The 5+ Styles of DMing: Contrasted/Compared/Mocked
- Thread starter tonym
- Start date
milotha
First Post
I've found that many times an overplanner can often turn into a railroader when they have too much invested in their precious plot.
The Control Freak: Prevents you from doing anything. Dice rolls at absurd DCs to to anything.
The Puzzler: Puzzles, riddles, mysteries, and traps everywhere.
The Weird-Wacky GM: Everything must be different, not by the book, special, strange. Nothing ordinary. Nothing predictable.
The Control Freak: Prevents you from doing anything. Dice rolls at absurd DCs to to anything.
The Puzzler: Puzzles, riddles, mysteries, and traps everywhere.
The Weird-Wacky GM: Everything must be different, not by the book, special, strange. Nothing ordinary. Nothing predictable.
I think it changes over time. Right now I would say I am 75% Planner (world builder) and 25% winger (story teller). I homebrew new worlds constantly, and I love digging into every aspect of the world, the people and creatures that live on it, and their history. But when it comes time to actually run an adventure I wing a great many of the details. Supporting Characters (complete with name and personality) are made up on the fly, and sometimes I even wing some of the local ecosystem, history, or landscape. Although I do so with a good understanding of the original concept, so the new material fits.
I take detailed notes about any changes I make and incorporate them into my long term material. Supporting Characters that my players seem to enjoy often get fleshed out with statistics, levels, and equipment after a few sessions.
I take detailed notes about any changes I make and incorporate them into my long term material. Supporting Characters that my players seem to enjoy often get fleshed out with statistics, levels, and equipment after a few sessions.
The great thing about "Newbie" GM levels is, you never have to keep them... They always convert to something else!
Even as a Newbie, I was a planner, and an "Adder". I always had to add something to the pot, some little touches that were wholly mine... I guess house rules figure into this, but usually I went the route of new spells and magic items.
Anyway, even as a Newbie I planned and added... Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that PCs always do something unexpected, and that the rules don't cover... If it is something one could attempt in real life (as opposed to leaping the 50' chasm to land upon the ledge, 10' up, on the other side), I saw no reason to say no, so I had to learn to wing it...
I have never been comfortable, as a winger, but eventually became good enough that entire adventures could be made from a pre-planned Random Encounter. In order to "Plan" my way out of winging, as much as possible, I have my "Pack of NPCs", on 3x5 cards, where I have, for example, "Rogue (Thief) 5", "Rogue (Con Artiste) 1", Ranger (Giant/Goblinoid/Orc Tracker) 7", "Barbarian (Tracker) 2", "Paladin (Rider/Healer) 2", etc.... So if I need a Thief to try to "acquire" an item from a seventh level party in the next town, I look through the "Rogue (Thief)" cards for a "7", and have his Pick Pockets/Sleight of Hand score all ready to go. The tables in the DMG, while not as specific, also make this easy... just copy the info onto a 3x5 card, and update the equipment!
So, I guess, now, I have converted all of my Newbie levels to Planner, added a little Winger, and increased my World Builder/Adder skills, a bit. I have always avoided Sadist and Railroader levels, and I think that I have gotten rid of all my Newbie levels, by now... I hope!
Planner: I plan on having fun!
Winger: I hope to have fun!
Sadist: Watch how I kill all the PCs, tonight! It's going to be so cool!
World Builder: The PCs are finally going to find out what they have to do, in order to escape The Forest of Fear, tonight! Boy, are they in for a surprise! I can't wait to see the look on their faces!
Railroad Engineer: We're done with The Forest of Fear, tonight, and we'll be starting up with the Mines of Morvia, next week. I hope Jerry doesn't start up with his Wizards wanting to do spell research, again!
Newbie: I don't know what we'll be doing, next week, yet. I just got the Soulless Citadel module, last week, but a couple of guys have already played in it, and it's all the way across the kingdom from where we are, now, and I don't know how to get them there!
Even as a Newbie, I was a planner, and an "Adder". I always had to add something to the pot, some little touches that were wholly mine... I guess house rules figure into this, but usually I went the route of new spells and magic items.
Anyway, even as a Newbie I planned and added... Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that PCs always do something unexpected, and that the rules don't cover... If it is something one could attempt in real life (as opposed to leaping the 50' chasm to land upon the ledge, 10' up, on the other side), I saw no reason to say no, so I had to learn to wing it...
I have never been comfortable, as a winger, but eventually became good enough that entire adventures could be made from a pre-planned Random Encounter. In order to "Plan" my way out of winging, as much as possible, I have my "Pack of NPCs", on 3x5 cards, where I have, for example, "Rogue (Thief) 5", "Rogue (Con Artiste) 1", Ranger (Giant/Goblinoid/Orc Tracker) 7", "Barbarian (Tracker) 2", "Paladin (Rider/Healer) 2", etc.... So if I need a Thief to try to "acquire" an item from a seventh level party in the next town, I look through the "Rogue (Thief)" cards for a "7", and have his Pick Pockets/Sleight of Hand score all ready to go. The tables in the DMG, while not as specific, also make this easy... just copy the info onto a 3x5 card, and update the equipment!
So, I guess, now, I have converted all of my Newbie levels to Planner, added a little Winger, and increased my World Builder/Adder skills, a bit. I have always avoided Sadist and Railroader levels, and I think that I have gotten rid of all my Newbie levels, by now... I hope!
Planner: I plan on having fun!
Winger: I hope to have fun!
Sadist: Watch how I kill all the PCs, tonight! It's going to be so cool!
World Builder: The PCs are finally going to find out what they have to do, in order to escape The Forest of Fear, tonight! Boy, are they in for a surprise! I can't wait to see the look on their faces!
Railroad Engineer: We're done with The Forest of Fear, tonight, and we'll be starting up with the Mines of Morvia, next week. I hope Jerry doesn't start up with his Wizards wanting to do spell research, again!
Newbie: I don't know what we'll be doing, next week, yet. I just got the Soulless Citadel module, last week, but a couple of guys have already played in it, and it's all the way across the kingdom from where we are, now, and I don't know how to get them there!
WaterRabbit
Explorer
GM evolution
It is kind of interesting that you brought up this thread. I recently just started gaming with a new group and started thinking about GM styles. I have always seen these styles as the evolution of game mastering.
Stage One:
Newbie/Monte Haul/Munchkin: Generally the first campaign a person runs. The mistake here is thinking that handing out lots of loot and easy challenges will keep the players happy. Players eventually get bored and this campaign fails. The evolves to the Sadist.
Stage Two:
Sadist/Winger/Adversary: I classify these together. Determined not to make the mistake of the first game, the GM turns into Scrooge. In these campaigns there is little description given by the GM to the players. Often important details are left out which have the effect of surprising/punishing players. Arbitrary character wrecking decisions are handed out casually with complaints waived away. Combats are mostly run without miniatures because if the players had an accurate layout of the combat they might “win”. These GMs don’t play by rules and fudge die/dice rolls to the outcome they want. I have heard one such GM complain that the v3.5 rules take the GM out of the game. Rulings made in one session can change in the next. When it comes to what is allowed in the game it’s “play my way or the highway”. Character body count is usually high in games run by these GMs – some even brag about it. Once and awhile one these GMs gets exposed to another game such as Storyteller, BESM, etc. and evolve into the Railroader.
Stage Three:
Railroader/Planner/Storyteller: Campaigns run by these GMs are dominated by the setting/story the GM has created. These types of GMs can tell you the weather of any given place in their campaign world and any given time – especially when taken to the extreme. A clear sign of this GM is that their NPCs can do anything and everything – especially if they import a character that they played in someone else’s campaign. Any action taken by a player that interferes with their story and/or setting is nullified in some way shape or form. At some point these GMs start reading the Gameforge message boards or some other source and become Thespians.
Stage Four:
Thespian: The game is decided by the players. The GM is just there to facilitate play. These campaigns feel more like group improvisation/theater. However, without strong GM direction, these campaigns are dominated by one or two players – usually the most charismatic and/or boisterous. Characters seldom have any reason to work together. Rules are stripped down or ignored and dice are rarely used. Every action is decided by “how it feels”. These campaigns usually dissolve because the characters, and thus the players, cannot work together. Those that cannot get the “spotlight” get bored. GMs dissatisfied by this style eventually evolve into the Balanced GM.
Stage Five:
Balanced GM: This GM realizes that everyone at the table wants to have fun. This GM seeks player input before the campaign starts. He encourages the players to create their characters together and gives them hooks to give them a reason to work together. Everyone works together to figure out what rules, materials, and playing style is comfortable. The GM knows that he is still the driving force to keep the game flowing smoothly. He knows the rules and plays by them. He is prepared for each session, but not so over prepared that he is not flexible. At the end of each session he gets a sense from his players as to where they are going and what they might want to do. That way he can prepare material just ahead of them. He doesn’t do so much preparation that he might have to throw it away if the campaign takes a different direction, thus no temptation to railroad. He presents interesting, but not impossible, challenges to the characters. He realizes that RPGs have three types of character challenges (Combat, Technical, Social) and provides all three in each of his sessions. That way every character has a chance to “grab the spotlight”. The goal of this GM is for everyone, himself included, to have fun. This GM allows players to do interesting things and doesn’t unduly penalize players for having imagination. Unfortunately, this type of GM is rare. Not only does he need these skills, but more importantly he needs players that want to take an active role and not just sit back and have the GM entertain them like he is a television.
It is kind of interesting that you brought up this thread. I recently just started gaming with a new group and started thinking about GM styles. I have always seen these styles as the evolution of game mastering.
Stage One:
Newbie/Monte Haul/Munchkin: Generally the first campaign a person runs. The mistake here is thinking that handing out lots of loot and easy challenges will keep the players happy. Players eventually get bored and this campaign fails. The evolves to the Sadist.
Stage Two:
Sadist/Winger/Adversary: I classify these together. Determined not to make the mistake of the first game, the GM turns into Scrooge. In these campaigns there is little description given by the GM to the players. Often important details are left out which have the effect of surprising/punishing players. Arbitrary character wrecking decisions are handed out casually with complaints waived away. Combats are mostly run without miniatures because if the players had an accurate layout of the combat they might “win”. These GMs don’t play by rules and fudge die/dice rolls to the outcome they want. I have heard one such GM complain that the v3.5 rules take the GM out of the game. Rulings made in one session can change in the next. When it comes to what is allowed in the game it’s “play my way or the highway”. Character body count is usually high in games run by these GMs – some even brag about it. Once and awhile one these GMs gets exposed to another game such as Storyteller, BESM, etc. and evolve into the Railroader.
Stage Three:
Railroader/Planner/Storyteller: Campaigns run by these GMs are dominated by the setting/story the GM has created. These types of GMs can tell you the weather of any given place in their campaign world and any given time – especially when taken to the extreme. A clear sign of this GM is that their NPCs can do anything and everything – especially if they import a character that they played in someone else’s campaign. Any action taken by a player that interferes with their story and/or setting is nullified in some way shape or form. At some point these GMs start reading the Gameforge message boards or some other source and become Thespians.
Stage Four:
Thespian: The game is decided by the players. The GM is just there to facilitate play. These campaigns feel more like group improvisation/theater. However, without strong GM direction, these campaigns are dominated by one or two players – usually the most charismatic and/or boisterous. Characters seldom have any reason to work together. Rules are stripped down or ignored and dice are rarely used. Every action is decided by “how it feels”. These campaigns usually dissolve because the characters, and thus the players, cannot work together. Those that cannot get the “spotlight” get bored. GMs dissatisfied by this style eventually evolve into the Balanced GM.
Stage Five:
Balanced GM: This GM realizes that everyone at the table wants to have fun. This GM seeks player input before the campaign starts. He encourages the players to create their characters together and gives them hooks to give them a reason to work together. Everyone works together to figure out what rules, materials, and playing style is comfortable. The GM knows that he is still the driving force to keep the game flowing smoothly. He knows the rules and plays by them. He is prepared for each session, but not so over prepared that he is not flexible. At the end of each session he gets a sense from his players as to where they are going and what they might want to do. That way he can prepare material just ahead of them. He doesn’t do so much preparation that he might have to throw it away if the campaign takes a different direction, thus no temptation to railroad. He presents interesting, but not impossible, challenges to the characters. He realizes that RPGs have three types of character challenges (Combat, Technical, Social) and provides all three in each of his sessions. That way every character has a chance to “grab the spotlight”. The goal of this GM is for everyone, himself included, to have fun. This GM allows players to do interesting things and doesn’t unduly penalize players for having imagination. Unfortunately, this type of GM is rare. Not only does he need these skills, but more importantly he needs players that want to take an active role and not just sit back and have the GM entertain them like he is a television.
I was never a newbie… I suppose I learned well from example. However, I am guilty of being a hard core railroader… Something I learned about myself to late to save my last group. However, that has been remedied.
I would like to fancy myself a Planner/Winger… about 50/50. I plan enough to give the plot body, but leave enough open so the players can create their own path.
I would like to fancy myself a Planner/Winger… about 50/50. I plan enough to give the plot body, but leave enough open so the players can create their own path.
WaterRabbit said:
Quite right... I think it's more unlikely to get a group of players together that actually want to take part then to find a single GM/DM that can bend. The irony is when you have a group that wants to be hand held through the adventure but also want the freedom to say "To hell with it!" and go dragon hunting in the middle of a politically charged who-done-it.
TheAuldGrump
First Post
Planner + Worldbuilder + Storyteller + Sadist (non-lethal, and in my defense the sadism goes with the Storytelling, usually intended to give the PC another piece of the puzzle).)
I plan things out in multiple stages, modifying as the situation changes. First stage - what the antagonists are up to and what they will do if the PCs do not interfere. Stage 2 Antagonists alter their plans to fit new circumstances introduced by the PCs (This is usually where the sadism creeps in.). Stage 3 (optional) Antagonist panics and does something stupid. (This is often where the PCs get to be sadistic in turn.
)
Downside - I can't wing worth a dang! So instead I create 'adventure Mac Nuggets (tm)' things to drop in when needed rather than run off the cuff. I have found Bard's Productions Common Grounds series useful in this regard, being similar to what I myself do.
The Auld Grump
I plan things out in multiple stages, modifying as the situation changes. First stage - what the antagonists are up to and what they will do if the PCs do not interfere. Stage 2 Antagonists alter their plans to fit new circumstances introduced by the PCs (This is usually where the sadism creeps in.). Stage 3 (optional) Antagonist panics and does something stupid. (This is often where the PCs get to be sadistic in turn.
) Downside - I can't wing worth a dang! So instead I create 'adventure Mac Nuggets (tm)' things to drop in when needed rather than run off the cuff. I have found Bard's Productions Common Grounds series useful in this regard, being similar to what I myself do.
The Auld Grump
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I admit it...i'm a strict railroader, but my players don't know it. They think I am the greatest world builder in the world. It's all in the perspective.
An example. I have ten rooms in a dungeon, and alll the rooms are spilled/ statted out. There are two doors near the PC's, one to the right and one to the left. Guess what...either door leads to the same room...as does the door beyond that. It's the illusion of World-building in my campaign. The players seem to feel quite empowered because they made the "choice" to do something, but in the reality, the silly fools just don't know any better. I am God in my campaign, and my will shall be done one way or the other....MWHAHAHAHA!
An example. I have ten rooms in a dungeon, and alll the rooms are spilled/ statted out. There are two doors near the PC's, one to the right and one to the left. Guess what...either door leads to the same room...as does the door beyond that. It's the illusion of World-building in my campaign. The players seem to feel quite empowered because they made the "choice" to do something, but in the reality, the silly fools just don't know any better. I am God in my campaign, and my will shall be done one way or the other....MWHAHAHAHA!
Li Shenron
Legend
I also agree that some railroading is not bad at all. And if you want, in-game you can call it "destiny" 
. Leave of course lots of freedom to the character's specific actions/reactions and tactics, but without some road for the plot to follow (and occasionally some inevitable thing just has to happen that way), the players alone are unlikely to build the plot themselves.
For what matters, me as a DM I used to be a deep planner, and partially world-builder: in truth, I wrote lots of details about the locals but not about the whole "world". In time, I turned to be half-planner and half-winger, mostly because of less time available but also because I learned that the majority of what I planned was thoughly missed my the characters. Therefore I nowadays still plan in advance, but what gets missed simply goes reused in the following adventures .
. Leave of course lots of freedom to the character's specific actions/reactions and tactics, but without some road for the plot to follow (and occasionally some inevitable thing just has to happen that way), the players alone are unlikely to build the plot themselves.For what matters, me as a DM I used to be a deep planner, and partially world-builder: in truth, I wrote lots of details about the locals but not about the whole "world". In time, I turned to be half-planner and half-winger, mostly because of less time available but also because I learned that the majority of what I planned was thoughly missed my the characters. Therefore I nowadays still plan in advance, but what gets missed simply goes reused in the following adventures
.
