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<blockquote data-quote="Luce" data-source="post: 6138196" data-attributes="member: 29760">The&nbsp; usual disclaimer: Not edition waring. Please keep it on topic etc.I think with each subsequent edition there was (at least) an attempt to improve the science of DM-ing. I would acknowledge that not everyone likes the changes in the rules. Lets leave it at that as this not what this thread is about.I wish to discuss the support and advice beyond the one presented in the core (3) rulebooks that each edition have. My list is by no means complete or exhaustive, just a staring point. Also since many of the advice is not as firmly tied to specific game system (or edition) it can have wide appeal.All: Dragon Magazine. From the beginning there had been the occasional article on how to be better at gaming beyond the rules. There is even a column called &quot;Dungeoncraft&quot; Examples are numerous, but here is a small sample (retrieved from <a href="http://www.aeolia.net/dragondex/articles-subject.html#d" target="_blank">http://www.aeolia.net/dragondex/articles-subject.html#d</a>) &quot;Article&quot; Author Issue(page)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Beyond the Rule Book&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Lewis Pulsipher&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 75(38)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Five Keys To DMing Success&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Mike Beeman&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 80(14)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;GM's Ten Commandments, The&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Rig Volny&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 122(44)&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Way We Really Play, The&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tom Armstrong&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 106(38)&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Out of Character: DMing As An Artform&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Peter Adkison&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 250(24)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Referee's Code of Honor, The&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; John Setzer&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 184(33)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;D&amp;D Is Only As Good As the DM&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Gary Gygax&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; SR7(22)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Be Nice To Your Referee&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Stewart Robertson&nbsp; &nbsp; 188(16)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Best DMs Will Look Further Than the Book, The&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tom Armstrong&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 52(62)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Improve With Improv&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jason Strasser&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 226(28)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Preparing To Improvise&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Johnn Four&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 298(94)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Dungeon Mastery&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Ed Carmien&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 239(78)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;To Err Is Human, To Repair Divine&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Lewis Pulsipher&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 52(61)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Negotiating With Your DM&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Robin Laws&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 303(98)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Organization Is Everything&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Richard Hunt&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 196(30)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Dungeon Mastery&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Troy Daniels&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 235(91)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Trouble At the Table&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Robin D. Laws&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 298(98)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;How Do You Rate As a DM?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; DeAnn Iwan&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 43(20)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;When Choosing a DM, Be Choosy!&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Fred Zimmerman&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 48(28)&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; People who had been keeping with <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?239789-Let-s-read-the-entire-run" target="_blank">http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?239789-Let-s-read-the-entire-run</a> should be able to list many more.1e. In the latter 80s Gary wrote two books &quot;Role-playing mastery&quot; and &quot;Master of the Game&quot; both of which offered advise on the art. Some topics covered: Problem players, Problems that DM faces, How to keep people motivated and engaged2e. There was the &quot;Rules supplements&quot; line. While there were 8 books only 3 are relavent for this discusion:A)&quot;Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide&quot; Some good advice that should probably been included in the DMG such as &quot;do not railroad&quot;, allow for cooperative camaign building and how to deal with problematic players.B)&quot;The Complete Book of Villains&quot; Lot of system neutral advice on how to make the big bad both believable and memorable. Specialized yes, but a well contracted villain (or group)&nbsp; can be a centerpiece around which a campagn is build.C)&quot;Creative Campaigning&quot; Actually I do not own this book, but from what I rememeber from skimming through back in the day it did contain DM advice on how to make one;s campaigh unique and tailored to the group.3e. The DMG 2 guide did contain some useful advice on how to identify players preferences and engage their interests. Thas was the time of 3pp, so there are probably many I have not seen. To get us started here are three that have leaved me personally impressed:&quot;Advanced Gamemaster's Guide&quot; advice on world building and keeping peace at the table.&quot;Villain Design Handbook&quot; Details different emotional archetypes and organization placement. Surprisingly little overlap with the 2e book above.The two complement each other nicely.4e. DMG 2 (since I said I will talk about books beyond the core 3) It has a chapter called&nbsp; &quot;Group Storytelling&quot; with advice on pacing and tailoring the game to the player preferences. A particular part I like is the talk of how to solicited and incorporate player suggestion into the campaign, without unbalancing or granting unfair advantages.So what about you? Which books do you peruse in the quest to perfect you GM-ing skills?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Luce, post: 6138196, member: 29760"] The usual disclaimer: Not edition waring. Please keep it on topic etc. I think with each subsequent edition there was (at least) an attempt to improve the science of DM-ing. I would acknowledge that not everyone likes the changes in the rules. Lets leave it at that as this not what this thread is about. I wish to discuss the support and advice beyond the one presented in the core (3) rulebooks that each edition have. My list is by no means complete or exhaustive, just a staring point. Also since many of the advice is not as firmly tied to specific game system (or edition) it can have wide appeal. All: Dragon Magazine. From the beginning there had been the occasional article on how to be better at gaming beyond the rules. There is even a column called "Dungeoncraft" Examples are numerous, but here is a small sample (retrieved from [URL]http://www.aeolia.net/dragondex/articles-subject.html#d[/URL])[B] "Article" Author Issue(page)[/B] "Beyond the Rule Book" Lewis Pulsipher 75(38) "Five Keys To DMing Success" Mike Beeman 80(14) "GM's Ten Commandments, The" Rig Volny 122(44) "Way We Really Play, The" Tom Armstrong 106(38) "Out of Character: DMing As An Artform" Peter Adkison 250(24) "Referee's Code of Honor, The" John Setzer 184(33) "D&D Is Only As Good As the DM" Gary Gygax SR7(22) "Be Nice To Your Referee" Stewart Robertson 188(16) "Best DMs Will Look Further Than the Book, The" Tom Armstrong 52(62) "Improve With Improv" Jason Strasser 226(28) "Preparing To Improvise" Johnn Four 298(94) "Dungeon Mastery" Ed Carmien 239(78) "To Err Is Human, To Repair Divine" Lewis Pulsipher 52(61) "Negotiating With Your DM" Robin Laws 303(98) "Organization Is Everything" Richard Hunt 196(30) "Dungeon Mastery" Troy Daniels 235(91) "Trouble At the Table" Robin D. Laws 298(98) "How Do You Rate As a DM?" DeAnn Iwan 43(20) "When Choosing a DM, Be Choosy!" Fred Zimmerman 48(28) People who had been keeping with [URL]http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?239789-Let-s-read-the-entire-run[/URL] should be able to list many more. 1e. In the latter 80s Gary wrote two books "Role-playing mastery" and "Master of the Game" both of which offered advise on the art. Some topics covered: Problem players, Problems that DM faces, How to keep people motivated and engaged 2e. There was the "Rules supplements" line. While there were 8 books only 3 are relavent for this discusion: A)[SIZE=2]"Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide[/SIZE]" Some good advice that should probably been included in the DMG such as "do not railroad", allow for cooperative camaign building and how to deal with problematic players. B)[SIZE=2]"The Complete Book of Villains[/SIZE]" Lot of system neutral advice on how to make the big bad both believable and memorable. Specialized yes, but a well contracted villain (or group) can be a centerpiece around which a campagn is build. C)"[SIZE=2]Creative Campaigning[/SIZE]" Actually I do not own this book, but from what I rememeber from skimming through back in the day it did contain DM advice on how to make one;s campaigh unique and tailored to the group. 3e. The DMG 2 guide did contain some useful advice on how to identify players preferences and engage their interests. Thas was the time of 3pp, so there are probably many I have not seen. To get us started here are three that have leaved me personally impressed[SIZE=2]: "Advanced Gamemaster's Guide[/SIZE]" advice on world building and keeping peace at the table. "Villain Design Handbook" Details different emotional archetypes and organization placement. Surprisingly little overlap with the 2e book above.The two complement each other nicely. 4e. DMG 2 (since I said I will talk about books beyond the core 3) It has a chapter called "Group Storytelling" with advice on pacing and tailoring the game to the player preferences. A particular part I like is the talk of how to solicited and incorporate player suggestion into the campaign, without unbalancing or granting unfair advantages. So what about you? Which books do you peruse in the quest to perfect you GM-ing skills? [/QUOTE]

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