What do you do well?

Aramax · Dec 15, 2011

I run awesome combats in very original ways,for example I had the group at fractions of ONE hit point and to feebly fend off the attacks of ordinary crabs

The Shaman · Dec 18, 2011

Bumped - no need to be shy about extolling your virtues, folks.

Argyle King · Dec 18, 2011

To the dismay of my players... rolling a d20. I seem to roll consistently higher as a DM than I do as a player.

Aside from that? Homebrewing I suppose. I've created races, classes, powers, monsters, and etc. While I've had a few stumbles along the way, my creations seem to be balanced and well received.

JamesonCourage · Dec 18, 2011

The Shaman said:
Bumped - no need to be shy about extolling your virtues, folks.

If you say so...

My players are exceptionally invested in the game. The two newest players to play in my group used to play in other groups before joining me. They both stopped after about a month of me running the game, saying that they find the other groups unsatisfactory.
My players love my settings, which have always been homebrewed. They find them reliable, interesting, and realistic. I also can invest or invent a lot of history for them on the fly or with little work, so they're usually rich in that area. This includes advancement of the setting over time, and the like.
I try not to craft a setting in which the fantastic really isn't. That is, magic items are very rare (in about 120 hours of gaming with this current campaign, they've encountered three), fantastic creatures tend to make a single appearance, etc. This keeps "normal" things normal, and keeps strange things "fantastic". I'm also good at making interesting creatures, magic items, enchanted lands, and the like.
My players love my story, which is interesting, as I'm a very sandbox-style GM. So, the story is what they make out of it, plus what the world throws at them. It makes for a very interesting game, though, and they love it.
I'm good at description, and keeping my players immersed during the session. I can bring real emotions to the forefront of the minds of most of my players, whether it's actual relief or anger.
I'm incredibly good at improvising. At most, I put in about 5 minutes of "prep work" between sessions. Everything else is on the fly, and most of the time that "prep work" isn't used. Everything else I improvise everything each session.
I handle NPCs extremely well. They're believable, and I tend to mix the right amount of one-dimensional NPCs in with my three-dimensional NPCs. My players invest in NPCs, whether it's loyalty, rivalry, fondness, hatred, interest, admiration, or the like.
I have a good memory. My NPCs have names, town names are commonly used, areas of the world between towns have names, I remember to incorporate weather, political climate, the date, and other factors into the game, etc.
I make each combat matter. There's basically no such thing as a throwaway combat, and nearly every combat is tension-filled. We probably only get in one combat scenario every other session, though.
I'm very fair. Even if I like PC trends from some players more than others (the new guys always has to play a Dex-based bastard...), I'll rule fairly when they attempt to use their capabilities.
I'm good at communicating. I can line up player thoughts neatly, present them succinctly, and ask for a vote (to speed up bouts of "committee" time). I can also lay out ideas common to the social contract of the group quickly and efficiently.
I tend to manipulate and massage social problems between players out of game away. If there's tension, I'm a good social arbiter, and I can usually get rid of those problems without too much trouble.
I know my players very well. I can keep track of what they'd like to skip, what they're interested in, and the like. Also, I'm very good at RPing the PCs when a particular player is late, can't make it, leaves early, swaps characters, or the like. I have consistent compliments on this ability.
I'm very, very mechanically astute. I created a complex, SRD-based RPG (about 350 pages, but that's counting 100 pages of an example setting, a GMing chapter, sidebars to help explain or foster ideas, and about 135 illustrations). I can help the players achieve nearly any character concept they want to build using my system's rules.
I'm very good at pacing things. Over the past three session, I've heard, at the end of each session, "can we go another hour?" or "anyone down for a second session on Sunday?" I end sessions with cliffhangers, before combat, shopping trips, time skips, revelations, and the like.
I stay away from Deus ex Machina, GMPCs, and railroading. While this is a passive skill, it's probably a strength as a GM.

I might be missing some stuff, but that should be pretty thorough. I do have a list of "bad" traits, but it's nowhere near as long, and I'm good at hiding them (another thing I'm good at!). As always, play what you like

Squire James · Dec 18, 2011

I don't forget rules. I might not be familiar with a rule and miss it that way, but after that I don't forget that rule either. My short-term memory is about average, but my long-term memory is almost perfect. I can tell my players how a particular situation would have played out in every edition of D&D since BECM, incorporating any house rules I had added back when I was DM-ing it.

I run a decent tactical game. I often run my monsters so well I find myself making sub-optimal choices to keep an obvious TPK from developing. No, I didn't forget the monster could breathe fire - he just decided the party probably had some kind of fire resistance and didn't use it (the party didn't, and the fire breath would have killed everyone it hit).

My NPC's are about 75% friendly and generally very useful. The PC's actually trust them, so when one does betray them they actually feel hurt - but not so hurt that they stop trusting NPC's altogether. I should also add that they rarely exceed the party's level, and are usually a level or two back so they can prove useful without stealing the thunder - unless they crit. I can't really help it if some NPC fighter suddenly chops a BBEG for 66 damage.

In one of my campaigns, the Norse god Loki (god of trickery) confided with the party that he was quite jealous of his "stupid brother" Thor. When Thor lied, everyone believes him! When Loki tells the truth, no one believes him! "Given that, is it not actually logical that I lie all the time?"

SkredlitheOgre · Dec 19, 2011

My players like my ability to improv the plot of modules I run, so that if they choose off the wall, I have another wall waiting.

They also like the monsters I use during combat, since I tweak and change monsters so that yeah, it looks like a goblin, but those two extra arms and the fangs might mean something is up.

Personally, I think I'm good with remembering rules.

Jon_Dahl · Dec 19, 2011

With certain kinds of players I have a great chemistry. When you have players with chemistry X and I share the same chemistry with them, great games are bound to happen.

I could have no chemistry at all (antisocial etc.) or some other sort of chemistry, but I have this one and I'm happy I share it with a great bunch of people.

Quickleaf · Dec 19, 2011

Jameson Courage said:
I might be missing some stuff, but that should be pretty thorough.

You forgot modesty and humility!

The Shaman said:
Bumped - no need to be shy about extolling your virtues, folks.

Well, since you ask so nicely...

Players respect my DM "kill zone" - I've got a sweet back fist punch when players try to peak behind the screen.

I keep players engaged at the table - players who try to leave the table must evade my d4 caltrops.

When I a PC dies I always honor them in game - if undeath isn't a possibility I turn them I to abolish servitors.

Well, that's enough, I don't want to toot my own horn too much!

Dannyalcatraz · Dec 19, 2011

The Shaman said:
Bumped - no need to be shy about extolling your virtues, folks.

I do several things mentioned in this thread pretty well...but my aforementioned creativity in campaign design is where I'm strongest- everything else flows from that.