TheThan
2011-04-08, 01:24 PM
There have been many questions posted on the forums as of late asking for advice on Dming. I’ve seen questions like “what if my players do this”, and “was it right for me to do this”, "is it ok to keep secrets". This shows there are a lot of inexperienced Dms visiting the forum and that they clearly need and want help. So this is an effort to help them out.
I’ve been Dming for about 11 years now and I like to think I’ve become good at it. I know there are many DMs here who have much more experience than I do (and are probably better), so feel free to chime in if you have something to add. These pieces of advice are not written in any specific order. Also I use the term DM throughout this document, if your preferred system uses some other designation (GM, storyteller etc) don’t worry, the names are pretty interchangeable. This document is pretty universal anyway.
1: Dm more games.
The best way to become a good Dm is to practice. Many of the skills that a Dm needs are learned skills that can’t really be taught by someone else. They have to be learned through trial and error. The more you practice these skills the better you’ll get at them. I’m talking about skills such as Ad-libbing, role-playing, handling player disputes etc. The old adage “practice makes perfect” is very true.
2: study
No matter what system you’re using, there will be rules to know. You can almost think of a gaming session as a test. Now what do you do for tests? You study. The more you study, the better you’ll know your material. So when someone does something common but difficult (grappling in 3.x comes to mind) you can handle it without having to spend ten minutes looking it up. Gaming in this day and age is great because the internet gives us access to a tremendous amount of resources. This website is one of them, so feel free to ask a question if you’re stumped. Knowing your material will make your games run smoother, you’ll spend less time reading the book and more time killing dragons and rescuing damsels in distress.
3: stick to your guns.
A tremendous amount of DMing is based entirely on judgment calls. As a player, I hate wishy washy Dms that can’t stick to their decision. When you’re forced to make a rules call, stick with your ruling for the session. Go back to point 2 and research that up after the game, and then inform the players of the appropriate changes at the beginning of the next session. If there are no answers in the rules, and you can’t come up with a better solution than the one you were forced to ad-libb, then by all means stick to it. I know I as a player will respect a Dm more when they stick to their guns about rules, than I will a dm that can’t make a rules call on his own. The important thing here is not to go back and forth. This also applies to character generation rules, house rules and just about any rule or decision you have to make.
4: don’t be afraid of mistakes
This is a very important aspect of Dming. You’re going to make mistakes (heck I still do), so don’t be afraid of them, mistakes are a good learning tool, we as humanoids have a tendency to learn from our mistakes in real life, so there is no real reason to not do this at the gaming table. If you have to have a note pad and scratch notes down during the session, so be it. The important thing is to walk away with more knowledge and experience then you had before.
5: feedback
This is tied to number 4. In order to improve your game, you need to know what you did wrong, and what you did right. So it’s a good idea to ask for feedback from your players, get them to be honest and tell you what they thought. Some people try not to offend and just say something like “you did just fine”. Well, pry what they really thought about your game/session. Find out what they liked, what they didn’t like, what they want more of and what they want less of. No two players and no two groups are identical. You sort of need to learn how to be flexible and bend a bit towards the sensibilities of your players. After all what’s the point of being a Dm if you have no players? Getting feedback will help you judge what you’re doing “right” and what you’re doing “wrong”.
Its also important that you pay attention to your players body language. Do they fidget with their dice when there is nothing for them to kill? Are people getting up and fetching a snack during an important NPC conversation? Are they pulling out their PSP during combat and ignoring what going on? These are all good indications that they were not interested or engaged in what was going on. Figure out what catches their interest and give it to them. Keep in mind that not everyone will be interested in the same thing. This means you have to create a balancing act to keep everyone at your table engaged in what is happening. This is all feedback you can use to improve your Dming skills.
6: If Your Players Aren't Having Fun, You're Doing It Wrong.
There is no universal style of Dming. No two Dms have the same style. As long as everyone is having fun at your table (including yourself) then everything is fine. I know some players that are horrendous power gamers, their Dm is forced to fight back tooth and nail to challenge them. I don’t care too much for that style of game (despite being pretty good at power gaming myself). But you know what? They all enjoy the game and therefore are doing nothing “wrong”.
On the other hand I’ve heard of quite a few DMs who have driven their players away. There are lots of reasons for this, ranting at players, Tyranny (even going to so far as to demand their players do things for him outside of the game), blatant railroading, and intimidation of players. There’s even a (now famous) story on these very forums of a Dm that managed to get himself arrested. Fortunately I’ve never had to deal with a Dm like this, and I hope you never will either. The point is these are examples of Dms that ruined the game for their players (and ultimately themselves). People stopped playing in their games because the game was not fun for them to play in.
As a Dm you have to be somewhat flexible and bend to what your players enjoy. This does not mean you have to bend to every whim of your players, but pay attention to what sort of style they enjoy and try to provide that for them. Ultimately its your job to make sure your players are entertained.
7: have fun.
The entire point of playing RPGS and being a Dm is to have fun. You’re entitled to have fun too. If Dming ever becomes a chore and you find yourself not wanting to be a Dm, then stop. Let someone else pick up the mantle for a while. If one aspect of Dming bothers you, deal with that first and get it out of the way, then you can focus on the aspects that you enjoy. People don’t pick up hobbies they don’t enjoy, so my advice is to try to derive fun out of all aspects of being a DM.
edit
major changes to points 5 and 6.
I’ve been Dming for about 11 years now and I like to think I’ve become good at it. I know there are many DMs here who have much more experience than I do (and are probably better), so feel free to chime in if you have something to add. These pieces of advice are not written in any specific order. Also I use the term DM throughout this document, if your preferred system uses some other designation (GM, storyteller etc) don’t worry, the names are pretty interchangeable. This document is pretty universal anyway.
1: Dm more games.
The best way to become a good Dm is to practice. Many of the skills that a Dm needs are learned skills that can’t really be taught by someone else. They have to be learned through trial and error. The more you practice these skills the better you’ll get at them. I’m talking about skills such as Ad-libbing, role-playing, handling player disputes etc. The old adage “practice makes perfect” is very true.
2: study
No matter what system you’re using, there will be rules to know. You can almost think of a gaming session as a test. Now what do you do for tests? You study. The more you study, the better you’ll know your material. So when someone does something common but difficult (grappling in 3.x comes to mind) you can handle it without having to spend ten minutes looking it up. Gaming in this day and age is great because the internet gives us access to a tremendous amount of resources. This website is one of them, so feel free to ask a question if you’re stumped. Knowing your material will make your games run smoother, you’ll spend less time reading the book and more time killing dragons and rescuing damsels in distress.
3: stick to your guns.
A tremendous amount of DMing is based entirely on judgment calls. As a player, I hate wishy washy Dms that can’t stick to their decision. When you’re forced to make a rules call, stick with your ruling for the session. Go back to point 2 and research that up after the game, and then inform the players of the appropriate changes at the beginning of the next session. If there are no answers in the rules, and you can’t come up with a better solution than the one you were forced to ad-libb, then by all means stick to it. I know I as a player will respect a Dm more when they stick to their guns about rules, than I will a dm that can’t make a rules call on his own. The important thing here is not to go back and forth. This also applies to character generation rules, house rules and just about any rule or decision you have to make.
4: don’t be afraid of mistakes
This is a very important aspect of Dming. You’re going to make mistakes (heck I still do), so don’t be afraid of them, mistakes are a good learning tool, we as humanoids have a tendency to learn from our mistakes in real life, so there is no real reason to not do this at the gaming table. If you have to have a note pad and scratch notes down during the session, so be it. The important thing is to walk away with more knowledge and experience then you had before.
5: feedback
This is tied to number 4. In order to improve your game, you need to know what you did wrong, and what you did right. So it’s a good idea to ask for feedback from your players, get them to be honest and tell you what they thought. Some people try not to offend and just say something like “you did just fine”. Well, pry what they really thought about your game/session. Find out what they liked, what they didn’t like, what they want more of and what they want less of. No two players and no two groups are identical. You sort of need to learn how to be flexible and bend a bit towards the sensibilities of your players. After all what’s the point of being a Dm if you have no players? Getting feedback will help you judge what you’re doing “right” and what you’re doing “wrong”.
Its also important that you pay attention to your players body language. Do they fidget with their dice when there is nothing for them to kill? Are people getting up and fetching a snack during an important NPC conversation? Are they pulling out their PSP during combat and ignoring what going on? These are all good indications that they were not interested or engaged in what was going on. Figure out what catches their interest and give it to them. Keep in mind that not everyone will be interested in the same thing. This means you have to create a balancing act to keep everyone at your table engaged in what is happening. This is all feedback you can use to improve your Dming skills.
6: If Your Players Aren't Having Fun, You're Doing It Wrong.
There is no universal style of Dming. No two Dms have the same style. As long as everyone is having fun at your table (including yourself) then everything is fine. I know some players that are horrendous power gamers, their Dm is forced to fight back tooth and nail to challenge them. I don’t care too much for that style of game (despite being pretty good at power gaming myself). But you know what? They all enjoy the game and therefore are doing nothing “wrong”.
On the other hand I’ve heard of quite a few DMs who have driven their players away. There are lots of reasons for this, ranting at players, Tyranny (even going to so far as to demand their players do things for him outside of the game), blatant railroading, and intimidation of players. There’s even a (now famous) story on these very forums of a Dm that managed to get himself arrested. Fortunately I’ve never had to deal with a Dm like this, and I hope you never will either. The point is these are examples of Dms that ruined the game for their players (and ultimately themselves). People stopped playing in their games because the game was not fun for them to play in.
As a Dm you have to be somewhat flexible and bend to what your players enjoy. This does not mean you have to bend to every whim of your players, but pay attention to what sort of style they enjoy and try to provide that for them. Ultimately its your job to make sure your players are entertained.
7: have fun.
The entire point of playing RPGS and being a Dm is to have fun. You’re entitled to have fun too. If Dming ever becomes a chore and you find yourself not wanting to be a Dm, then stop. Let someone else pick up the mantle for a while. If one aspect of Dming bothers you, deal with that first and get it out of the way, then you can focus on the aspects that you enjoy. People don’t pick up hobbies they don’t enjoy, so my advice is to try to derive fun out of all aspects of being a DM.
edit
major changes to points 5 and 6.