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| marcr |
 Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 12:21 pm Post subject: What Makes a GREAT DM? |
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So, I'm curious ... what makes a great DM? Not a good DM - a GREAT DM.
I'm interested in actual experience, not general or 'theoretical' thoughts. In other words, think of the BEST DM you ever had ... what made him or her the best?
Encyclopedic knowledge of the rules? Uses cool voices for NPCs? Weaves PC's backgrounds into future campaign events?
I'm really curious what makes a GREAT DM.
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Marc Radle
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| deinol |
| Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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I think a great GM requires two skills, both of which are hard to teach and require practice.
First is being able to read your players. Knowing when to skip past something because your players are bored. Noticing when they are interested in something so you can expand on it. Engaging the player who seems to have been left out of the last ten minutes of play.
Second is being flexible and adaptable at the table. A good game will take twists you never expect. A good GM will roll with it. A great GM will go with it in such a way it feels like he planned it that way all along.
I can't say that I'm a great GM, but I'm good enough to wish I were better at both of those things.
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-Jesse Butler
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| varianor |
| Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Easy. A great GM makes the "20 minutes of fun crammed into four hours" that is a typical session feel more like the fun stretches back into those four hours. |
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| Amy Carrier |
| Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 12:16 pm Post subject: |
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I must agree with Deinol: Great DM's are able to take any of the weird stuff the players throw at them and run with it! Imagination and flexibility.
And unfortunately, as Deinol also said, this isn't something you can learn how to do just by taking a class (we're talking about a college-course type class here, not a fighter/wizard/cleric type of class) or reading an article.
So I can tell you what the requirements are, but not how to achieve them.  |
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| deinol |
| Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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Although a Kobold Guide to Great Gamemastering filled with essays from experienced GMs might be cool someday.
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-Jesse Butler
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| Amy Carrier |
| Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:24 am Post subject: |
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That does sound like an entertaining idea - I want to retract the last half of what I said before. There is no proof that you can't learn great DM'ing skills from a book, and I now think it would be worth trying.
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| varianor |
| Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:24 am Post subject: |
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| That would be interesting Frey. You could get people like Piratecat (Kevin Kulp) from ENWorld who are just stellar. GMs who have "followings" are clearly doing something right. |
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| jreyst |
| Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:34 am Post subject: |
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I agree.
Essays from some well known names (Ed Greenwood maybe?) as well as a chapter or two on SPECIFIC suggestions on how to prepare, how to respond to crazy player questions, how to deal with having players of different rules proficiency level AND different play styles in the same group etc.
I think it'd be a great read. |
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| Wolfgang |
| Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 10:32 am Post subject: |
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I'm happy to entertain that idea. Kevin Kulp is certainly on my list for "DMs with a following".
Who else would you put in that category?
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| Cerunnos |
| Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 1:28 pm Post subject: |
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This sounds like a great idea, and I KNOW that I'd buy that book. 
(But then, I'm addicted to Kobold Quarterly anyway... )
It may not be able to teach them COMPLETELY how to be flexible, but it would show them where and what to aim for on their journey, which can be a lifesaver, and some tips and tricks would never go unappreciated, I'd say. |
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| varianor |
| Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 8:53 am Post subject: |
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| One name that comes to mind is Lou Agresta from the Werecabbages. He got high marks in various tournaments that I ran and I know folks like his stuff. (In fact, IIRC there's a couple people in the Werecabbages that qualify. I just don't know their real names.) Steve Helt (ancientsensei) won IronDM a few years back, and I know folks at Paizo have spoken highly of his games. |
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| Zherog |
| Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 9:55 am Post subject: |
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| varianor wrote: |
| One name that comes to mind is Lou Agresta from the Werecabbages. He got high marks in various tournaments that I ran and I know folks like his stuff. (In fact, IIRC there's a couple people in the Werecabbages that qualify. I just don't know their real names.) |
I hear that John Ling guy is really sharp. So is the up and comer - some guy named Wolfgang something or other. But not Adam Daigle. He's a total hack.
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| Daigle |
| Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Zherog wrote: |
| ...But not Adam Daigle. He's a total hack. |
Actually, I'm only a decent GM, so you kinda win this battle, Mr. Ling. |
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| Zherog |
| Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 6:47 pm Post subject: |
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Most un-fulfilling win ever...
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| JediSoth |
| Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 5:25 am Post subject: |
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The best GMs I've ever gamed under share a couple of characteristics:
They are careful to engage all the players at their table regularly, whether there are 4 or a dozen. They are energetic with their descriptions and make an effort to keep things moving, not getting bogged down in details that are ultimately unimportant to the story the game is trying to tell.
They also have the ability to "roll with the punches," as it were; e.g. if the party goes off in an unexpected direction, they can improvise with such fluidity and skill that they players aren't even aware they've totally wrecked the GM's adventure and he or she is now having to wildly fly by the seat of his or her pants just to keep up. |
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