Questions to ask my players-Making sure I am still a good DM

[zipben]

Hey folksIn the interest of becoming the best DM I can possibly be I am making a small survey that players can respond to after each game. Over the next few weeks I am going to be revamping my planning techniques and introducing some new DMing strategies from Slyflourishes Lazy Dungeon Master, and I want to make sure that I am not negatively impacting my game. I asked my players to come up with some guiding questions that highlight what is important about our game for them, but I thought you folks might have some other ideas for questions that I could include in my survey that would help me get a read on whether or not the changes I am making are good or bad. Obviously I can just ask my players, but I am a data driven person and would love to be able to monitor changes long term in some sort of consistent way. In the interest of keeping the survey concise I would prefer questions that are either yes/no, or can be answered on a 1-10 scale.

 

[Attila.Herrera]

Hard to say without knowing the edition, but here are a few ideas.

• Duration of combat, where 10 is too long, and 1 is too short
• Difficulty of combat
• How useful a character feels to the party dynamic
• How much a character enjoys their class
• How much agency a player feels they have
• Did they feel adequately rewarded for the encounters they resolved

I feel it would be really hard for a player to rate how much they enjoyed role playing in a numerical numbers, as well what specific NPC's or Locations they liked. I wouldn't recommend rating them, but you could list down any important NPC's that appear in a session and have them rate that NPC's charm, or how memorable that NPC was. I suppose you could have a simple 'Did you like X as an NPC' or 'Did you like X as a villian'.

Hope this helps!

 

[zipben]

That was super helpful. My game is 5e. I would have put it in that forum but I thought there might be a bit more variety from the general dnd.

 

[Grogg of the North]

When I DM, I periodically send out emails to the group asking for feedback. All I ask is:

1) What did you like?
2) What did you dislike?
3) What would you have done differently?

 

[was]

A five point scale would probably be easier. List your GM attributes and allow them to rate how well they think you are performing in each area. Maybe something like: on a scale from 1 to 5 (with one being unsuccessfull and five being very successful) how well do you think I _____? (i.e. incorporate storytelling into the session, adjudicate player conflicts, handle combat).

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Rank 1-5, 1 being "Meh", 5 being "Absolutely yes".
Then ask what the players want to see at the table. So long as they get what they want, they'll consider you a good DM:
What do you enjoy most? Role playing (npc encounters), Combat, Exploration/problem solving (rank each)
What would you like to see more of (same list)?
Do you feel your character's backstory is being used fully?
Do you think your character gets enough spotlight time per session?
Do you feel your character/the party is being challenged enough?
Comment: anything specific you want to achieve for your character - short term (1-3 sessions ahead)
Comment: anything specific you want to achieve for your character - long term

 

[Grogg of the North]

I would add this question in, too.

Are you having fun?

Because, that's the reason you're at the table, right?

 

[GMMichael]

The best questions have been suggested. I include another one to help me prepare the next game:

"What does your character want to do next session?"

 

[fba827]

Do you feel like your character is useful/making an impact in the party?

what percentage of time of the next few sessions would you want want devoted to the combat pillar of the game? The exploration pillar? The interaction pillar?

Do you feel the dm was 'fair and impartial' in adjudicating any rules or situational results last session?

Did you feel everything was described clearly enough last session?

Did you feel options and opportunities were highlighted enough last session?

 

[Li Shenron]

Hey folksIn the interest of becoming the best DM I can possibly be I am making a small survey that players can respond to after each game. Over the next few weeks I am going to be revamping my planning techniques and introducing some new DMing strategies from Slyflourishes Lazy Dungeon Master, and I want to make sure that I am not negatively impacting my game. I asked my players to come up with some guiding questions that highlight what is important about our game for them, but I thought you folks might have some other ideas for questions that I could include in my survey that would help me get a read on whether or not the changes I am making are good or bad. Obviously I can just ask my players, but I am a data driven person and would love to be able to monitor changes long term in some sort of consistent way. In the interest of keeping the survey concise I would prefer questions that are either yes/no, or can be answered on a 1-10 scale.

IMHO there is really only one thing you should always ask your gaming group, if you haven't already done it because in general it should be agreed before starting to play

You should ask them what they expect from the game in terms of player characters mortality.

Some people will hate the game (or you) if their PC dies. Some people will accept it only if it's their fault. Others only if it's dice fault. A few people might be fine with dying easily and having to create a new PC often. Do not wait until someone dies before knowing what your players want