How can DMs improve? What makes a good DM?

[Rel]

By way of credentials, I am a "great GM" "good GM". How do I know this? Because after one of my games at GenCon, Piratecat said, "Scott, you're a great GM." And we all know that PC doesn't lie. Even so, maybe he just caught me on a particularly good night and was being nice. But I'm willing to call myself "good".

There are different kinds of GMing. The two kinds that come to mind for me are "GMing for a regular group" and "GMing one-shot games". They demand slightly different skills but I think that what you learn from one can also help you with the other.

GMing for a regular group is primarily about knowing your players and crafting a game that is fun for them and fun for you. I pimp it all the time but Robin Laws' Robins Laws of Good Gamemastering was a huge turning point for me in terms of "taking my game to the next level" by consciously catering to the specific desires of the players. I am constantly testing our theoretical "player types" to see if we've gotten them right.

This isn't always easy so I recommend trying to PLAY with your group whenever you can too. When you're GMing you often have so much going on that it is hard to observe and process how the players are reacting individually to the game you're putting out there. Hopefully the chance will be presented for somebody else to GM once in a while and you get a chance to watch how they engage with that GM. Watch (and NOTE) the times when they are most "into" the game and also watch for the times they get bored. And make sure that you keep these notes when it comes to yourself as well.

Knowing what kind of player you are will tell you volumes about your own style as a GM. I personally am a bit of a Tactician. My games often have some aspect of tactical consideration that give (or could give) one side or the other a significant advantage in combat. The PC's will need to take advantage of this benefit or try to minimize the benefit gained by the opposition if they want to be as successful as possible in the encounter. This is fun for me.

The trick is that it isn't always as fun for the players. They like it to a point (or else they probably wouldn't want me as a GM) but it isn't their main "kick". And I have to constantly remind myself to moderate my Tactician tendencies with plenty of stuff added for the other player types. That's why it is so important to gain that level of understanding of your players and then give them what they are gaming for.

As an example of what happens when you ignore that, we have a guy in our group who is a Power Gamer. That's fine with me. But he began GMing a campaign about a year or so ago and his GMing style had Power Gamer written all over it. He gave us lots of magic items and XP bonuses. If he was playing in his own campaign he would have been THRILLED. But we were not Power Gamers and we were not thrilled. He could not seem to adjust his GMing style to our play styles and the game eventually faltered.

GMing for one-shot games for your regular group is pretty much the same. You know who your players are and what they want. So just do that but take it to the next level. Don't be afraid to be "over the top" with it.

But if your one-shot game is to be run at a Con or Game Day where you may not have met the players before (or if you have you're not as familiar with them as your regular group) then you don't have the advantage of familiarity with their preferred play style. In these situations my advice is to aim for a "Roller Coaster Ride". It should be fast. It should be exciting. It should have ups and downs. It should be on tracks.

I railroad in one-shot games in ways that I'd never dream of doing in a regular campaign. You've got a limited amount of time. You don't know how well some of the players are going to embrace the story or mechanics. You gotta keep things moving. Start things with a bang and keep them moving at a quick pace. Explain the story through showing the PC's things rather than lengthy monologues once the game is going. Don't leave a trail of breadcrumbs from one scene to the next; leave entire loaves of bread. The PC's shouldn't struggle for more than a couple minutes before the next course of action is apparent. And always end things with an exciting conclusion, even if you have to ditch a couple of planned encounters to do so. Pull out all the stops and remember that no explosion is too big for the ending of a one-shot game.

I strongly encourage all GM's to attend Game Days and Cons if they can. Running one-shot games, if nothing else, gives you a chance to do something different, which can go a long way toward staving off GM burnout. Or if you're currently a player in your regular group then they give you a chance to exercise your creative muscles (and control freak tendencies) during your "down time" as a GM. And, as has been mentioned by others, PLAY with other GM's, especially those you know or suspect to be very good. I'm a better GM today than I was a year ago thanks to playing in games run by people like Psion, Belen Umeria, Piratecat, Henry and Old One. I learned a lot and had a fun time doing it.

Whether it is a regular campaign or a one-shot, above all, know this: No matter how hard you try, sometimes things will fall flatter than you like. There is simply no way that you can guarantee a Great session every time. These days I'd say that most of the time my weekly games are Good with an occasional Great and a rare Stinker. Those are ratios that I can live with.

 

[Odhanan]

By way of credentials, I am a "great GM" "good GM". How do I know this? Because after one of my games at GenCon, Piratecat said, "Scott, you're a great GM."

Right here, a gem. That's how you know if you're good or not.

 

[Jack of Shadows]

It's important for a DM to know what his group likes, and for him to listen to his group's wants regarding the game. Every good GM adjusts to his players' preferences, and finds a happy medium between what he wants to do and what the players want to do.

The most crucial talent of a good GM, however, is people skills. Good people skills matter more than rules knowledge, more than adventure prep, and more than world-building. A good GM is personable, flexible, easy-going, supportive, descriptive, critical (in the evaluative sense), level-headed, quick-witted, strong-willed, and accomodating of the players' personal tastes. A good GM is not a pushover, a nervous wreck, an arrogant bastard, a rules-lawyer, an adversary, a curmudgeon, a sluggard, or a know-it-all, and most especially, he is not a novelist using the medium to tell "his" story.

The most important thing a GM can do to improve his game is to listen to his players. If players are unhappy, they'll express it one way or another. Know your players well enough to pick up on non-verbal cues and aside comments. An open-minded and humble GM will make the necessary adjustments to increase everyone's fun.

Wow,

This was almost exactly what I was going to say. I feel... redundent.

Jack

 

[shaylon]

I'm not a good a DM.

Um, I hope that this is just referencing what someone may think about themself and not your own opinion of yourself. I think you do a great job and I have learned a lot from watching you.

That said people can always improve. In my group we have had two DMs and another two of us have ran one-shots. I think seeing several people DM has helped me get a better understanding of how I want to run a game. I plan on doing several more one-shots to see how people gauge my improvements before I start running a campaign but I do intend to run a campaign at some point in the future.

-Shay

 

[adwyn]

There was on one website about five years ago, an exhaustive list of activities that would improve your DMing as well as story-telling skills; unfortunately, I have long since lost this web site and its list. It contained things such as:
--Go on a nature walk
--Go horseback riding
--Read certain specific books on Roman and Medieval military life

I too remember that list - something like "100 things every DM should do". I haven't seen it on the net in a while but it was worthwhile. The basic idea is that it is easier for a DM to rely on experience - even a simple one time experience.

 

[Shadowslayer]

1. Understand the basic nature of the particular game you're playing. All RPGs are not the same. D&D, at its root, is essentially about gaining enough resources and experience to power up. And it is reasonable for a player to assume there will be plenty of opportunities to do so. Other games may have a different core idea.

2. Know the rules. and the reasons for them. Don't change them unless the players are on the same page as you. And certainly don't change them until you've gained mastery of the rules as written.

3. Study modules that are professionally developed. Play lots of them before you start developing your own.

4. If you're just starting out, just concentrate on the game....the rules, attacks, movement, damage, skill use etc. Making sure everyone's "roleplaying" is up to snuff can come later after you've mastered them.

5. Understand the flow of information. Start small and build. It's amazing how many experienced DMs will lay down 50 pages of homebrew info and expect you to actually know each detail without having to say "which guy is that again?" or "thats the place to the north with the Lizardmen, right?" This isn't a college course, most guys won't soak up that much info. You can ask them to read it, but don't expect them to KNOW it. IMHO the best D&D stories are fairly straightforward anyway.

6, Gain enough table experience to learn to be your own best critic. You will learn what things youre good at and what things you aren't. Player criticism and advice is fine, but if you're the DM, its your right to run the sort of game you're best equipped to play. There's a sentiment that the DM should adjust to the player's tastes. This is somewhat true, but it only goes so far. They have to adjust to you too.

When it comes to gaining table experience, take notes. After you run a game, write down the stuff that went well (you want to learn from the positives too) And write down the spots where things got clunky...Spots where the players didn't understand exactly what was going on, spots where you had to stop for 10 minutes in the middle of combat to look up a rule, spots where everyone drifted off to sleep, or spots that got slow because you didn't organize propoerly. Try and figure out how to fix those rough patches and how you will apply this knowledge at the next game meet. Repeat till all goes smooth.

Hope this helps

Trev

 

[KRT]

Lots of great advice so far.

Preparing a campaign and for that matter an adventure is like creating a battle plan. It never survives contact with the players intact. That doesn't mean that there is no point to preparation, it just means that after the prep you have to be able to think on your feet and roll with the player's actions. Adaptability is key but requires some sort of loose framework to pivot around. I personally like the suggestion of the broad brush strokes and fill in the details as the party moves about the canvas. I also like to keep the epic storyline intact with key milestones that must be dealt with if not by the PCs then by somebody. Players are often quite intrigued to find out that key events occur around them especially if it forces them to re-assess some of their goals.

 

[Dragonbait]

All of these are great suggestions, so I'll just add this little tidbit:

Warm-up Fight: I find that a minor fight within the earliest stages of a session "wakes up" players and gets them into the mode of rolling and such. I would say put it in within the first 15-30 minutes of a game. It does not need to be a major fight, just a few rounds of bashing. Of course, it can not always be done, and this is not necessary (or reccomended) for RP-intensive groups.

 

[Sidereal Knight]

As someone who recently started GMing again after a long hiatus, I really appreciate threads like these. Any advice that helps me be a better GM will ultimately result in more fun, both for me and my players.

Rel mentioned Robin Laws' Robins Laws of Good Gamemastering. I also found that this booklet changed how I looked at players. I would say that my biggest weakness as a GM lies in the "People Skills", so when I decided to start running a game I also decided to do more to provide what my players want.

We seem to be having fun so far, so that's a good start.

Preparing ahead of time has also made a difference. I have a general outline of the larger plot, and a number of notes on sub-plots and side adventures. I have tried to make notes in the larger outline where character background hooks can be used, or where it would be interesting to take a break from the bigger story and do something on the side.

I would add "Organization" to the list of suggestions. If you know where things are, you get a feeling of confidence... or at least, it's one less thing to worry about. A big notebook, files on a laptop, or a series of notebooks... whatever works for you.

In my case, I have a series of computer files to support the game: the overall outline, important NPCs (both known to the party and those as-yet unknown), character background notes and hooks, and important locations. I also prepare encounter overviews (including stats & possible tactics), but I usually print those out for use during a session.

 

[Rel]

All of these are great suggestions, so I'll just add this little tidbit:

Warm-up Fight: I find that a minor fight within the earliest stages of a session "wakes up" players and gets them into the mode of rolling and such. I would say put it in within the first 15-30 minutes of a game. It does not need to be a major fight, just a few rounds of bashing. Of course, it can not always be done, and this is not necessary (or reccomended) for RP-intensive groups.

One good way to set this up is to END the session with the start of a battle. It sets up the following session to start with a bang.