DM: Most Important Job

[Easy_Lee]

DMs wear many hats, but some are bigger than others. What do you feel is the DM's most important job?

In my opinion, the DM's most important role is to keep the game moving. Boredom is the worst emotion one can feel at the table.



fun / player engagement
having the right skills: note taking, reading the players, improvisation, continuity enforcement, time management, mechanical knowledge
snacks
content generation
rules arbitration
compelling storytelling

[JNAProductions]

DMs wear many hats, but some are bigger than others. What do you feel is the DM's most important job?

In my opinion, the DM's most important role is to keep the game moving. Boredom is the worst emotion one can feel at the table.

The DM's most important job is to make sure the players (including themselves) are having fun. Whether that's by tossing around interesting NPCs, hard to beat combat encounters (or easy to beat combat encounters) or even by cracking crude jokes, fun is what matters.

[Cybren]

The DM's most important job is to make sure the players (including themselves) are having fun. Whether that's by tossing around interesting NPCs, hard to beat combat encounters (or easy to beat combat encounters) or even by cracking crude jokes, fun is what matters.

Yeah, I mean, some of my favorite sessions are low-stress chillout sessions where we buy stuff, talk to NPCs with no particular purpose, and sort of just absorb the game.
I think it's better to look at this in terms of what skills are important for a DM to have, and I'd probably say, off the top of my head, it's something like

Note taking: You need to know what has happened in order to get a sense of what might happen next
Reading the room: knowing the players emotional state at a given moment let's them capture/adjust the mood of a scene to maximum effect
Improvisation: Being able to swerve on a dime to accommodate players doing something you didn't anticipate. No one likes being railroaded

[dps]

Providing the snacks. D'oh.

[JNAProductions]

Providing the snacks. D'oh.

That's the player's job! DMs do so much else, least the players can do is bring pretzels and pizza. (That being said, since I host, I actually do offer snacks.)

[IShouldntBehere]

I'm not sure I could pick out a most important, or even order them in a strict sense. I could probably lump them into tiers though

With the first tier being things like being responsive to the table's mood, managing expectations, and reaching out to keep all players engaged as much as possible.

Just below that are things like content generation, time management, and continuity enforcement.

In the lower tiers are things like managing mechanics, and rules knowledge.

These all for different parts to the GMs true overarching goal, which is to keep the game a rewarding experience for everyone present.

[Giant2005]

Storytelling is the DM's most important job in my opinion. I have played in some monstrously bad systems that were still a lot of fun due to a strong story.
Of course storytelling is an extremely broad job description, so I am probably cheating by using it as my answer (especially considering storytelling covers keeping the game moving too).

[Cybren]

Storytelling is the DM's most important job in my opinion. I have played in some monstrously bad systems that were still a lot of fun due to a strong story.
Of course storytelling is an extremely broad job description, so I am probably cheating by using it as my answer (especially considering storytelling covers keeping the game moving too).

See, I don't see this as the DMs job, but the job of everyone at the table, but I'm more interested in games that are a more "here is a rough sketch of the world and the characters I think are important/you'll like and let's see what unfurls from here". Certainly DMs get the advantage of having more meta-narrative control than the other players do, but I would say it's more important that their storytelling sensibilities not directly clash with those of their players.

[Giant2005]

See, I don't see this as the DMs job, but the job of everyone at the table, but I'm more interested in games that are a more "here is a rough sketch of the world and the characters I think are important/you'll like and let's see what unfurls from here". Certainly DMs get the advantage of having more meta-narrative control than the other players do, but I would say it's more important that their storytelling sensibilities not directly clash with those of their players.

And that is the downside of me making such a broad choice.
When I wrote that, I was thinking of two main things: a compelling setting with engaging plot hooks; and interesting NPCs that react in a natural way.

[Gastronomie]

The DM's most important job is to make sure the players (including themselves) are having fun. Whether that's by tossing around interesting NPCs, hard to beat combat encounters (or easy to beat combat encounters) or even by cracking crude jokes, fun is what matters.I second this. But it's extremely broad as well as difficult to master.

Knowing the players beforehand probably helps, in any case. Personal likings and preferences and stuff.

[JNAProductions]

I second this. But it's extremely broad as well as difficult to master.

Knowing the players beforehand probably helps, in any case. Personal likings and preferences and stuff.

I agree, it is pretty broad. And while it's hard to master, it's not hard to do with basic competence, assuming you're friends ahead of time. Because worst comes to worst, you're still hanging with friends.

[MrFahrenheit]

Rule #1: fun.
Rule #2: know thy party. That's the best way to accomplish rule #1.

Seriously...my party has the most fun during down time while screwing around in town. It's of course the part I planned least for early on (my previous DMing experience left me not used to any in-town events that weren't planned for the storyline, or buying/selling equipment), but I've since learned to have stuff going on in each town and see where the party goes with them.

You also need to remember that you're not the only one responsible for fun. You're supposed to bring it, but the players are supposed to multiply it. If a player is breaking the unwritten social contract of the table and ruining fun for others, that needs to be corrected. Whether that's in game ("I cast dominate person on the shopkeeper and make him give me his establishment for free, then walk into the dragon-infested woods to go hunting"), or at the table ("hey guys I read the MM a little while back - this thing has like 200 hp"), a DM's role is also to counter the negativity of things that adversely impact fun.

[LaserFace]

When I DM, I can tell you my primary motivation is providing fun to the players at the table. That's really vague, but if I had to choose between players having fun just durdling in-character, or making steady progress but feeling kinda 'meh' about it, I'd choose to let them durdle. To me, the players set the pace and decide what adventures to go on, I'm basically there just to show them possibilities and make it entertaining.

Ideally whatever NPCs, magic items, places, adventures, dilemmas, background lore and overarching stories I make are actually fun, and I try to think things out as well as I can. But, I'm frequently designing these things with a broad player reaction in mind, and don't really have a problem changing things if I get the sense they appreciate it more if there were some tweaks.

DMing for people I don't know so well ends up being more challenging, so I try to just let them do cool things, unless I think it's wildly inappropriate and might make the game less fun overall.

[pwykersotz]

The most important job of the DM is to have fun creating and running the game for the players.


The DM having fun is critical, they're a player too.
"for the players" is key. The game is centered around their experience, after all.
Having skill is unimportant. It comes with time and play. As long as there's a willingness to learn.


I know it's a wide net, but honestly the little things within that are part of the skill that comes with time. If you have fun DM'ing and you're making the game for your players though, you'll pick up the rest.

[Albonor]

I'll also start with "make sure everyone has fun" because it can be very hard if the players have very different ideas of what they want out of a game.

But to sum up the hats:
- Worldbuilding, including the consenquences of player's actions.
- Referee, if only to give a fair ruling (yes I said it) when a player's action does not have obvious consequences.
- Storyteller, but the kind of story the players want (important part in an epic story or central part in a more personnal story for instance)
- Community manager. It's a small community but you are the idiot who should try the hardest to keep everyone playing together.

I think the most important skills regarding these are (in no particular order):
- Transparency and honesty. Being able to say: "Listen, can you not split the party? I understand in makes sense in game but with the plan you have in mind, each player will wait 15-45 minutes before it's their turn to talk." is critical.
- Preparation. Nothing says underwhelming or overwhelming like not taking the time to check the math beforehand or making sure the story isn't too complicated to follow with a lot of details that only you will find interesting or useful.
- Humility. Your hard work is still just a game, not a gift to humanity and the changes players suggest are probably decent. "Yes and..." and "yes but..."
- Empathy. Read the room, and learn to move away from the boring stuff and extend the fun stuff. Of course, you are also playing and you should be able to enjoy the game!


Edit: typo

[JNAProductions]

The most important job of the DM is to have fun creating and running the game for the players.


The DM having fun is critical, they're a player too.
"for the players" is key. The game is centered around their experience, after all.
Having skill is unimportant. It comes with time and play. As long as there's a willingness to learn.


I know it's a wide net, but honestly the little things within that are part of the skill that comes with time. If you have fun DM'ing and you're making the game for your players though, you'll pick up the rest.

Bolded part, all the way. Skill is nice to have, but learning form mistakes is KEY.

[Cybren]

Bolded part, all the way. Skill is nice to have, but learning form mistakes is KEY.

That's just how learning a skill works, though. "Having skill isn't important, gaining skill is" seems kinda odd

[JNAProductions]

That's just how learning a skill works, though. "Having skill isn't important, gaining skill is" seems kinda odd

Not really. Because let's say you're a naturally good DM, but refuse to learn from mistakes. You'll stagnate. You won't ever improve.

I'd rather have a crap DM who gets better and will eventually become a great DM than a good DM who just stays good. (Part of this is personality-I find that people who refuse to learn from mistakes tend to be abrasive in other aspects of life.)

[D.U.P.A.]

Snacks are usually sign of boredom. If you are engaged enough, you will not think about food.

[uraniumrooster]

I think it's most important for a DM to understand what they enjoy about DMing. If the DM isn't having fun running the game, it's not going to be a good game, plain and simple.

Everybody enjoys this game for different reasons and will have different preferences. Some people love great stories, some enjoy roleplay and are happy putzing around town interacting with NPCs and their party mates, some get bored and zone out as soon as they're out of initiative, while others just want to collect that phat loot, and so on. This applies to DMs just as much as it does to players. If a DM can figure out what type of game they like to run and have fun with it, that's a good start for a great game.

That said, I think the second most important thing for a DM is to acknowledge that their players will also all enjoy the game for different reasons. The DM should let their players know what kind of game they plan on running and let them decide if it sounds like a game they want to be a part of (or not). Even then, it's unlikely the DM will get a full table of players who align 100% with their preferences, so they should try to provide opportunities for the players with different styles to engage with the world in a manner that they enjoy. If someone seems like they're not having fun, or seems frequently bored, etc., it's part of the DM's job to talk to that person and figure out how they can help improve that player's experience.

AngryDM (http://angrydm.com/2014/01/thy-game-mastering-commandments/), unsurprisingly, has a pretty good article on the topic. The important take-away is that there isn't one set of universal DMing Commandments. Every DM is going to have different preferences, and the best thing you can do for yourself and your players is figure out what you like about the game and about DMing.

[Specter]

The DM's most important job is make everyone have fun. That happens when you cater to all players' needs, because everybody wants different things. The Angry GM actually wrote a good piece on this called The 8 Types (Kinds?) of Fun, look it up if you haven't.

[sky red hunter]

no.1 = prep: lazy dm's diminish the players input of their precious time by not properly prepping a session.

no.2 = improvisation: nothing like pc's to find the few specific things you haven't prepped for, and also to stop the dm from resorting to railroading!!

no.3 = fun: its not dm vs pc's, don't make it a hateful slog, have moments of levity, make the pc's feel like heroes (sometimes)

stick to that holy trinity and your sessions can't fail....

[Zman]

Creating an engaging world/game.