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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 7219494" data-attributes="member: 4937">If you don't think a good DM can do random encounters that seamlessly become part of the campaign, I'll share a random encounter from my current campaign.  And for that matter, I doubt that there is a DM that doesn't use random encounters.  Some of them use dice to help inspire naturalism, and some of them rely on whim, but all are adding new previously unplanned encounters to the environment all the time.   If they do so well, then it is good DMing, and if they don't then it is bad DMing, but it's not true that whim is always better than dice or that whim and dice are even discrete things and not a continuum of approaches to being creative.Your list is a mixed bag.  Some of it I would consider actually true.   Some of it I would consider your personal preferences regarding style or which are built up from anecdotal experience of the DMs you encountered that were skilled at what they did.For example, whether you rely heavily on dice as an aid to sparking imagination or you just go with your gut instinct is style - not quality.Whether your narration is jocular and uses natural conversational speech, or whether your narration is literary and poetic is again style - not quality.  You can do either one well, and some DMs - as with some writers - will alter their approach to suit the situation.Whether a campaign has a central master story line that everything revolves around (Tolkien, Martin), or is episodic and involves a series of self-contained stories (Howard, Leiber) is again style.   Both can go very wrong, and which you prefer depends a lot on your taste as a player. I would say that great GMs tend to have the following qualities:1) Hard workers.  They take their game seriously and really want to deliver an enjoyable experience.  They are always practicing, preparing, and trying to learn.  They strive to gain system mastery in any game that they run.2) Are humble and self-aware and know their own strengths and limitations, and can play to them.  If the DM is funny and witty, they use that.  If  they are good writers, then they use that.   If they are detailed oriented and creative world builders they use that.  If they can do voice work well, they do that.   Whatever they are good at becomes a hallmark of their game.3) Shamelessly steal what they can't make or do themselves, but always personalize it.4) Understand the limitations of the media and what approach to use for groups of different sizes or different personalities.   They don't tend to have a 'one true way' regarding style, and will do their best to accommodate a groups needs with respect to difficulty level, active vs. reactive play, melodramatic vs. tactical gameplay, serious versus lighthearted approaches, and so forth within the limits of what they themselves can do (and enjoy) as a participant in the game.5) Decent group people management skills.  They are capable small group leaders.   People tend to accept and respect their authority at the table.6) They are masters of a illusion.  So much of the game is a sort of prestidigitation, where you use various devices to make the players believe in the trick, and imagine that the game is a real world with substance and depth and that successes or failures in it are meaningful.</blockquote>

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