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View Full Version : What are the traits of the best (your favorite) DM/GMs?



johnbragg
2013-10-05, 09:13 PM
Pretty much what the thread title said.

This was inspired by the "Your GM gave you what?" thread

One thing that my best GMs have had in common was a policy that if the players thought of something that would be awesome, the GM would allow them to try it, and might slightly fudge the game in that direction.

In my wife's sci-fi game, their ship's guns were crippled, so they led the pursuing ships into an asteroid field, where one character used their ridiculous in-character math skills to plot a path where the asteroids would be most likely to hit the pursuers. (Technobabble bonuses were in play, as were bonus points for cultural references. Any translation of "I have a bad feeling about this" or "It's a trap" was worth points, as was referring to any given location as a wretched hive of scum and villainy.)

Another GM was great at creating unique monsters and/or using clever tactics. Not metagaming and mindreading the PCs, but intelligent monsters in a chaotic, brutal environment had plans for how to deal with intruders and attackers. At the same time, he allowed the PCs to come up with creative plans and approaches to problems. So if the PC's solved the problem of the Green Slime or gray ooze cube in the forest and the problem of the hydra in the bog in the forest by throwing bait to the Green Slime and luring it into the hydra's bog, that could work.

He was also the DM who threw a half-fiendish Shambling Mound at us, accompanied by a caster (an adept, maybe a druid) who healed it with electricity. (This may have been after we wandered the forest, a few dozen XP from levelling, alternately ringing a large hand bell and shouting in various languages "Oh, dear, whatever shall I do with all this gold? Perhaps I should use it to buy a sword to replace the one I left at home.")


Good times.

inexorabletruth
2013-10-05, 11:31 PM
My favorite DMs had one, or all, of these traits:


Knowing the rules and knowing how to use them to create a rich, feasible world.
Knew how to create compelling NPCs, from the lowliest pig farmer, to the BBEG: NPCs so compelling we RP'd out funerals for them and wrote eulogies if they died.
Able to create a world so expansive and detailed that everything mattered. Butterfly effect campaigns. Combine that with a sandbox adventure, and the DM who can spin that many proverbial plates has my respect.


I've never had a DM who had all three of these traits, but my favorite DM of all time had 2 of them (2 and 3).

AgentofHellfire
2013-10-06, 10:37 AM
The one thing I really wish a DM of mine had was the ability to alter the story to suit player decisions and schemes. But alas, while some of them could sort of do it, none have been that good thus far. (Though it probably doesn't help that I view dialogue, bargaining, and manipulation as legit solutions. :smalltongue: )

But! Probably the best trait in a DM I've had was just really good acting skills--it helps to immerse someone into a story if you're able to actually make the dialogue seem lifelike.

Topus
2013-10-06, 01:24 PM
My favorite DM put fun over rules, creates wonderful recurring NPC, is more likely to talk than to fight, is supporting free roaming exploring rather than railroading plots. Dark Sun was the perfect setting for these kind of adventures.

Ravens_cry
2013-10-06, 01:35 PM
A DM willing to build relationships and connections between characters.
Most of you probably know the story of my Paladin and the harpy, but it can also include things like friendships and other bonds, even enmity.
It can really help wed your character to the world and not simply exist in it.

LWDLiz
2013-10-07, 11:18 AM
I've always thought that the best GM is, in their own way, a story-teller but also the bridge for the players into the story. My favorite games always have moments where the GM is not only describing a situation, but also describing it in such a way and using tools where I can feel my character within the moment. For example, he or she would never say "It's a cold and dreary night in the forest". He or she would have trees on the grid or table with our minis and say something like "As you walk through the forest, you can feel the sharp, painful pricks of cold even through your layered clothes. The recent rain seems to have weighed down the branches of trees so that they look to be almost weeping as you walk towards the battle." A good storyteller and one that also encourages the players to be creative are A-rate in my book.

Zeb
2013-10-07, 11:38 AM
The one talent I really wish I had: Painting a good word picture.

Quick thinking, adaptability, system mastery, social awareness, attention to detail and good preparation are all great things to have.

But nothing compares to the DM that can make you feel like you are there.

Edit: See above post

Jay R
2013-10-07, 12:02 PM
1. Knows the rules well.

2. Ignores the rules when necessary.

3. Knows his scenario and background in minute detail.

4. Can play NPCs with various personalities, and at various levels of competence.

5. Actively enjoys it when players come up with an unexpected tactic.

valadil
2013-10-07, 12:11 PM
1. Figures out what the players want out of the game.
2. Puts those things into the game.

Everything beyond that is just icing.

GrayGriffin
2013-10-07, 01:46 PM
Someone who can smoothly adapt things so that the players get what they want without it seeming convoluted. For example, in one PTA game, I was playing a breeder who was going to become a Ghost Ace. After we had the Mandatory Evil Team Encounter, we made it out of their warehouse through a secret tunnel. The tunnel seemed to be longer from the outside than from the inside, so I had my character investigate, and it turned out to be a Misdreavus warping the scenery. I captured her and added her to my party, and only later did the GM reveal that he just made that up on the spot because of my character's future plans.

Lord Torath
2013-10-07, 02:41 PM
One thing that my best GMs have had in common was a policy that if the players thought of something that would be awesome, the GM would allow them to try it, and might slightly fudge the game in that direction.This. I had one DM where I was on guard duty up in a tree at night when a griffon suddenly plunged down through the treetops and onto one of my riding horses. We had not specified were the horses were in relation to my tree, but I stated that I wanted to leap out of the tree and stab the griffon with my spear as I landed on it. He decided the horses were out of range of my leap, and I'd better try something else. Needless to say, I was rather disappointed.

Also this:
1. Knows the rules well.

2. Ignores the rules when necessary.

3. Knows his scenario and background in minute detail.

4. Can play NPCs with various personalities, and at various levels of competence.

5. Actively enjoys it when players come up with an unexpected tactic. Especially #5. This is something I try hard to do with my group.

Lorsa
2013-10-07, 04:42 PM
1. Figures out what the players want out of the game.
2. Puts those things into the game.

Is there any other way to do it? Of course, most players don't actually know what they want and might enjoy many things so this is a neverending task.


1. Knows the rules well.

2. Ignores the rules when necessary.

3. Knows his scenario and background in minute detail.

4. Can play NPCs with various personalities, and at various levels of competence.

5. Actively enjoys it when players come up with an unexpected tactic.

How would you notice #3? Would you care to elaborate exactly how minute detail you mean and any examples of when this hasn't been the case and what it lead to?

kidnicky
2013-10-08, 12:14 AM
I don't think I've ever played a RPG without being the DM. Noone else will bother to read the rules.

Gamgee
2013-10-08, 03:13 AM
Let's see what traits I have.

1. Rich feasible world, this is actually one of my better skills. Check

2. NPC's? My weakest point. I just can't act an NPC out. I can design some interesting ones if you give me time, but this is a big weakness. I can't do it on the fly. Big X.

3. Knowing the rules, pretty good at them for the game we choose to play at that time. Not super amazing 100% though. Check.

4. Butterfly effect campaigns!!! My strongest skill! Bam! You will be blown away by the reactivity, and some of it can be subtle. I've had to help players with it, and even remind them. They've gotten a lot better at thinking about the consequences of actions since they know it will affect them.

5. Putting fun before rules. I do this a lot actually. Though what I qualify as fun is not what most would think. I make my games hard as hell, but know when to ease up a tad. Check.

6. Putting the player "in" the game. I have no idea to be honest. Hadn't even considered it. I would think only moderate in this skill. It depends what your looking for, and what game we're playing. I do it sometimes, but not all the time. Semi - Check

7. When a player comes up with a new tactic? Sure! Because I get to think of a counter tactic. HAhaahahahh! :redcloak: Don't worry I play fair, but your going to die (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3HdfzC7Shg).

DigoDragon
2013-10-08, 09:09 AM
My fav GMs are the ones who are organized. I've had personal experience as a player being forgotten several rounds in a row during combat because the GM was only using a handful of napkins for all his notes. This same GM kept forgetting details about the characters, such as the fact that my character was an android immune to gas attacks.

Keeping clean notes on the party's composition and status is important to me.

Jay R
2013-10-08, 12:56 PM
How would you notice #3? Would you care to elaborate exactly how minute detail you mean and any examples of when this hasn't been the case and what it lead to?

When I ask a reasonable question about the world that my character should know, and the DM knows the answer immediately, it makes it clear that the world is a completed construct, not a bunch of ad hoc decisions.

[If the DM can make up answers on the spot, and they always work to develop a consistent world background, that works just as well. Indeed, I'd never know the difference. But most people aren't that glib. Designing the world in advance is easier.]

valadil
2013-10-08, 01:01 PM
Is there any other way to do it? Of course, most players don't actually know what they want and might enjoy many things so this is a neverending task.


Talking to the players is well and good but it only goes so far. I don't think the players ever really know what they want.

Some have only been exposed to one sort of game. I had one who told me her preference was "D&D" and I was supposed to figure out what type of game that was. Even if they do know what they like, not everyone visits forums or reads GM guides and may not have the language to express that they're optimizers with a side of butt-kicker.

Others think they know what they want but don't. The best example of this are the players who think they want to play strictly by the dice, but can't handle death. They want the illusion of a fudge free game, but really secretly want the safety net.

Anyway, because of those two factors the players aren't reliable and you'll have to do some face reading to figure out what they want. What they want will vary from game to game too. I'm constantly watching my table, trying to read the mood.

navar100
2013-10-08, 01:09 PM
1) Allowing me to play the character I want to play. This doesn't mean no restrictions whatsoever. It means I get to play the concept. Any game mechanics issues to be worked out if need be.

2) NPCs notice the PCs. What the PCs do matter and affect the gameworld. The PC's reputation precedes them and works in their favor in terms of attitudes. Of course the bad guys will hate them more. That's a feature. The Duke doesn't automatically give in to the PCs demands, but the Duke will want to grant an audience when requested. It's possible for a PC to become Duke himself or other Important Person of the Realm. I don't expect this at low level, but Barons and Mayors will want to meet with the PCs more than just to give them the next adventure McGuffin after a few successful adventures.

3) Admit you goofed and make corrections. If all/most of the players do not like a house rule do not insist on using it despite them. If only one or two don't like it but play anyway, don't resent their displeasure.