and this is it when it comes to D&D, specifically (I run games differently with every RPG I run).
Best post so far IMO: Joe's. His pieces of advice are really worthwhile.
One piece of advice I may add: you've never finished reading and knowing the rules. Ever. This applies especially to the Dungeon Master's Guide. So many people assume they know this book, when in fact they do not. Misconceptions about the XP Charts and what CRs represent, advice to set up dungeons (when people assume it's like 1st Edition because it uses the word "dungeon" ), I could go on forever. Get back to the core every once in a while. Refresh your memory and focus your attention on what makes the game fun, not what you wish was fun.
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