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elliott20
2008-07-25, 05:16 PM
edit: apparently, there are stuff out there written about it. note to self, use the term "Game Master" or "DM" rather than GM lest I'm looking for a car dealer.

I would just like to start a thread about kinds of GMs you've come across

1. the novice: he doesn't know the rules, he doesn't really know what he's doing. But man, he's so excited about this game that he's about to burst into flames in his seat! often, this is someone who was really just pushed into the role of GM because he's the only one who has really read the books at all. could turn into any other kind of GM, depending upon their experience.

2. the railroader: he has a master plan, and the players are screwing it all up for him! Dammit, why can't players appreciate complex plot exposition when given to them? these guys are prone to create DMPCs to guide the players around, create impossibly inflexible situations, and generally force the players onto doing tight rope walks through his game. Really though, sometimes, you wonder why the guy just doesn't go ahead and write a book instead of involving other people in the creative process.

3. the combat fiend: like his player counterpart, this guy knows one thing and he knows it well: combat. His encounters are deadly, his minions are a force to be reckoned with. Playing with this game requires that you bring your A-game to the table. (That is, your A-game crunch ability) He might be a good story teller, or he could be a horrible one. It doesn't matter. What matters is that if you're GOING to fight, a lot.

4. weenie: a guy once said "say yes or roll dice" as an axiom for GMing. Well, the weenie forgot the second part of that advice. Maybe it's because he just doesn't want to upset his players by frustrating them, or maybe he doesn't put enough thought into his encounters, but the players pretty bulldoze right through him and sometimes can get bored doing it. (it was, after all, too easy)

5. the riddler: puzzles, puzzles, and more puzzles. This guy probably solves rubik's cubes for fun and times himself to see how fast he can solve it. You will never find yourself doing more puzzle work than with this guy. That's all fine and dandy if you too are a puzzle lover. But god help you if you're not the type who can do Sudoku in your head. At some point you'll get stuck, and you're going to be staring at a puzzle while the entire game comes to a complete halt.

6. the sociologist: this GM is often less interested in actually playing the game and more interested in using the system to perform social engineering. He might not produce a good storyline, but ask him what the GDP of the good elven nation of woodliness is and he can give it to you adjusted for last year inflation values too.

what kinds have you seen?

Crow
2008-07-25, 05:20 PM
Do a search. Also, the common name for the "railroader" is actually The Conductor. :smallwink:

nobodylovesyou4
2008-07-25, 05:22 PM
there was a thread just like this somewhere, but its lost in the annals of GiTP now. i do remember one gm type from it though:

7. The Historian. The historian has a world all fleshed out, knows the economics of the cities, what wars are being fought and where, etc etc. However, he has also worked out what has happened the last one thousand years, where it happened, and why. He will jump on any chance to give you a twenty mnute lecture on stuff you don't care about. Often a master storyteller, and he'll let you know it.

elliott20
2008-07-25, 05:22 PM
ahh, thank you. my google-fu has been weak.

Swordguy
2008-07-25, 06:17 PM
Assuming this one continues, it'll be interesting to see the proportion of "good" archetypes to "bad" archetypes.

TheCountAlucard
2008-07-25, 06:41 PM
8. "The Coddler." This guy cares more about your character than you do. He'll give you wealth of a character twelve levels higher, and will have the big bad stop fighting, just to keep your character alive.

9. "Mr. Cutscene." A distinct form of railroading, this person treats it like a video game, letting the big bad make a long speech, even though the players have the surprise round. If a scene calls for you being hit on the head and knocked out, it will happen, without a single roll of the dice.

nobodylovesyou4
2008-07-25, 09:56 PM
10. "The Director". This type of DM is better suited to making a movie, because you may as well be sitting around listening to him describe a scene from a movie to you. If a fight is going well, expect an NPC to come in and fight the enemy for you. Every battle is basically the PC's siting on the sidelines while the epic battle for the safety of the world unfolds before them.

Hyozo
2008-07-25, 10:05 PM
11: The PC killer. This is the DM who plays against the players instead of with them. Sometimes he'll give you the toughest traps and enemies with CR's close to that of the group, most of the time he'll throw the CR system out the window and you'll never win a fight against his NPCs.

The_Werebear
2008-07-25, 10:27 PM
there was a thread just like this somewhere, but its lost in the annals of GiTP now. i do remember one gm type from it though:

7. The Historian. The historian has a world all fleshed out, knows the economics of the cities, what wars are being fought and where, etc etc. However, he has also worked out what has happened the last one thousand years, where it happened, and why. He will jump on any chance to give you a twenty mnute lecture on stuff you don't care about. Often a master storyteller, and he'll let you know it.

Glad to know my minor contribution is still floating around. I'm still guilty of it too.

12. SWIM! SWIM FOREVER! This DM has an impossibly deep campaign world filled with dozens of competing factions, interesting NPC's, and fascinating histories. What it lacks is a coherent plot. The PC's wander about in a massive campaign world having no idea what they are supposed to be doing. Eventually, the players will be weeping for a railroader just to have some goals.

EndlessWrath
2008-07-25, 10:44 PM
I've seen quite a few varients of all the ones so far...and quite a few mixtures.... such as railroader/weenie/swim swim swim/mimic when we had our Nd20 dm quit... one of the players took his PC and made the main NPC... trust me, we haven't killed him yet..its been a year...

otherwise:

13. The Mimic: One who takes everything story based from his favorite book/movie/tv show or even a previous campaign creating nothing truly original and making the game a complete mirror image of zed media thing. i.e. someone following a TV show like Star trek or Naruto, every meeting is the next episode....

14. ???-nators: The Clueless DM. Never plans ahead for anything but rather improvises everything. This form of dming...I'm guilty of.

15. The Submissionator: A specific form of ???-nators. One who never plans ahead but rather lets the players have the reigns.

nobodylovesyou4
2008-07-25, 11:15 PM
15. The Submissionator: A specific form of ???-nators. One who never plans ahead but rather lets the players have the reigns.

I'm thinking it may be my fault, but I had a DM like this. Whenever he said something, I said, "No, do this instead," and he did. He figured that since I have more experience, I knew what I was talking about (I didnt).

Wow, that makes me sound terrible...

thegurullamen
2008-07-26, 12:28 AM
I myself am a Sociologist Combat Fiend. Why not put that degree to work figuring out why the BBEGs of the world want to decimate and destroy the PCs while throwing 3,872 orcs, 14 malevolent intelligent artifacts wielded by fallen archons and a nine-headed tarrasque in their path?

More in keeping with the tone of the thread:

16) The Figment: This DM weaves the world the PCs play in with such a light touch, it almost seems as if he isn't there except to say whether or not an attack hits. Tends to offer the most immersive games, but sadly prone to DM Warping, gradually changing from an effective DM to one of the others listed above or below, especially The Mimic.

EndlessWrath
2008-07-26, 12:33 AM
I myself attempt to be a mixture of all the good ones and none of the bad ones...but... I end up mixing everything. I've found a balance though between RP and

17) The Uncaring: The sadest form of DM, and usually the shortest lasting... This DM is indifferent about the game, and only is running one cause A) nothing better to do or B) was made to by a friend... usually this results in Quitting or making a short campaign.

18) the Balancer: a DM that plays a mixture or Role-playing and "Roll-playing" mixing intricate story-lines and unique characters with the element of chance given by dice rolling. I attempt to be guilty of this one.

BRC
2008-07-26, 12:40 AM
I remember making these threads in the days of yore.
Let's try
19) The Headhunter: This DM dosn't just kill you. Any DM can declare that gravitationally inclined rocks cause total loss of life, but that's not good enough for The Headhunter. For Him, it's all in the chase, wearing your PC's down bit by bit before throwing you up against a CR appropriate, yet horribly unbalanced encounter. Afterwards he will laugh and hand you a blank character sheet for your next PC, he'll take the old one, to add to his collection.

quiet1mi
2008-07-26, 02:00 AM
thats where my Npcs come from.... and if they are super strong and unbeatable, i will make that the villain of the next game

20)the rules lawyering war gamer who wants story in his game and has the super ability to be very long winded and run out of things to say when it gets to be the players turn to respond: I think it is self explanatory...

Tengu_temp
2008-07-26, 02:03 AM
20. The Cynic - don't play an even remotely good character in his campaign. The world will eat you.
21. The Idealist - don't play an even remotely evil character in his campaign. The world will eat you.

BizzaroStormy
2008-07-26, 02:57 AM
The Randomizer: You have no idea what you're getting yourself into and neither does your DM. This type of DM keeps a well organized binder full of all types of charts and has a die-rolling program written into his expensive calculator. Where will the group end up? A broom closet? A large yet empty castle? Tehe anus of a colossal red dragon? Only the dice will tell.

darkzucchini
2008-07-26, 08:50 AM
Well I see myself in a couple of these, mainly the Historian/Sociologist. Anyway, here are a couple more that further flush out my style of DMing.

22 The Tactition: While this DM might not pit the PCs against such overwhelming odds as the Battle Fiend, but expect to constantly be fighting on the edge of cliffs, across bridges, in valleys surrounded by hidden archers. This DM is not satisfied with simply attacking the PCs every round, but must grapple the Wizard, bullrush the Rogue out of flanking, and constantly trip the Fighter. Expect heavy PC casualties unless the PC are also so tactically inclined.

23. Davy Jones: Fear water, for water is the player killer. The PCs in this DM's world know to avoid the water, which is unfortunate, seeing as many combat encounters take place on bridges, boats, or underground pools. Only in this DMs game will PCs take Skill Focus: Swim. Seriously, I think over have the combat deaths that I have had in my games over the past few years have been due to drowning. Hurray for grappling underwater!!!

Treguard
2008-07-26, 09:33 AM
24. The Pedant: "You're making camp for the night, do you have your bedroll? What about your flint, firewood, food, fodder for the horses, cooking pot, water, blankets (hey, it gets cold in the desert at night!)" etc... Meticulous to a fault, this DM, striving for realism in his game, will let no action go unaccounted from a party's inventory. Whilst this may at first seem beneficial in immersing the players within the campaign's world, such a DM can become bogged down in detail (the location of money on a person/ a fragile item after a nasty fall etc), slowing the action to a crawl. Worse, such DMs are prone to becoming petty, punishing their players for forgetting such minor details and following it through to the letter.

Often tags along for the ride if the Historian is in the driving seat, confusing players with obscure cultures, customs and laws that only the DM would truly know of.

elliott20
2008-07-26, 01:14 PM
25. The Space Nut: This GM loves Sci-Fi. Every game, no matter what kind of background, will have SOME level of Sci-Fi elements thrown in for good measure. Fantasy? you'll see iron golems with highly sophisticated a mechanical parts. Modern? futuristic weapon labs. Pulp? Far-future tech that humanity has only dreamed of. Not necessarily good or bad per se. But rather, if you've gamed with him before, you know exactly what he'll throw in for flavor.

26. The Signature: Every campaign references something else you guys have done before. It might be just a little nod to the past, or it could be an outright story-arc featuring the cast of the last campaign. When done right, it really puts a smile on the player's faces since they feel they've directly contributed to the world somehow. when done incorrectly, the players will feel like they've done it all already.

krossbow
2008-07-26, 01:27 PM
27. The B-movie scientist: Gives players access to wildly dangerous situations without considering the possible repercussions. What could possibly go wrong?

Xyk
2008-07-27, 02:28 AM
28. The Enthusiast: has a different voice for every NPC, and really gets into the backstory of every NPC. Sometimes, it is good to have nameless NPCs. These impress me when combined with improvisers.

29. The Monotone: Has the same voice for every character, no matter the situation (be it torture or overjoy). There are often more nameless NPCs.

I tend to be a conducter sort. Except when I play. I often play chaotic selfish characters who really have no reason to save the princess from the castle of evil. The monetary reward is really not needed for me to be completely happy, and the risks vastly outweigh them anyways.

My conducting is really just "go fight the dragon"
PC "no thanks"
Me "there'll be beer!"
PC "to the dragon!"

Dairun Cates
2008-07-27, 03:14 AM
Assuming this one continues, it'll be interesting to see the proportion of "good" archetypes to "bad" archetypes.

It almost always ends with a good 10:1 ratio of bad to good if not way worse. There's a lot of reasons for that. It mostly boils down to people focusing on the negative and if you get a good GM, you're only going to have 1 type written down here.

Totally Guy
2008-07-27, 03:35 AM
1. the novice: he doesn't know the rules, he doesn't really know what he's doing. But man, he's so excited about this game that he's about to burst into flames in his seat! often, this is someone who was really just pushed into the role of GM because he's the only one who has really read the books at all. could turn into any other kind of GM, depending upon their experience.

I'm so pleased with the story I've got planned I just want to tell all my players and as they're the ones I play D&D with I've got no-one else to tell. Very frustrating.

Hopeless
2008-07-27, 04:05 AM
30) How about the one who rewrites the rules using earlier editions when it becomes apparent he can't pull off his shenanigans without cheating?

For example one week getting the pcs to make a spot check with only one player getting a critical success thereby allowed to make an attack of opportunity on a swooping dragon.
Using a control water spell to create a 40' wall of water in the shape of a crude fist interposed between it and the rest of the party moving said party down to the floor of the swamp some 10' down only to be told the following week that the dragon wasn't surprised managed to close its wings plow through said wall (taking damage) and still managin to use its breath weapon ignoring the fact the target are now 10' from where they were and it hasn't had time to adjust for this and it still managed to pull out of its dive and fly off (note it closed its wings prior to hitting said wall).

Then there's aging the cleric 60 years and saying he needed greater restoration to recover with his own church refusing to cast this unless he pays 28,000 in gold and when he returned with the money was told there was no cleric's available since they were supposedly out fighting a demon horde although the cleric just came back from fighting said army.

Then he was assassinated in a church by the first cleric of his own faith he has met in the entire campaign outside of waterdeep who turned out to be an assassin this is after weeks of travel where every settlement encountered outside of waterdeep had been supposedly attacked by demons but no cleric's of helm in any of them.

Sorry went a little too far there by the way he claimed the assassin was following the group and he merely used the cleric going to the church alone as a suitable target even though had that been the case the church would have had other priests present or even practitioners something he ignored.

ericgrau
2008-07-27, 07:58 AM
Well I see myself in a couple of these, mainly the Historian/Sociologist. Anyway, here are a couple more that further flush out my style of DMing.

22 The Tactition: While this DM might not pit the PCs against such overwhelming odds as the Battle Fiend, but expect to constantly be fighting on the edge of cliffs, across bridges, in valleys surrounded by hidden archers. This DM is not satisfied with simply attacking the PCs every round, but must grapple the Wizard, bullrush the Rogue out of flanking, and constantly trip the Fighter. Expect heavy PC casualties unless the PC are also so tactically inclined.

23. Davy Jones: Fear water, for water is the player killer. The PCs in this DM's world know to avoid the water, which is unfortunate, seeing as many combat encounters take place on bridges, boats, or underground pools. Only in this DMs game will PCs take Skill Focus: Swim. Seriously, I think over have the combat deaths that I have had in my games over the past few years have been due to drowning. Hurray for grappling underwater!!!

Do you happen to be DMing a group in or near Orange County that I can join?

Dihan
2008-07-27, 08:18 AM
31) The Introvert - This DM just just shouldn't be a DM. This DM is unable to get the players to focus on the game. He can't grab the attention of the players and when he finally does nothing has been achieved throughout the session. It doesn't matter if he knows all the rules and has a decent plot, just expect the game to not even start at all.

The New Bruceski
2008-07-27, 08:55 AM
It almost always ends with a good 10:1 ratio of bad to good if not way worse. There's a lot of reasons for that. It mostly boils down to people focusing on the negative and if you get a good GM, you're only going to have 1 type written down here.

Happy families are all alike...

sonofzeal
2008-07-27, 09:37 AM
32) The Ad-Libber - almost nothing in his game world exists up until the moment he needs it. Requires frequent time off to slap together new encounters or details as needed. On the upside, there's very little railroading...




I'm an Ad-Libber, I'll admit. I plan the material for the next session, and maybe have a vague idea what'll happen the session after that. My player have been pretty good about staying on the "rails" such as they are, but my notes usually end up changing in some way halfway through the session. Other than that I'm a bit of a Combat Fiend, although I try to spice it up with fairly frequent social and problemsolving plots. Still, I have a strong history of trying to TPK with even-CR encounters.

UglyPanda
2008-07-27, 09:52 AM
33. The NPC Factory: It rhymes! This DM will spend hours upon hours each day crafting NPCs with interesting backstories, creating custom races and items for their use, give them unique voices and personality, then completely forget about the campaign world. Every city or town is completely interchangeable while the NPCs roam free.

34. Invisible Monorail Conductor: If you're being railroaded, you can fight against it or accept it, but at least you know where you're going. What the Invisible Monorail Conductor does is to railroad you without giving you any idea of the plot or the next destination. Often this can boil down to:
DM: "You have a McGuffin, you don't know what it does. What do you do next?"
PC: "Umm..."
DM: "Wrong answer, roll for initiative."
This is often related to or caused by Swimming forever.

35. Sadistic DM: One of the original DM archetypes, the sadistic DM is one who takes pleasure the the PC's pain. Thusly, one should never: Trust NPCs; Expect fair compensation for fair work; Have a BBEG that can be killed through normal combat; Pass over anything that was given a description; Pick up anything that might be treasure; Let the DM know you don't trust him/her; etc. Of course, this is a cyclic pattern of behavior. The second everyone partakes in these precautions, the DM will suddenly embark on a nice streak. This streak of nice behavior will last exactly long enough for you not to expect the next trap that is set for the PCs.

36. Alignment Weathervane: This DM hates Clerics and Paladins with a passion. Anything said player does is treated as a test of character, whether it be killing an enemy or feeding homeless orphans. While real-life morality deviates wildly, the DM's opinions do not and Paladins will fall quite often.

Edit: Heh, I edited my post to add that last one in, and next one ends up being related.

Antacid
2008-07-27, 10:03 AM
Happy families are all alike...

Gah, I was going to do that one.

36) The Moralist. This DM runs a mostly fair campaign, but suffers from a special kind of railroading when very specific ethical questions come up. If you have your PC do something, in-game, that the DM doesn't approve of in real life, you'll find you're suddenly travelling down LG-railroad tracks.

I had a DM who was opposed to hunting and cruelty to animals. She gave us a random encounter with an Aurumvorax, an animal-intelligence predator made entirely of gold, and then insisted that my chaotic wizard, who was well-established as being greedy, not kill it after my save-or-lose incapacitated it in the first round. She actually started offering XP for the rest of the party to stop me. They finally wound up tying my character up and putting me on the back of a donkey simply because it was the only way the DM would have been willing to keep playing. :smallannoyed:

Ralfarius
2008-07-27, 11:12 AM
37.) Dr. Frankenstein
The good doctor loves to develop new creatures, or heavily modify those which already exist. Unfortunately, he has little to no grasp of how to do so in a sensible manner, so all encounters are ridiculously easy or practically impossible due to some oversight in his monster generation.

38.) Mr. Plot-Exposition
This fellow is madly in love with his work. So much so that he has to make his villain's big reveal early on, just to taunt the characters and gloat over their impending doom. In the event that the players seize the moment to take out the villain, he's usually at a loss due to a lack of contingency plan.

Voila! The original thread! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/search.php?searchid=462875&pp=25&page=13)

TheElfLord
2008-07-27, 12:33 PM
I prefer the description of the Historian found in my sig.

39) The Stat Master
For this DM, stats are everything. Every NPC the characters meet has a full set of stats. Even characters that may show up later in the game or may get mentioned by another npc in passing have stats. Names and personalities may follow they stats or they may not, but they are clearly secondary.

Saph
2008-07-27, 12:59 PM
40. Myopia

Text in rulebooks is often very small. Some GMs are careful to double-checck the monster's text to make sure they're reading it right. Others just take a glance and wing it.

GM: "The monster hits you with its full attack. You take 7 damage and 10 Con damage."
Player: "WHAT?"

(Next session)

Player: "Hey! I looked up that monster and it does 1d6 COLD damage per hit! Not Con damage, COLD damage!"
GM: "Really?"
Player: "YES!"
GM: "Oh. Oops. So, got your new character ready?"

41. Forest for the Trees

The opposite of Myopia. This is the GM who doublechecks everything in the rulebook. Not just some things, everything. God help you if you have players who like to do complicated actions and/or ask the GM questions that begin with "So it's not in the rules, but if I did this . . ." Expect each combat round to take a minimum of twenty minutes.

They're kind of opposite poles to each other. I've played with both. On the whole, Myopia is more fun, as combats are at least more exciting.

- Saph

happyturtle
2008-07-27, 01:35 PM
I'm so pleased with the story I've got planned I just want to tell all my players and as they're the ones I play D&D with I've got no-one else to tell. Very frustrating.

Oh that's totally me. Want to PM me with your story, and I'll PM you with mine? :smallsmile:

42. Rules? What rules? This is the opposite of number 24 Pedant. This DM hates dealing with rules. If it comes to a conflict between rules and story, story wins every time. If you can come up with a plausible reason why your player can do something, then she won't bother making you roll. She keeps combining similar skills and letting you respend the points because it annoys her trying to work out the difference between things like Awareness and Observation. You don't have to keep an inventory... if it makes sense for your character to have something with you, then you can have it. In extreme cases, she doesn't bother actually giving numbers for the money you have in game or providing an equipment list.

(Or am I the only one of these? ....)

EndlessWrath
2008-07-27, 01:45 PM
43. Insecure DM: A DM who wants to please everyone and is worried of making people upset... Usually this lets players Run rampant through his game and do crazy things no other DM would allow.

I had one of these... He's gotten better recently, but not before we killed 5 generals without letting them have a combat round. ;)
Effect: Meat grinder. :smallbiggrin:

44. The unsure: a DM who's never really sure if he's doing whats right... and obviously doesn't know Rule 0. He constantly asks questions to the players about rules/mechanics/story to make sure he's on the right track.

45. Rule 0 Master. He abuses the Rule 0 "the DM is always right". He's a very specific kind of railroader, using the players fears of the DMs purple lightning bolt that does 300000000d20 dmg untyped. He doesn't let you argue...even if your right, you're not with him.

46. The Role-play abuser. This DM uses every chance he has to abuse whatever you role-play. If you meet a good npc or something, you can expect a 99.9999999999999% chance that he/she will die, and you will feel remorse. This ends up with the players making friends with no npcs and refusing to role-play in general due to the idea the DM might use this against you. It forces players to make shields for themselves =/

BRC
2008-07-27, 01:50 PM
47 I, DMPC: A DMPC can often be a good help to the campaign. It can fill an unfilled roll, give the DM a chance to have some fun like a player, and give the players a little push in the right direction when they are totally lost. However, sometimes things get out of control. When they do, it's because of the I, DMPC. This character may or may not be overpowered statistically, but they will end up that way anyway. If you have a Rogue heavy party with a DMPC cleric, expect to fight lots of undead. If everybody plays a caster but the DMPC is a fighter, EVERYTHING will have spell resistance. The end result is the DM pretty much doing everything.

48 The Million Dollar DM: This DM is a skilled optimizer, and is willing to share his expertise with his players. Describe a character concept that is somewhat subpar to him, he will take the concept and rebuild it, Stronger, Faster, Better. Using his knowledge of the sourcebooks and the occasional minor houserule, he'll help you play the character you want while still making it a viable party member.
49 The Comic Book Guy: This DM does not necessarily have to like comic books, but a Simpsons reference is always good. The point is that this DM may be great at everything, they just cannot or will not think up original plots. Everything will be taken from a book, or a movie, or a TV Show, it may be expertly handled, but it comes from an external source. This is not necessarily a bad thing depending on the group, but it can get old after a while.

Dairun Cates
2008-07-27, 02:07 PM
Rule 0 Master. He abuses the Rule 0 "the DM is always right". He's a very specific kind of railroader, using the players fears of the DMs purple lightning bolt that does 300000000d20 dmg untyped. He doesn't let you argue...even if your right, you're not with him.


Actually, that's Rule 1. Rule 0 in D&D is everyone has fun. Everyone having fun overrides any chain of command or actual set of written rules. It is a GAME, after all.

EndlessWrath
2008-07-27, 02:07 PM
49 The Comic Book Guy: This DM does not necessarily have to like comic books, but a Simpsons reference is always good. The point is that this DM may be great at everything, they just cannot or will not think up original plots. Everything will be taken from a book, or a movie, or a TV Show, it may be expertly handled, but it comes from an external source. This is not necessarily a bad thing depending on the group, but it can get old after a while.

Sorry.. beat ya to the punch there with number 13 =/




13. The Mimic: One who takes everything story based from his favorite book/movie/tv show or even a previous campaign creating nothing truly original and making the game a complete mirror image of zed media thing. i.e. someone following a TV show like Star trek or Naruto, every meeting is the next episode....

Tough_Tonka
2008-07-27, 02:50 PM
50: Mr. Lets the Dice Decide

This DM never rolls behind a screen and what the dice say goes, no exceptions. Depending on how lucky the PCs are rolling during a session he or she is either very popular or very hated.

51: Mr. Fudge

This DM rolls the dice behind the screen and looks down to give the PCs the illusion of chance.

Silence
2008-07-27, 05:06 PM
52: Inconsistant: One moment, you'll be racking up the XP without taking a hit point, and then when you get to the boss, you'll be killed on the first round. Yea.

krossbow
2008-07-27, 06:18 PM
53.) The main character.


Your characters may be shining paragons of good, out kicking the forces of evil's collective butts and righting wrongs; on the other hand, you may be complete idiots. It doesn't really matter, your characters are all insignificant compared to THE DM NPC.

This is the DM who's plot is actually an attempt to have you play side-kick to his NPC who accomplishes insane acts of heroism, trumps the monsters without breaking a sweat, and constantly mary-sue god modes like Goku on crack.


Similiar to the rail road DM. Expect large amounts of dual wielding, drow elves, and/or homebrewed prestige classes (and no, your characters may not take the same prestige class as the npc).

Soniku
2008-07-27, 09:43 PM
54. ) The long game DM

This guy plans in advance. Way in advance. Way, way, way in advance. Things will happen in session one that won't even seem significant for the next two years of (real time) roleplaying. Often also number 55, and sometimes but not often a conducter.


55. ) The riddler

Although the riddler appears to be a normal DM, there will always be something a litle bit odd about a situation. A strange red owl watching you from the window, your superior millitary officer always drinking out of his hip-flask, an otherwise useless side quest having a single frozen corpse in a three foot high tunnel. It could just be flavour... or it could be the riddler at work, feeding you the most obscure clues that will never make sense until just after you needed them and leave you smacking your head on the desk in frustration.


(I am guilty of both of those... although oddly I'm also an ad-lib DM so I dunno how that works :smallbiggrin: )

EndlessWrath
2008-07-27, 09:47 PM
56: the Clockworker. This DM never railroads...rather, he sets a world up, and sets it in motion...the gears continue to turn. for example, event A will happen whatever the PC's decide to do...but it might change what Event B or Event C will be. This DM is constantly fixing up this game but never forces anything. The game is like a well oiled machine

Ralfarius
2008-07-27, 10:24 PM
55. ) The riddler

Although the riddler appears to be a normal DM, there will always be something a litle bit odd about a situation. A strange red owl watching you from the window, your superior millitary officer always drinking out of his hip-flask, an otherwise useless side quest having a single frozen corpse in a three foot high tunnel. It could just be flavour... or it could be the riddler at work, feeding you the most obscure clues that will never make sense until just after you needed them and leave you smacking your head on the desk in frustration.
Man, I played with one of those. In a mystery/horror game. Set in Ravenloft. Everything was all "A piece of licorice is found at the scene of every grisly murder!" turns out the murderer kept a bag of licorice, but that didn't actually help you find them, even if you went looking for licorice vendors or asked around if anyone knew anyone who had a thing for licorice.

nobodylovesyou4
2008-07-27, 10:42 PM
56: the Clockworker. This DM never railroads...rather, he sets a world up, and sets it in motion...the gears continue to turn. for example, event A will happen whatever the PC's decide to do...but it might change what Event B or Event C will be. This DM is constantly fixing up this game but never forces anything. The game is like a well oiled machine

if you can get one of these, consider yourself lucky; its like dating a supermodel.

only a true geek would compare DnD to sex with a woman... :smalleek:

Gralamin
2008-07-27, 10:44 PM
if you can get one of these, consider yourself lucky; its like dating a supermodel.

only a true geek would compare DnD to sex with a woman... :smalleek:

One DM I've had was that and Tengu's #20 (Cynic). That was a fun campaign.

darkzucchini
2008-07-27, 10:53 PM
Do you happen to be DMing a group in or near Orange County that I can join?

Unfortunately no, but thanks for the complement.

Anyway, here are a couple more DM types that I have thought of from personal experience.

57. The Non-descriptor: This DM either forgets to mention important aspects of the encounter or does not adequately describe the PC's surroundings. In the case I am thinking of, the PCs did not realize that they were being attacked by two-headed wolves until the DM said, "...and the second head bites you for [so and so] damage." To be fair, I think was just really tired at the time, he is usually quite good.

58. The Card Shark: This DM has stacked the deck, masting the art of directing the PCs without blatant railroading. Through thoroughly knowing his player's styles, their PC's background and goals, and the precises placement of items and information, this DM is able to accurately predict the actions of the PCs and thus direct them in a manor suiting of his plot. I have known a few DMs who are very good at this and I think that I have gotten better at it as I add years onto my DM experience. That, or my PCs are just utterly predictable.

Similar to the Clockworker (56) now that I see it.

elliott20
2008-07-28, 02:36 AM
59. Splatterhouse: gaming with this guy is not necessarily deadly, but it is messy. why? because this guy loves his gore. Minions don't just get stabbed in the chest and fall over dead. No, they get their limbs torn off, their torsos ripped from the waist, their spinal cords snapped, their skulls crushed whilst their brains oozes out of their ears. Yeah, death is messy messy business with a man this fascinated with death.

60. Michael Bay: along the same vein as 59, this guy loves explosions and things getting blown up or destroyed.

Soniku
2008-07-28, 07:24 AM
Man, I played with one of those. In a mystery/horror game. Set in Ravenloft. Everything was all "A piece of licorice is found at the scene of every grisly murder!" turns out the murderer kept a bag of licorice, but that didn't actually help you find them, even if you went looking for licorice vendors or asked around if anyone knew anyone who had a thing for licorice.

Don't blame your DM for that, it's actually a pre-made adventure. Maybe he should have read it over more carfully to make sure it was actually good, but it's not him who came up with it in the first place :smalltongue:

Ralfarius
2008-07-28, 09:48 AM
Don't blame your DM for that, it's actually a pre-made adventure. Maybe he should have read it over more carfully to make sure it was actually good, but it's not him who came up with it in the first place :smalltongue:
Oh sweet mercy, are you serious? That lyin' scumbag.

Ranis
2008-07-28, 10:26 AM
61. It's All In My Head This GM, extremely overconfident in his nonexistant photographic memory will "memorize" the statistics blocks of all of his monsters, never referencing books or other materials, and won't even keep track of the initiative order or current HP of monsters that he's "prepared." This DM as a byproduct has also forgotten to prepare your loot, and as such will just give you a large lump sum of cash when you level to outfit yourself with. And when he realizes that you're too powerful because you can buy whatever it is that you want, he takes it away then wonders why his "encounters" crush you flat.

elliott20
2008-07-28, 10:51 AM
62. The Romance Novel: Tries to insert romance into his game, but often fails to realize that one hairy male geek trying to serenade another hairy male geek is kind of creepy, no matter what your disguise might be.

Jolly Steve
2008-07-28, 11:11 AM
I've just experienced 63 The FATAList: His campaign features mature adult themes. Meaning tentacle-rape.

rawmutton
2008-07-28, 11:25 AM
64: The Thespian
This kind of DM tends to be a great player, which shines through in his DMing. He has great voices for all his NPCs, with attention paid to accent and cadence. When he voices a dragon or fiend, he seems to be 10 feet tall, or seems to shrink himself when playing a pixie or sprite. A freind of mine made us all spit Mountain Dew out of our noses while playing Star Wars by doing a dead-on C3P0 impression when we met a protocol droid.

65: Wheels within wheels
This DM thrives on plotlines and double-crosses. Over time, there are about a million loose plot threads, and you start to forget who's on your side, which side you're on, and you can't really predict when the knife is gonna plunge into your back. It's kinda like watching the Matrix Trilogy, or Pirates of the Carribean. Sometimes, though, he'll surprise you by having a prophecy made by some Oracle or holy book come true, some 5 years later (real time).

The New Bruceski
2008-07-28, 11:26 AM
Oh sweet mercy, are you serious? That lyin' scumbag.

Don't take it personally, you're not the only one. My DM back in middle/high school, he had a bunch of nice ideas. One that stuck with me was where this guy Elmo ("the guy needed a name, I pulled one out at random") was trying to ruin his crush's wedding through prestidigitation, poisons, and other means. I always remembered that one as very clever. Years later I happened to glance through the free samples of Dungeon's archives and found the adventure. Once I started looking, others seemed familiar too.

I've got nothing against using premades, but claiming them as your own?

Duke of URL
2008-07-28, 11:30 AM
While this may be similar to existing ones, I'll offer it anyway:

66. The Munchkin This DM isn't really interested in your game at all; he just sees the PCs as a means to playtest his latest powerbuilds, which he uses as enemy encounters.

And one suitable to the PbP forums here:

67. AWOL The DM starts up a campaign, gets the players going and a good playing rhythm established, and then disappears without notice.

Appropos of nothing:

68. The Tinkerer Constantly tweaking the rules of the setting, players will find that various houserules and homebrews change over time, even if it happens to break continuity. This is not necessarily a negative, as the DM may just be balancing things after seeing how they're broken.

69. Unspoken Rules This DM operates under a set of houserules and homebrews that he forgets to tell the players about until they actually come up. This same type of DM often dislikes particular feats, classes, and PrCs but fails to tell the players about these dislikes until they've already built concepts around them.

70. Chain Yanker. This type of DM, often a subset of the "railroad" type, delights in leading his players down paths encouraged to have them make bad assumptions only to be able to turn those assumptions on the players later. Again, not necessarily negative, but potentially very annoying and if overused will lead players into never trusting anyone.

Zocelot
2008-07-28, 11:35 AM
71. I Stab It Again
This DM is the opposite of 59 (Splatterhous). Roll a hit? "Ok, you hit it in the arm" Roll a crit? "Ok, you hit it in the chest" Use fireball? "Well, there is an explosion in this area."
This DM may also be very bad at roleplaying NPCs. They may be very good at planning out worlds and dungeons, but they can't think on the spot. They can work well if paired with a Co-DM.

PanNarrans
2008-07-28, 12:14 PM
72. The Immaterialist. Similar to no. 42, but only applying to money and XP. Expect to hear: 'Ok, so I suppose you should level about now' and 'The (item) of (power)? I suppose you can afford it with the hoard of that dragon you slayed.'

73. The X-treme Diplomat. Everything will hinge on the result of that Diplomacy check, and everything from buying a silver piece's worth of apples to convincing the Squidfolk not to eat you will require one. Parties without a maxed out Bard will suffer, as the world either ignores or hates them.

74. The Bridge-Dropper. Puts ridiculous amounts of effort into NPCs, and then realises that the plot requires them to die. Or is that just me?

As to my own style, I try to be a Clockworker, but end up ad-libbing everything. I also have a few little signatures, like the Squidfolk. It's not a campaign world of mine without Squidfolk.

spamoo
2008-07-28, 01:05 PM
75) The Core Advocate

This DM will, for some reason, only allow the core 3.5 rulebooks in his games. This is made much worse when the DM knows that a majority of the players are powergamers.

Tengu_temp
2008-07-28, 01:14 PM
54. ) The long game DM

This guy plans in advance. Way in advance. Way, way, way in advance. Things will happen in session one that won't even seem significant for the next two years of (real time) roleplaying. Often also number 55, and sometimes but not often a conducter.


That's me. So very me. It perfectly explains my reasons for annoyance when my games are left unfinished for one reason or another, too.

Jolly Steve
2008-07-28, 03:05 PM
I'm surprised no-one's mentioned this yet - don't they do this any more?

76: The Pun-Master OK, I know you thought Eddie Lizzard was a bit of a silly villain, so I've replaced him. With Drow Carey.

alfredbester
2008-07-29, 12:03 AM
77: The Mad Inventor: This DM lives to develop crazy off-the-wall magic items (and even spells) for their players to "deal with" to their amusement. Like a magical flaming sword. Except the whole thing's flaming, and increasingly so. The damage bonus increases a die category every round it's wielded with the damage inflicted onto the player trailing one die category behind. Or the last resort magical explosive rocket boots. Or the rockin' vampiric mushroom armor that gets increasingly difficult to take off as it attaches to your circulatory system. This DM is a wannabe Leonardo da Vinci.

/registered to profess guilt

Dairun Cates
2008-07-29, 12:23 AM
54. ) The long game DM

This guy plans in advance. Way in advance. Way, way, way in advance. Things will happen in session one that won't even seem significant for the next two years of (real time) roleplaying. Often also number 55, and sometimes but not often a conducter.


55. ) The riddler

Although the riddler appears to be a normal DM, there will always be something a litle bit odd about a situation. A strange red owl watching you from the window, your superior millitary officer always drinking out of his hip-flask, an otherwise useless side quest having a single frozen corpse in a three foot high tunnel. It could just be flavour... or it could be the riddler at work, feeding you the most obscure clues that will never make sense until just after you needed them and leave you smacking your head on the desk in frustration.


(I am guilty of both of those... although oddly I'm also an ad-lib DM so I dunno how that works :smallbiggrin: )

Hey! There's nothing wrong with setting up a likeable character in the first session that you know your players will attach to so you can have him backstab the players 4 months later with little warning, but it all makes sense in retrospect.

alfredbester
2008-07-29, 02:02 PM
78: Drunken Master "DM" : It isn't so bad when the DM sips a beer to help loosen into their characters, but when the entire campaign is a golden bubbly haze and the players are sober, this can be bad. Can possibly counter some of the negative effects of The Introvert DM. But as a boat can float in water, it can also sink.

79: The Artist: This DM spends hours creating elaborate and intricate maps, symbols, and monster drawings. The DM uses the game as an outlet for their artistic skills and talents because they didn't get to put their art degree to use in their day job.

80: The Collector: This DM travels around with something like $40,000 of miniatures in enough toolboxes to make people think they had a full time carpentry business. Has at least two of every miniature ever created, including the ancient red dragon behemoth.

AKA_Bait
2008-07-29, 02:12 PM
56: the Clockworker. This DM never railroads...rather, he sets a world up, and sets it in motion...the gears continue to turn. for example, event A will happen whatever the PC's decide to do...but it might change what Event B or Event C will be. This DM is constantly fixing up this game but never forces anything. The game is like a well oiled machine

This is what I try to be.


78: Drunken Master "DM" : It isn't so bad when the DM sips a beer to help loosen into their characters, but when the entire campaign is a golden bubbly haze and the players are sober, this can be bad. Can possibly counter some of the negative effects of The Introvert DM. But as a boat can float in water, it can also sink.

That's what I sometimes am. :smallbiggrin:

tiercel
2008-07-29, 03:52 PM
81. The J. Michael Stracynski Apprentice: This DM, knowingly or unknowingly, strives to make the campaign to resemble Babylon 5 series in many aspects. Largely a combination of previous types, notably:

#7, Historian: though he is often coy about revealing history at first, since it unfailingly contains at least some of his plot secrets and twists
#12, SWIM! : though generally with stronger plot lines, it can sometimes be easy to get lost in everything he wants to have going on
#26, Signature: will throw in references to previous campaigns/movies/etc in addition to all the references to NPC's Dark Secrets, Secret Histories, and Mysterious Clues
#35, Sadistic: especially in a hideously complex campaign which is morally grey, often derives especial pleasure from making sure everything Bad that happens turns out to be directly or indirectly the Heroes' fault
#38, Mr. Plot Exposition: although this trait fights with his need for plotting and secrecy, this DM is ITCHING to do the Big Reveal. Short-circuiting the plot is certainly possible in the short run, but too often this kind of DM will eventually work his setback into some kind of insane Xanatos Gambit (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/XanatosGambit)
#54, The long game: A key signature. Not only is everything either a clue or a secret, but it always will have been.
#55, Riddler: The compromise between "I have a ton of secrets to dole out as plot hooks" and "my villains are itching to monologue but I'm saving it for the Big Dramatic Moment."
#56, Clockworker: Can be a subtle form of railroading, when PCs realize that ignoring/short-circuiting plots have unintended consequences; can also lead to more-than-usual interactivity, as this type of DM can *create* new plots out of ignored or short-circuited ones.
#65, Wheels within wheels: another key component, especially if movies like the Matrix or Pirates movies seem linear by comparison


To the extent that such a DM can pull it off, the campaign can be glorious, with complex interweaving non-railroading multiple highly interactive plots all of which stretch from beginning to end of the campaign, with Big Dramatic Payoffs as secrets are discovered/revealed and hopeless challenges overcome. To the extent that the DM can't pull it off, it's like tossing 27 chainsaws at a guy who's just about capable of successfully juggling 3 rubber balls.

Archpaladin Zousha
2008-07-29, 05:33 PM
1. the novice: he doesn't know the rules, he doesn't really know what he's doing. But man, he's so excited about this game that he's about to burst into flames in his seat! often, this is someone who was really just pushed into the role of GM because he's the only one who has really read the books at all. could turn into any other kind of GM, depending upon their experience.

I am guilty of this one. And also:

82. The Lazy: This DM comes up with a lot of ideas, some good some not, but they're too lazy to create an actual adventure to run. Usually sessions with this DM will be improvised ass-pulls which will be so easy the word "cakewalk" doesn't even begin to describe it.

Every single time I've tried to run a D&D game I fall victim to this. I've never been able to create a worthwhile adventure. Ever.:smallfrown:

shaddy_24
2008-07-29, 05:53 PM
I can't say for sure which ones I'm guilty of, though the "Long Game" (54) definitally fits. I'm only running one game now, so there's no "Signature" yet, but I'm planning on running future games in the same world years later, and have a few references.

However, I am guilty of this:

83. The More The Merrier: Oh, you want to invite a friend? Sure, why not? Well, probably because you already have 7 PC's and one more is two too many. Especially if the new person has the attention span of a gnat and combat already tends to be fairly long (what with so many people taking turns). This also tends to wreak havok with XP and CR.

Right now I have 7 PC's, which is actually starting to work well, since everyone is getting better at running shorter rounds, and we've gone down 2 people who couldn't wait for their turns. Also, the group tends to fight about 2 CR over the average party level, which makes bosses about 3-4 levels higher. Which has actually worked well so far.

Zeta Kai
2008-07-29, 08:11 PM
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned these guys.

84. The Sadist: This DM may not hate you, & may not hate your character, but in his world, anything less than perfection leads to a grisly death & a new character sheet. In the campaigns he runs, every monster is immune to your best abilities, every NPC is a traitorous psychopath, every treasure is cursed, & every 10 feet is a trap (even the bakery's kitchen has a poison pit trap in it). If you play, don't bring a spare character; bring 10 extra.

85. The Hell-Forged: This DM was scarred years ago as a player by his original DM being a Sadist. Now, he views his campaign through similar death-colored glasses. His campaigns can be just as vicious & demanding as the Sadist's, but the attitude behind the carnage is different. This is less about murderous glee & more about a deeply-ingrained belief that this is the way the game should be played.

alfredbester
2008-07-29, 09:25 PM
I just have to say that #85 scares the hell out of me. And then I thought, what if I were #85 and didn't even realize it? Shiver.

Jolly Steve
2008-07-29, 09:54 PM
80: The Collector: This DM travels around with something like $40,000 of miniatures in enough toolboxes to make people think they had a full time carpentry business. Has at least two of every miniature ever created, including the ancient red dragon behemoth.

Which sounds great, until...

"We'll just use these"

"No! Those are necromancers, these guys are diabolists. Hang on, they're in here somewhere..."

Treguard
2008-07-30, 05:03 AM
86. Morbo: "SPELL TRIGGERS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY!" An extremely aggressive rules lawyer who'll go to any length to quash supposed player cheatery. Upon sensing any misinterpretation of the rules, even if by simple misunderstanding, they'll have no qualms in slamming the brakes on the action and launching into a messy argument with the offenders, effectively putting them on trial. This could occur well after the particluar event took place, the DM mulling the injustice over in their mind. Could be the sign of an immature Novice, floundering with the rules, or an impatient Munchkin who tires of mentoring his party.

happyturtle
2008-07-30, 12:27 PM
87. The Cat Herder: This DM can't keep control of his players, most of whom (the players, not the characters) are Chaotic. Instead of paying attention to the game, they are making innuendos, riffing Monty Python sketches, or talking about other games and people who aren't there. Instead of throwing them out, as he ought to do, the longsuffering Cat Herder endures it stoically, only occasionally threatening them with a level-inappropriate encounter if they don't focus.

(Okay, this is my DM, and I'm one of the guilty partys... Sorry Fitz! :smalltongue:)

arguskos
2008-07-30, 12:32 PM
87. The Cat Herder: This DM can't keep control of his players, most of whom (the players, not the characters) are Chaotic. Instead of paying attention to the game, they are making innuendos, riffing Monty Python sketches, or talking about other games and people who aren't there. Instead of throwing them out, as he ought to do, the longsuffering Cat Herder endures it stoically, only occasionally threatening them with a level-inappropriate encounter if they don't focus.
Gods.... this is sooooo my problem. Now, I have a name to give my suffering.

Also, I attempt to be the Clockwork DM, but often fall into any number of other Archetypes (Hell-Forged comes to mind, since I learned under someone who thought the Tomb of Horrors was the ideal dungeon... thanks Dad. >_<).

-argus

BRC
2008-07-30, 12:47 PM
Personally, I think that The Clockworker should be renamed The Vetinari.

Here's two more
88. Friend Computer: This DM has a fun adventure planned out. However, it requires certain decisions to be made. The DM neglects to give you the information you need to make those decisions, or if he does it seems unimportant. And in the end the party is facing down A Balor, a dracolich, and chuck norriss because they neglected to ask if there was a town nearbye where they could purchase large amounts of holy water to interrupt the ritual. and of course they should have KNOWN holy water would disrupt the ritual because they should have solved the cryptogram given to them by the old hermit three sessions ago! Note: if the game being played is, in fact, Paranoia, then a DM like this is merely doing a good job.
89. The Billboard: The opposite of Friend Computer, Billboard worries that his hints are too subtle. He overcompensates for this by making everything really obvious, random hobo's in the street will mention that there is a tomb of a knight who was famous for killing dragons nearbye, and that he was rumored to have as sword that was really good against dragons like the one attacking the town RIGHT NOW. Can get very annoying, though is occasionally necessary.

Treguard
2008-07-30, 01:12 PM
89. The Billboard: The opposite of Friend Computer, Billboard worries that his hints are too subtle. He overcompensates for this by making everything really obvious, random hobo's in the street will mention that there is a tomb of a knight who was famous for killing dragons nearbye, and that he was rumored to have as sword that was really good against dragons like the one attacking the town RIGHT NOW. Can get very annoying, though is occasionally necessary.

a.k.a, the "Clue-By-Four" :smallsmile:

Myatar_Panwar
2008-07-30, 01:22 PM
82. The Lazy: This DM comes up with a lot of ideas, some good some not, but they're too lazy to create an actual adventure to run. Usually sessions with this DM will be improvised ass-pulls which will be so easy the word "cakewalk" doesn't even begin to describe it.



I often fall into this category. Except that my ass-pull's tend to be extreamly hard. Like TPK hard. :smalleek:

Skjaldbakka
2008-07-30, 01:23 PM
Ooo! A new one i'm guilty of. I'm a Signature DM, (my games have been compared to Clamp, the way I take old NPCs and retool them for the next campaign).

I've also been told it takes a strategy guide to achieve 100% completion on one of my campaigns (I place lots of hidden goodies, to which I am not referring to treasure, but to allies).

Somewhat of a Riddler and Long Game DM as well.

happyturtle
2008-07-31, 10:54 AM
90. The Rule of Cool: This DM will let you do impossible things, but only if they are really kickass awesome. Expect to get penalized for being boring or playing it safe.

tieto
2008-07-31, 12:18 PM
#91: the background enthusiast this dm wants to know everything about your background where did you come from what is your dads name what is the name of your best friends 2nd cousins childhood pet. why! where! when!!!

Tadanori Oyama
2008-07-31, 01:12 PM
#92- I.L.M. (Industrial Light and Magic) DM
This Dungeon Master sees their adventures in their head way before the game begins. They arrange everything to dazzle and impress from the NPCs, to the backgrounds, to the monsters. Expect very big creatures with visually impressive powers (titans, elementals, etc) to show up often.

#93- The "One Way Out" DM
Sharing qualities with rail roaders and DMPC DMs, the One Way Out DM gives the players a dramatic event with only one solution which they DM may or may not have hinted at during the course of play. You'll find yourself facing down over level encounters, seemingly impossible traps, and other problems at least once per adventure. However, the One Way Out DM won't kill you for your mistakes! No, they just keep you trapped until you discover the one thing that'll save you, no matter how long it takes.

AKA_Bait
2008-07-31, 01:30 PM
#91: the background enthusiast this dm wants to know everything about your background where did you come from what is your dads name what is the name of your best friends 2nd cousins childhood pet. why! where! when!!!

This guy might also be a clockwork GM or a riddler looking to get the player as involved as possible by weaving little bits of their backstory into the gears.

EndlessWrath
2008-07-31, 01:58 PM
92. Mr. God Complex: this DM always thinks his game is the best... normally he won't listen to anything opposing this idea. He's always right...even if you are wrong... and He doesn't see the players as players... he sees them as a tool for his greatness.

Don't have one of those... thank god.

93: Mr inferiority complex. This DM is the exact opposite of Mr.God Complex. He's always trying to please people because he doesn't think his game is that good (which they usually are) and when he can't please everybody he gets depressed for sometime between hours and weeks...

Have one of these. he's really good dm...just needs to think better of the game.

Enlong
2008-07-31, 07:49 PM
90. The Rule of Cool: This DM will let you do impossible things, but only if they are really kickass awesome. Expect to get penalized for being boring or playing it safe.

Totally guilty. But can you blame me for thinking that the party bursting through wall after wall of a sand-labyrinth on the back of a hippo to be too awesome to waste?


94. The lazy planner:

This DM is good at planning things out or coming up with encounters and such, but procrastinates like mad when it comes time to crunch the numbers. This kind of DM can have a map of his dungeon, with traps and monsters laid out perfectly, but a week later will still not have the monster's stats, or have calculated the XP gain of the encounters, or have actually put something in the dragon's horde. Alternatively, the DM will plan his session around something (a trap, a monster) only to find out a week later that there exist no rules for that particular encounter.


(totally guilty of this myself. I had an ambush by assassins, but forgot to fill in the Fighter's feats or the Wizard's spellbook. I had an encounter with a bunch of Trolls, led by a Barbarian, but forgot to give them stats or equipment. I set Gelatinous Cubes on them, but forgot half their abilities, etc.)


95. What DMPC?

The polar opposite of I, DMPC. This DM seems to have a fear of giving the party NPCs to follow them for extended periods of time. All NPCs will usually refuse to go with the PCs, be too weak to be of use, or die in battle before they get the option to recruit. If the PCs manage to capture or conscript an enemy, the DM will find ways to make them vanish from combat, while trying to find a way to kill off the guy. The idea here is that the DM doesn't want to have to track yet another character, and doesn't want to make the PCs powerful enough to moot his planned encounters.

(Guilty again. I really should have just let the PCs kill those assassins instead of making them drop their weapons and turn out to be controlled by threats and blackmail. Now how am I going to get rid of that Ashworm Dragoon without making it obviously forced.)

Dervag
2008-07-31, 08:02 PM
96. The Dreamer
This DM's most notable characteristic is a shortage of players. He has lots of campaign ideas, and may even develop some basic material for them... but he can't find anyone willing to play those campaign ideas with him. It's debatable whether or not this guy is a DM at all, but you just know he would be if his social circle gave him the chance.

Often temporary.

Ralfarius
2008-07-31, 08:06 PM
Looks like we're getting pretty close to the end here, folks. What're the final five gonna be!?

chiasaur11
2008-07-31, 08:10 PM
Do we have "The single game wonk" yet?

They guy who, no matter what, will only run 1 game system.

No personal expierience or anything, but it might make a good 97.

Edea
2008-07-31, 08:13 PM
Have we had the Holy Roller yet?

Zocelot
2008-07-31, 08:32 PM
97. The single game wonk

This guy knows one single gaming system. He may know it well, or just mediocrely, but his defining characteristic is that he is not going to try a new system anytime soon. He will even stick to one edition of that system.

98. The multi game wonk

This DM is the polar opposite of the single game wonk. He knows tons of systems and editions to varying degrees and DMs all of them. He may use different systems with a single group, or for different groups.

krossbow
2008-07-31, 10:53 PM
87. The Cat Herder: This DM can't keep control of his players, most of whom (the players, not the characters) are Chaotic. Instead of paying attention to the game, they are making innuendos, riffing Monty Python sketches, or talking about other games and people who aren't there. Instead of throwing them out, as he ought to do, the longsuffering Cat Herder endures it stoically, only occasionally threatening them with a level-inappropriate encounter if they don't focus.

(Okay, this is my DM, and I'm one of the guilty partys... Sorry Fitz! :smalltongue:)




I find it best to counter such people with a fight against a homebrewed monster (or just a monster from the manual with a changed appearance/creature type) that smacks the characters around in a long drawn out battle which requires them to work together to win. Throw in a homage to something that they'll recognize (such as having The baneclaws burst through the house ala the ganado's from resident evil four, complete with ways to reinforce the house), and you've successufully re-captured their thoughts for the session.

happyturtle
2008-08-01, 04:07 AM
97. The single game wonk

This guy knows one single gaming system. He may know it well, or just mediocrely, but his defining characteristic is that he is not going to try a new system anytime soon. He will even stick to one edition of that system.



My ex husband was one of these... 1st ed D&D. His games were awesome.

The_Werebear
2008-08-01, 10:13 AM
99. Compensating for Something: This DM has either horrible or incredible luck rolling, depending on your viewpoint. He will nat 1 5-6 times in a row, break the string with an 8, and go back to his ones. As a result, all of his monsters are brutal, overpowered combat machines five CR over your level. Which he will roll horribly for, resulting in the party taking down Adult Dragons at level 4.

UglyPanda
2008-08-01, 10:35 AM
100. Personal Problems Mean Impersonal Death: This DM has major confrontational problems. Unwillingness to admit he can't handle that many players, inability to deal with certain players, or simple dislike has led him to kill those players off and not invite them back. While this could be handled by a simple request or a chat, he decides instead to just send a Balor at them, no explanation.

Ralfarius
2008-08-01, 10:39 AM
101. OFMM (Oberoni Fallacy Made Manifest): The quintessential 'perfect' DM. Has all the traits that would be desired by any group. This DM can make a wicked dungeon crawl for hack n' slashers, bring RP-heavy players to tears (for the right reasons), and everything in between. Rules are adjusted in every system to reasonably remove any broken possibilities, and everything is carefully tuned to near perfection. You may have never played with one, but surely they exist. Don't they?

hotel_papa
2008-08-01, 10:42 AM
Can I do a 102 on a 101 thread? Will I be lynched?

102- The reluctant DM. (The wannabe player)

Oh, he may be any number of these, good or bad. But horrible DM or no, he IS the DM. By default. Every single time. No matter how often he begs one JUST ONE of his players to cowboy up and take a turn behind the screen so he can finally try out that hardcore Malconvoker he read about on some "really cool forum" he won't shut up about, no one, not even his wife or best friend will agree to run more than one session's worth.

"You're just too good at it."

Shoot me.

HP

AKA_Bait
2008-08-01, 10:47 AM
Can I do a 102 on a 101 thread? Will I be lynched?

102- The reluctant DM. (The wannabe player)

Oh, he may be any number of these, good or bad. But horrible DM or no, he IS the DM. By default. Every single time. No matter how often he begs one JUST ONE of his players to cowboy up and take a turn behind the screen so he can finally try out that hardcore Malconvoker he read about on some "really cool forum" he won't shut up about, no one, not even his wife or best friend will agree to run more than one session's worth.

"You're just too good at it."

Shoot me.

HP


This sounds... woefully familiar. Not that the other people in my group don't attempt to DM, it just somehow never makes it more than a session or two. Even the other game that one of my players had been running seems to have slipped into the netherworld these days.

Ralfarius
2008-08-01, 10:56 AM
Can I do a 102 on a 101 thread? Will I be lynched?
I'm getting my rope...

But I've seen more than a few of those in my time.

The_Werebear
2008-08-01, 01:47 PM
Can I do a 102 on a 101 thread? Will I be lynched?

102- The reluctant DM. (The wannabe player)

Oh, he may be any number of these, good or bad. But horrible DM or no, he IS the DM. By default. Every single time. No matter how often he begs one JUST ONE of his players to cowboy up and take a turn behind the screen so he can finally try out that hardcore Malconvoker he read about on some "really cool forum" he won't shut up about, no one, not even his wife or best friend will agree to run more than one session's worth.

"You're just too good at it."

Shoot me.

HP

This is what I am going to end up as, I swear. I started a new campaign, and all of my players love it to the point where they have threatened bodily harm if I ever stop running it. Fortunately, my DND circle has more than enough people to have others who do want to run games. But, I think I am going to end up behind the screen full time more often than not.

Vexxation
2008-08-01, 02:27 PM
he can finally try out that hardcore Malconvoker he read about on some "really cool forum" he won't shut up about

A Malkonvoker would make for a badass BBEG, I must say. Summon a ton of Evil Creatures, sending wave after wave at the party, and when he finally runs out of Summon spells, he Greater Teleports away to fight another day.

Of course, you'd have to give the players XP for defeating the Summoned creatures or they might try to kill you in your sleep.

PanNarrans
2008-08-01, 06:51 PM
A Malkonvoker would make for a badass BBEG, I must say. Summon a ton of Evil Creatures, sending wave after wave at the party, and when he finally runs out of Summon spells, he Greater Teleports away to fight another day.
Hmm... *steals*
''90. The Rule of Cool'' - very, very guilty. The most recent example was letting Onasuma fly above a wyvern and empty his bag of holding over it. The bag contained 18 anvils.
Edit: of course, now I've checked in the rules compendium and know how falling object damage works, but the way things would play out in real life is just cooler.

d12
2008-08-03, 12:29 PM
12. SWIM! SWIM FOREVER! This DM has an impossibly deep campaign world filled with dozens of competing factions, interesting NPC's, and fascinating histories. What it lacks is a coherent plot. The PC's wander about in a massive campaign world having no idea what they are supposed to be doing. Eventually, the players will be weeping for a railroader just to have some goals.

I would have pegged SWIM FOREVER! as more the kind of DM who is oddly obsessed with the idea of the PCs traveling everywhere by boat constantly, just so he can shipwreck every single boat the party so much as glances at. I realize that the name is actually a Penny Arcade reference, but the first thing I thought of when I read that name was how much I do not trust sea travel in D&D. :smalltongue:

Ralfarius
2008-08-03, 12:30 PM
I do not trust sea travel in D&D. :smalltongue:
I so hear that. You on a boat? That boat's gonna sink. Unless you're in an all-naval campaign. Then... It's still gonna sink, just not right away.

elliott20
2008-08-03, 11:05 PM
is it just me or is the sadist in this list like 5 times?

pasko77
2008-08-04, 08:42 AM
42. Rules? What rules?
(Or am I the only one of these? ....)

Ehy, that's me :)

akira72703
2008-08-04, 03:32 PM
I'm late and missed this earlier but I have another that I think was not covered. My style tends to be J Michael Strazynski (spelling) and clockwork with some stinginess thrown in for good measure. I recently ended a campaign (yes it was over 2 years long) and one of the players began running the next game which brings be to the

Codependent DM
This is the type of DM that constantly asks someone in the group (usually a former DM or someone that he feels the group will respect their decision over his) to make rules decisions for other characters in the middle of the game.

adanedhel9
2008-08-04, 06:07 PM
Codependent DM
This is the type of DM that constantly asks someone in the group (usually a former DM or someone that he feels the group will respect their decision over his) to make rules decisions for other characters in the middle of the game.

Hah; I seem to collect these.

Even in systems that I don't know.

Hell, the last game I played, the DM had the more experienced players make all the NPCs, partly because he was worried anything he built would be a speedbump to us.