- DMing 101: An introduction
- DMing 101: Start small
Welcome to the first installment of my new weekly advice column, DMing 101. Since it’s the first installment I thought I should include a little introductory explanation about the purpose and nature of the column first. My goal is to provide tips and advice to new 4th edition D&D DMs – or those still on the fence – in easy to digest chunks. These will be supported by links, references, and concrete examples from my own games. While the advice I will be offering is largely universal and applicable to most RPGs, I’m focusing on 4th edition D&D for a few reasons:
- I am running two regular, ongoing 4E campaigns from which I can draw a lot of examples from. In contrast, most of my indie RPG activities are very short term or one-shot games which don’t work nearly as a source of regular material.
- The lion’s share of players out there are playing D&D of one flavor or another, and thus I’m targeting the largest audience available. Almost everything I’ll be writing, at its core, can be used for any type of D&D game, irregardless of which edition you prefer.
- There’s a lot of support material out there that can be used for new 4th edition, as well as ready access to the books, which makes it a natural choice.
- Trying to write advice columns that are truly system neutral are a pain-in-the-ass which often aren’t terribly useful at the table since they lack concrete examples.
If you’re an experienced DM, you may or may not find some of the advice useful – since a lot of it comes with experience – and you may or may not agree with everything. That’s okay because there is no right or wrong way of playing and different methods work for different people. A lot of the advice I have to offer is based on my own style which involves playing with a regular group of players in a campaign built around one or more stories centered on the characters. Thus, if you’re primarily DMing Living Forgotten Realms games, some of the advice isn’t going to be applicable or even feasible.
What I’m not going to write about:
- Mechanical optimization of monsters, traps, or NPCs
- Min/maxing characters
- How to intentionally kill PCs
- Analysis of rules, updates, or mechanics
Tip #1: Good DMs are made, not born
So let’s start with my number one piece of advice, aimed at readers who are still on the fence about trying to DM or think they don’t have what it takes: Good DMs are made, not born. Running a game is not a talent one is born with and which only is possessed by a mystical few. It is a learned skill, honed with practice over years of play. Sure there are certain personality types that naturally gravitate towards GMing and the ability to think on your feet or create stories out of thin air helps but even those are unlikely to be completely inborn. In fact, neuroscience has revealed that the majority of things we like to think of as natural talent are in large part the result of a lot of very focused practice.
DMing is not rocket science. It is merely a mixture of creative storytelling, impartial judgment, and proper preparation (how much prep largely depends on your choice of RPG system). Improv skills are a plus, but hardly required to get started and they can be learned too. The same applies to running an exciting combat encounter or creating an interesting NPC. Practice. Review. Practice some more. Find what works and use it more; find what doesn’t and don’t repeat it. It’s that simple. The key is to view the whole process as a craft you hone over the years.
The hardest part to becoming a good DM is taking the first step and actually trying. The only way to improve your craft is to practice. In many ways DMing is like learning to ride a bike or skateboard. You start slow and simple, practice, and expect to take a few spills early on – then get back up, dust yourself off, and try again. If you’re playing with a supportive group of friends – and you should be because life is too short to be playing with jerks – they’ll understand. In fact, good friends will provide you with feedback to speed up your development.
That’s it; short and simple. So if you’re on the fence, give it a try. Hopefully over the next few weeks and months I’ll be able to provide some useful advice on how to improve your craft. However, until then, there are a lot of good resources out there to get you started. Here’s one I would whole heartedly recommend: Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering. It’s the best $8 you’ll ever spend towards improving your DMing skills.
