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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WaterRabbit" data-source="post: 1510645" data-attributes="member: 2445">GM evolutionIt 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.</blockquote>

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