I have found myself treating DMing like a service industry - I produce a product (the game session) which is then consumed by the players. I do enjoy challenging and exciting the players but am interested in reframing the relationship in more egalitarian fashion. How would you describe the role of a DM?
I describe the role of the DM as the world's narrator, the one who explains the story for the people outside of it, but not necessarily a part of the story itself. It's about describing the story that the players are helping create, as opposed to guiding the players through a story you have created as the DM. There are challenges and moments of excitement, as in any Heroic Epic (which is always the goal of my campaigns even if they peter out before that), but it's not about specific events that have to happen in a certain order. The DM is trying to sell the players on the world their characters inhabit, but it's no one's world until the game starts going and then it become's everyone's world.
Then again, I like thinking of things like this in narrative terms, so that's how I approach looking at everyone's role.
Thanks- I agree that's a better framing device - maybe more like a 'choose your own adventure'? I am guilty of over preparing as I am new to d and d so in an effort to ensure my group enjoys it I go all out, which may be why I had previously framed it as 'my story'. I think once we have established our world a bit then may be easier to loosen my reins a little
Every DM is going to have his or her own style and philosophy which informs the game they're running. I don't think it's possible to codify DMing into a sound-byte that will illuminate more than a personal philosophy, but even so, this is my opinion:
The DM is the player responsible for (1) running every NPC, (2) establishing the setting, (3) being the final arbiter or rules disputes, (4) designing (or buying and preparing) interesting scenarios for the other players, and (5) refereeing them. Good DMs have a whole slew of other skills they bring to this activity, but those 5 responsibilities define the GM's role.
Notice I didn't say, "The DM is responsible for making sure the other players have fun" or "The DM is the master storyteller who guides everyone through a magical realm of his or her own design." I didn't say those things because I think they're common misconceptions. "The DM is responsible for making sure the other players have fun" You can set up scenarios which are fair and fun, but there's never any guarantee someone else will enjoy them, even if they're really good. Your enjoyment of your work should be intrinsic. If your work is good, others will be more likely to enjoy it, but you can't please everyone all the time, and you need to be OK with that. Your fun matters, too.
"The DM is the master storyteller who guides everyone through a magical realm of his or her own design." Actually, that's George R. R. Martin. The DM isn't a novelist. The DM is a person playing a game. Games don't have perfectly predictable outcomes (nor should they!) and are collaborative, messy, and very, very rarely 'tonally consistent.' If a DM is obsessed with having a story turn out a certain way, and is unwilling to kill 'main characters' or set challenges appropriate for the encounter, the story might be really neat, but the fun (and the overall enjoyment of the gaming experience) suffers greatly for it. Let novels be novels, and let games be games.
There are so many to list but I’ll try to keep this short and simple. I’m going to make the assumption that you are going to be the DM.
Having players is a must. I would suggest you have at least 3 to max of 5 for your first games.
Make sure you are prepared. Have some sort of plan even if it doesn’t turn out and the players do something crazy and off the wall. Getting to know your players is key.
Always do a session zero to allow for players to create characters and back stories which you should help with. This also gives you a chance to discuss with them what types and adventures they like. Find out what they like before you slam that large adventure you’ve been working on the table and tell them we are playing this….. Not everyone enjoys horror and not everyone enjoys solving puzzles. Find and point that appeals to all and than work on a adventure.
Set the ground rules down and perhaps provide a printed handout. I’m not talking about the whole rule book, just the table rules. Little things like don’t interrupt a player or DM, Don’t roll dice till the DM says roll, The DM has the final ruling etc.
Have snacks and drinks ready to go. Seems like a no brainier but after DMing for an hour your mouth will need a drink.
You are a story facilitator (not a director) Let your players write their own story. Basically, don’t direct your player on where to go and what to do. Let them make their own decisions and go with it.
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JT "You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
I have found myself treating DMing like a service industry - I produce a product (the game session) which is then consumed by the players. I do enjoy challenging and exciting the players but am interested in reframing the relationship in more egalitarian fashion. How would you describe the role of a DM?
I see a lot of great stuff in this thread about things that DMs should be responsible for and skills that good DMs should possess (or work towards). But in terms of the relationship, and defining the purpose the DM serves at the table, I think it boils down to this:
The DM is the game.
Like the information on a PS4 disc or the code in a Steam library, your mind (and notes) contain the entirety of everything possible at the table. Where the game takes place, every being inhabiting that world, every interaction down to the literal physics of the universe are in your hands. Every action the players take is based on your establishment of reality, and the players essentially run everything they do through you as the manifestation of the game.
Similar, I think, to your original outlook. But I think you are maybe leaning somewhere else with your questions, perhaps in a direction of how to expand your players' input on the game or adapt your sessions to better suit your players?
To me, the DM is the impartial bystander, noting every little detail that the players' characters do, as well as how they interact with scenarios and the world. With these notes, the DM develops a sensible yet intriguing challenge for the players to overcome that not only gives feedback to how they play, but also notes that not everyone can be the hero they crave to become; it's a tough world, and I believe that players should not be handed everything.
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"For every moment of truth, there's confusion in life."
Is it possible to create a campaign as a DM and also upload your own character sheet to be used as a PC? We are just trying this out and my character isn't showing on the list (I created the game and was curious).
Like the information on a PS4 disc or the code in a Steam library, your mind (and notes) contain the entirety of everything possible at the table. Where the game takes place, every being inhabiting that world, every interaction down to the literal physics of the universe are in your hands. Every action the players take is based on your establishment of reality, and the players essentially run everything they do through you as the manifestation of the game.
As a DM myself, I find that to not be a healthy and productive way to view the role of the DM. Most specifically because the DM is not required, or even encouraged, to have determined all that is possible on their own and without assistance from their players.
So I would counter and say this: The group as a whole is the game.
Because unlike the information on a PS4 disc or the code in a Steam library, whatever ideas the players contribute can be seamlessly assimilated into the game alongside whatever ideas the DM has contributed.
At my table, I am equal to my players in every way possible. What I want is just one of the votes, of equal weight to anyone else, except that as DM I am required to be the tie-breaking vote when needed, such as when a rules dispute occurs. So my role as DM is not the end-all and be-all of the game, but rather just the person tasked with portraying the NPCs rather than a PC and with making the final decision any time the group can't fully agree upon some detail. We play collaboratively - not at my whims and fancies.
This is starting to become an alarming trend, but I find myself once again agreeing with AoB. Maybe some of my brilliance is rubbing off on him. Anyone who thinks the DM is the game should consider what a game without PCs would look like. While DMs do contribute a vast more creative energy am effort to the game, I would think this is because they enjoy the act of creation and expression that world building and adventure design allows.
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As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!
I don't mind letting players have a little wiggle-room to change things (sometimes side stories can happen as a result), but in the end I do have to keep things moving to a degree.
Ultimately the DM's role has a lot to do with them and the players and the type of campaign you are playing. It is hard to dismiss the players have the only say on where in the world they go. But the DM controls the world.
I have found myself treating DMing like a service industry - I produce a product (the game session) which is then consumed by the players. I do enjoy challenging and exciting the players but am interested in reframing the relationship in more egalitarian fashion. How would you describe the role of a DM?
You need to make a megadungeon. A big, fat, hairy megadungeon that is dangerous, and full of wonder and loot. Stock it with some evil ass demons, but also some more neutral races that could possibly be befriended if your players play their cards right. Make it clear to your players that there are monsters in this place that they can't defeat, at least not until they're stronger, but these monsters could be anywhere. Make it clear that avoiding an encounter is actually better if they can still make out with the loot. Some treasures are just hidden. They should use all of their skills. In essence, you're finding a way to reward good play, but also allow the players room to assert their playstyle on the world. throw weird stuff at them and see how they react. listen to their table-talk and work their ideas into the lower levels of the dungeon without telling them. Work in maps to funny looking places down below.
There's so much to this game beyond 5-room castles. Search around for trap ideas, riddles, and bizarre stuff. Develop funny, mischievous NPCs. You sound like a good DM, but you're not having fun. you're the DM, make the game fun.
I have found myself treating DMing like a service industry - I produce a product (the game session) which is then consumed by the players. I do enjoy challenging and exciting the players but am interested in reframing the relationship in more egalitarian fashion. How would you describe the role of a DM?
Worldbuilder or Tour Guide Contrary to what a lot of people would claim, DMing isn't storytelling (or rather shouldn't be). If you're in a world of your own creation then the DM's part of the group storytelling efforts is in building the world and the complex web of interactions, challenges, and opportunities that exist. If you're in a world of your own creation, or running a pre-made adventure you're more likely to be tour guiding. Ushering the party through this world and signposting where the interesting stuff is. Effectively a DM is providing the opportunities for the player characters to write and tell the story.
The Referee or Game Mechanic
You're effectively also maintaining the way the game works and flows as a DM. You're judging what rolls should be called for, what difficulty a challenge might have, and adjudicating the outcomes. Someone else wrote the rules but you're refereeing them - making sure the players remain in bounds of what the game allows for...as an upside this also allows you to consider when those rules can be broken (like cheat codes). Alongside this is an awful lot of repairing and bashing back into shape the poorly written ruleset that is D&D 5e (Player Character on land trying to attack a creature below the water...the rules aren't well written for that).
Referee, storyteller, narrator, enthousiast, guide, NPC-puppeteer, rooting for players in tough battles, setting a stage for people to do some RP.
Enable the game and the players will take it as their own. I think that is what a good GM does.
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"Time, like hope, is an illusion" - Lumalee "Time is relative" - Albert Einstein "It's a joke. It's all a joke. Mother forgive me" - Edward 'The Comedian' Blake "Do I look like the kind of clown that can start a movement?" - Arthur Fleck
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I have found myself treating DMing like a service industry - I produce a product (the game session) which is then consumed by the players. I do enjoy challenging and exciting the players but am interested in reframing the relationship in more egalitarian fashion. How would you describe the role of a DM?
I describe the role of the DM as the world's narrator, the one who explains the story for the people outside of it, but not necessarily a part of the story itself. It's about describing the story that the players are helping create, as opposed to guiding the players through a story you have created as the DM. There are challenges and moments of excitement, as in any Heroic Epic (which is always the goal of my campaigns even if they peter out before that), but it's not about specific events that have to happen in a certain order. The DM is trying to sell the players on the world their characters inhabit, but it's no one's world until the game starts going and then it become's everyone's world.
Then again, I like thinking of things like this in narrative terms, so that's how I approach looking at everyone's role.
Thanks- I agree that's a better framing device - maybe more like a 'choose your own adventure'? I am guilty of over preparing as I am new to d and d so in an effort to ensure my group enjoys it I go all out, which may be why I had previously framed it as 'my story'. I think once we have established our world a bit then may be easier to loosen my reins a little
Every DM is going to have his or her own style and philosophy which informs the game they're running. I don't think it's possible to codify DMing into a sound-byte that will illuminate more than a personal philosophy, but even so, this is my opinion:
The DM is the player responsible for (1) running every NPC, (2) establishing the setting, (3) being the final arbiter or rules disputes, (4) designing (or buying and preparing) interesting scenarios for the other players, and (5) refereeing them. Good DMs have a whole slew of other skills they bring to this activity, but those 5 responsibilities define the GM's role.
Notice I didn't say, "The DM is responsible for making sure the other players have fun" or "The DM is the master storyteller who guides everyone through a magical realm of his or her own design." I didn't say those things because I think they're common misconceptions.
"The DM is responsible for making sure the other players have fun"
You can set up scenarios which are fair and fun, but there's never any guarantee someone else will enjoy them, even if they're really good. Your enjoyment of your work should be intrinsic. If your work is good, others will be more likely to enjoy it, but you can't please everyone all the time, and you need to be OK with that. Your fun matters, too.
"The DM is the master storyteller who guides everyone through a magical realm of his or her own design."
Actually, that's George R. R. Martin. The DM isn't a novelist. The DM is a person playing a game. Games don't have perfectly predictable outcomes (nor should they!) and are collaborative, messy, and very, very rarely 'tonally consistent.' If a DM is obsessed with having a story turn out a certain way, and is unwilling to kill 'main characters' or set challenges appropriate for the encounter, the story might be really neat, but the fun (and the overall enjoyment of the gaming experience) suffers greatly for it. Let novels be novels, and let games be games.
https://dreadweasel.blogspot.com/
Basically a DM has three roles in the game, 1) adjudicator, 2) narrator, 3) be everything that isn't a PC.
As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!
There are so many to list but I’ll try to keep this short and simple. I’m going to make the assumption that you are going to be the DM.
Having players is a must. I would suggest you have at least 3 to max of 5 for your first games.
Make sure you are prepared. Have some sort of plan even if it doesn’t turn out and the players do something crazy and off the wall. Getting to know your players is key.
Always do a session zero to allow for players to create characters and back stories which you should help with. This also gives you a chance to discuss with them what types and adventures they like. Find out what they like before you slam that large adventure you’ve been working on the table and tell them we are playing this….. Not everyone enjoys horror and not everyone enjoys solving puzzles. Find and point that appeals to all and than work on a adventure.
Set the ground rules down and perhaps provide a printed handout. I’m not talking about the whole rule book, just the table rules. Little things like don’t interrupt a player or DM, Don’t roll dice till the DM says roll, The DM has the final ruling etc.
Have snacks and drinks ready to go. Seems like a no brainier but after DMing for an hour your mouth will need a drink.
You are a story facilitator (not a director) Let your players write their own story. Basically, don’t direct your player on where to go and what to do. Let them make their own decisions and go with it.
JT " You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
DM, Player, and Co-Host of TL;DM Podcast
click for: The TL;DM Podcast ||| TL;DM on Twitter
To me, the DM is the impartial bystander, noting every little detail that the players' characters do, as well as how they interact with scenarios and the world. With these notes, the DM develops a sensible yet intriguing challenge for the players to overcome that not only gives feedback to how they play, but also notes that not everyone can be the hero they crave to become; it's a tough world, and I believe that players should not be handed everything.
Is it possible to create a campaign as a DM and also upload your own character sheet to be used as a PC? We are just trying this out and my character isn't showing on the list (I created the game and was curious).
This is starting to become an alarming trend, but I find myself once again agreeing with AoB. Maybe some of my brilliance is rubbing off on him. Anyone who thinks the DM is the game should consider what a game without PCs would look like. While DMs do contribute a vast more creative energy am effort to the game, I would think this is because they enjoy the act of creation and expression that world building and adventure design allows.
As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!
The DM is the game engine and the context.
I don't mind letting players have a little wiggle-room to change things (sometimes side stories can happen as a result), but in the end I do have to keep things moving to a degree.
Storyteller and arbiter. You tell the story of the world and the campaign and you arbitrate in regards to rules and mechanics.
Ultimately the DM's role has a lot to do with them and the players and the type of campaign you are playing. It is hard to dismiss the players have the only say on where in the world they go. But the DM controls the world.
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1691733520/dungeon-masters-dominion-unisex-t?click_key=d1f6691d3a44d637c0f0f7707c7bf5b95fbfd87e:1691733520&click_sum=864b1a67&ref=shop_home_feat_3&frs=1
You need to make a megadungeon. A big, fat, hairy megadungeon that is dangerous, and full of wonder and loot. Stock it with some evil ass demons, but also some more neutral races that could possibly be befriended if your players play their cards right. Make it clear to your players that there are monsters in this place that they can't defeat, at least not until they're stronger, but these monsters could be anywhere. Make it clear that avoiding an encounter is actually better if they can still make out with the loot. Some treasures are just hidden. They should use all of their skills. In essence, you're finding a way to reward good play, but also allow the players room to assert their playstyle on the world. throw weird stuff at them and see how they react. listen to their table-talk and work their ideas into the lower levels of the dungeon without telling them. Work in maps to funny looking places down below.
There's so much to this game beyond 5-room castles. Search around for trap ideas, riddles, and bizarre stuff. Develop funny, mischievous NPCs. You sound like a good DM, but you're not having fun. you're the DM, make the game fun.
Worldbuilder or Tour Guide
Contrary to what a lot of people would claim, DMing isn't storytelling (or rather shouldn't be). If you're in a world of your own creation then the DM's part of the group storytelling efforts is in building the world and the complex web of interactions, challenges, and opportunities that exist. If you're in a world of your own creation, or running a pre-made adventure you're more likely to be tour guiding. Ushering the party through this world and signposting where the interesting stuff is. Effectively a DM is providing the opportunities for the player characters to write and tell the story.
The Referee or Game Mechanic
You're effectively also maintaining the way the game works and flows as a DM. You're judging what rolls should be called for, what difficulty a challenge might have, and adjudicating the outcomes. Someone else wrote the rules but you're refereeing them - making sure the players remain in bounds of what the game allows for...as an upside this also allows you to consider when those rules can be broken (like cheat codes). Alongside this is an awful lot of repairing and bashing back into shape the poorly written ruleset that is D&D 5e (Player Character on land trying to attack a creature below the water...the rules aren't well written for that).
My free DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
Referee, storyteller, narrator, enthousiast, guide, NPC-puppeteer, rooting for players in tough battles, setting a stage for people to do some RP.
Enable the game and the players will take it as their own. I think that is what a good GM does.
"Time, like hope, is an illusion" - Lumalee
"Time is relative" - Albert Einstein
"It's a joke. It's all a joke. Mother forgive me" - Edward 'The Comedian' Blake
"Do I look like the kind of clown that can start a movement?" - Arthur Fleck