Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Painfully" data-source="post: 575196" data-attributes="member: 601">DMing is an artform.&nbsp; You have to keep doing it to get better at it, and you need to collect good feedback from your players.&nbsp; There is no substitute for experience.&nbsp; Learning to be a better DM depends a lot on how you interpret and use the feedback you get to improve yourself and the game.Watch other experienced DMs.&nbsp; Especially handy if you visit GenCon or other conventions.&nbsp; Go ahead and play too, but watch how the DM handles things.&nbsp; Watch and learn.&nbsp; You can always get nosey after the session and pick their brains if they let you.&nbsp; Most DMs have no problem sharing how and why they handle things the way they do.Although D&amp;D is NOT storywriting, per se, it contains all it's essential elements.&nbsp; Find good books on storywriting and practice picking apart movies and books that you're reading already.&nbsp; Plot, characters, conflict, foreshadowing, climax, all of those things are important to a good DM.&nbsp; Since the DM is also a bit of a performer, in the sense that he must roleplay many different NPCs, a good book on character development, or acting classes, can be important to help provide variety.&nbsp; Practicing different voices, mannerisms, and maybe having a few different character props handy can really add to the &quot;in character&quot; mood of the game.&nbsp; You're not likely to give quite the performance that an actor might, but your players will appreciate the effort.Suspense.&nbsp; A good D&amp;D game has lots of surprises.&nbsp; Timing yourself for dramatic effect can be just as important as the plot itself.&nbsp; Try to keep your players curious, wondering, hoping, desiring, and occassionally dreading, what is about to happen next.&nbsp; There's just too much more to mention.&nbsp; Pick up a good book on storywriting and see how that goes.&nbsp; It's nothing you probably didn't read about in English class, but promptly forgot after your exam.&nbsp; Do your homework!&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D"&nbsp; data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />&nbsp; And happy DMing!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Painfully, post: 575196, member: 601"] DMing is an artform. You have to keep doing it to get better at it, and you need to collect good feedback from your players. There is no substitute for experience. Learning to be a better DM depends a lot on how you interpret and use the feedback you get to improve yourself and the game. Watch other experienced DMs. Especially handy if you visit GenCon or other conventions. Go ahead and play too, but watch how the DM handles things. Watch and learn. You can always get nosey after the session and pick their brains if they let you. Most DMs have no problem sharing how and why they handle things the way they do. Although D&D is NOT storywriting, per se, it contains all it's essential elements. Find good books on storywriting and practice picking apart movies and books that you're reading already. Plot, characters, conflict, foreshadowing, climax, all of those things are important to a good DM. Since the DM is also a bit of a performer, in the sense that he must roleplay many different NPCs, a good book on character development, or acting classes, can be important to help provide variety. Practicing different voices, mannerisms, and maybe having a few different character props handy can really add to the "in character" mood of the game. You're not likely to give quite the performance that an actor might, but your players will appreciate the effort. Suspense. A good D&D game has lots of surprises. Timing yourself for dramatic effect can be just as important as the plot itself. Try to keep your players curious, wondering, hoping, desiring, and occassionally dreading, what is about to happen next. There's just too much more to mention. Pick up a good book on storywriting and see how that goes. It's nothing you probably didn't read about in English class, but promptly forgot after your exam. Do your homework! :D And happy DMing! [/QUOTE]

Verification