Has anyone ever written a book of GMing?

[elliott20]

We all grew up on the DMG as being our primary source for GMing, but never have I seen anyone attempt to gather all of the tips of GMing and collecting it into one place for people to look into. The truth is, the art of GMing almost feels like an artisan degree. It takes years of practice, experimentation, and knowledge to really get to that point where you really know what you're doing. It is easy to have fun when you get started, but for it to really blossom, I often feel like it would be nice to have a reference manual for people to read through and have a quick view of the landscape of GMing.

Think of it as a curriculum plan for GMs.

Does anything like this exists?

If not, what sources do you think SHOULD be part of such a hypothetical manual?

[king.com]

There was actually one written but damn if I cant find it. It was free as pdf online but i think it was more a high-concept stuff rather than a beginners guide.

The problem with a GM book is that there is very little in the way of catchall rules for how a GM runs their game. It depends very heavily on your group, your game and your own preferred style as to how things work.

Outside of a bunch of "Yes and Nos" to explain what your goals should and shouldn't be, its a lot of internal thought and practice.

[elliott20]

There was actually one written but damn if I cant find it. It was free as pdf online but i think it was more a high-concept stuff rather than a beginners guide.

The problem with a GM book is that there is very little in the way of catchall rules for how a GM runs their game. It depends very heavily on your group, your game and your own preferred style as to how things work.

Outside of a bunch of "Yes and Nos" to explain what your goals should and shouldn't be, its a lot of internal thought and practice.

I totally agree. This is why I think a short book of articles that focuses on nothing but high concepts are useless. They tend to be too short to go into any details, and too broad to make concrete implementation suggestions.

Like you said, a lot of it depends on who and what you're playing with, and that can benefit from deep dive discussions. i.e. if you're running a sandbox game, there are a set of things you need to look into. If you're running a political game, there are things you should probably be cognizant of. This is why I wonder if a curriculum worth of books/articles would really be better.

Rich himself has written extensively on the subject, but even his writings only cover a small portion of what is out there.

[Kelb_Panthera]

WotC took a stab at that very thing with DMG2 during the 3.X run. It was only a portion of the book though, and its advice is painted in fairly broad strokes.

Ultimately your comparison to artisan skills is an accurate one. Being a good DM, that is; crafting a good campaign, -is- as much art as science. To be a good DM really is to be an artisan.

Consequently, many books could be written on the subject but none of them would be perfect or cover every conceivable issue a DM might have to contend with.

[Rhynn]

You really can't write a good system-neutral guide on GMing. The role of the GM can be so wildly different in different RPGs. The very act of telling stories through the RPG differs from game to game. Are there scenes? Do the players create the setting, or does the GM? Is it 50/50, 75/25, 25/75?

Every RPG core rulebook should be, and most are, a guide to GMing - for that game. That's about the best you can get.

Not surprisingly, one of the best things you can do is read a lot of different RPG core rulebooks (and I don't mean for a bunch of different d20 games, I mean for genuinely different games).

Edit: All that said, AD&D 1E DMG FTW.

[Grinner]

This one seems alright.

[Jack of Spades]

Not surprisingly, one of the best things you can do is read a lot of different RPG core rulebooks (and I don't mean for a bunch of different d20 games, I mean for genuinely different games).

This. Reading core/DMG books for wildly different RPG's is reading a number of different sets of tactics for how games ought to be run. With each book you're looking at a completely different perspective on what a GM is, and that helps immensely when you're figuring out what the hell GMing is for you.

This one seems alright.

That sure is a direct download link. This isn't 4chan, but I'm still well and trained not to trust those-- and everyone else ought to be, too. Does the source your suggesting have a web site you could link to instead?

[king.com]

This. Reading core/DMG books for wildly different RPG's is reading a number of different sets of tactics for how games ought to be run. With each book you're looking at a completely different perspective on what a GM is, and that helps immensely when you're figuring out what the hell GMing is for you.

Yea definitely. Its always a funny thing to see someone who has only ever GM'd a particular system suddenly jumping into something else and getting stuck once they tried to apply the same knowledge and rules. Its not an easy thing but really funny because of how obvious it is (not to mention everyone has been there).

[Stubbazubba]

I'm actually surprised no one has yet mentioned Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering. I've never read it, but I hear it's pretty much just what the OP wants.

[ArcturusV]

Closest I've ever really seen was on a forum board RPG site, had a section of the board where some crazy old coot would go on about various topics of RPing week after week. Most of which could be DM oriented.

But it's a woefully under represented topic out there. Too much of it is handwaved as "Art" and thus not explained. Because "Art has no rules". Which is oddly not what I remember from Art Classes I took as a kid myself, but seems to be the prevailing thought.

[Krazzman]

For Pathfinder the Dungeonmasters guide seems quite helpful as in advice on different player-types, campaigns and such stuff. I haven't really looked through it carefully but picked a few things from it.

[TheOOB]

Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering is really really good. It covers everything from selecting a system, to making a campaign, to running sessions, with a focus on making things fun for everyone. It does take a two steps back approach, focusing less on the specific actions you should take, and more on why you should take the actions you do take.

7th Sea also has some of the best game mastering advice I've seen present in an RPG system.

[Lorsa]

GMing depends more on the people you are playing with than with the game I find. Although the game DOES matter. The secret to GMing is really to find out what makes your players have an enjoyable time and supply it to them.

I am sure it could be possible to write a book about it, with a few exercises you have to do like in all other course material.

[EccentricCircle]

Wizards of the Coast has a regular column on DMing, Its pretty good, though obviously not system neutral.

[Ashtagon]

http://www.amazon.com/X-Treme-Dungeo.../dp/0977907465

Tracy Hickman wrote one.

[Rhynn]

But it's a woefully under represented topic out there. Too much of it is handwaved as "Art" and thus not explained. Because "Art has no rules". Which is oddly not what I remember from Art Classes I took as a kid myself, but seems to be the prevailing thought.

Seriously. Art has a lot of rules. Once you master using and following them, you get to break them (often to spectacular effect). It takes understanding them to break them in a deliberate and meaningful way.

I suppose this may well apply to GMing. Once you know how to do it right, you can do it wrong and still get away with it.

http://www.amazon.com/X-Treme-Dungeo.../dp/0977907465

Tracy Hickman wrote one.

That honestly does not sound promising. Please tell me it's at least not the "principles" presented in the Dragonlance modules... ("Here's how to cheat your players out of their victories in the name of STORY!")

[Totally Guy]

What about John Wick's Play Dirty? GM advice that's not my cup of tea at all! That's not how you do it!

There's also that Gnome Stew blog that concentrates on GM advice. Unfortunately some of the writers think that RPGs are all pretty much the same and miss the point. Others I like a lot more. The other thing is that they have to continue to produce content and so a lot of their articles get lost in the sea of articles.

[valadil]

I'm actually surprised no one has yet mentioned Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering. I've never read it, but I hear it's pretty much just what the OP wants.

I liked this and agreed with most of it, but felt like it was telling me things I already knew. There were no big epiphanies for me.

To be honest, I think the best way to become a better GM is to GM. Reading a book will give you some hints. Running a campaign will give you a few levels.

[Totally Guy]

I liked this and agreed with most of it, but felt like it was telling me things I already knew. There were no big epiphanies for me.

I've seen this reaction by people reading the GMing sections of Dungeon World/Apocalypse World.

I talked about the subject with people before and one time a person asked "I do this stuff already so why would the GMing section of the game need to say how to GM the game? ... Oh, wait."

[CarpeGuitarrem]

That sure is a direct download link. This isn't 4chan, but I'm still well and trained not to trust those-- and everyone else ought to be, too. Does the source your suggesting have a web site you could link to instead?

Greg Stolze is a well-respected game designer. His site's safe.

[valadil]

I talked about the subject with people before and one time a person asked "I do this stuff already so why would the GMing section of the game need to say how to GM the game? ... Oh, wait."

Sure, I expected some of it to be like that. I also expected a few major epiphanies per chapter. None. Zero epiphanies. All the book did was inflate my ego.

[Hendel]

I actually like "Role-Playing Mastery" by none other than Gary Gygax, himself.

It is not 100% about the DM role, but chapter 3 is called "The Master GM."

Do not look for step by step help, just general philosophy and what it takes to run a game. Either way it is a great read by the man who really got everything going.

ISBN 0-399-51293-4/1987/Perigree Books/Putnam Publishing

[Grinner]

That sure is a direct download link. This isn't 4chan, but I'm still well and trained not to trust those-- and everyone else ought to be, too. Does the source your suggesting have a web site you could link to instead?

Okay try this. GregStolze.com. Downloads section. All the way at the bottom.

For reference, Greg Stolze is a fairly prolific author and RPG designer. He's done a lot of work for White Wolf and Atlas Games.

[Totally Guy]

I disagree with the advice in Robin Laws book more now than I used to. I'm closer to Rhynn's viewpoint in thinking that there's more to be learned in diversity.

[elliott20]

I agree with Rhynn too. I felt I actually learned a lot more about GMing by just playing a lot of different systems. i.e. one of the most useful rules I learned was through Dogs in the Vineyard. "Say yes or roll dice" It's such a simple concept, and a lot of us already do it. But until it was clearly articulated, I sometimes would still backdrift into minutiae.

and everything I know about sandbox style games was pretty much summed up in Spears of Dawn.

[Totally Guy]

I saw this article on 4 books that are good for GMs. I've never even heard of any of these.

[scurv]

a useful source, Even if you have to adapt it some is TTC Audio – The Art of Storytelling. Understand it covers simply storytelling but quite a bit of what she goes into is quite useful to know for a DM

[Octopusapult]

You might have seen the list of notable threads in the stickies above.

Inside was this thread by AKA_Bait. I've been flipping through for a little while now and it's pretty relevant information.