DNAphil

On the Dungeon Mastering blog, Yax asked: What’s the most useful DM Skill? In the article Yax lists his top 3 necessary DM skills, and then asked the readers to list their’s. I liked Yax’s list of skills, but I knew I could come up with my own three.  So after some thought, I have come up with my top three skills….

Team Player– While the DM is often seen as the “leader” of the game, a good DM knows that he is only a small part in what makes up a good game.  While the DM has the most talk time, as he narrates, plays a multitude of NPC’s and runs combat, a good DM knows that the most important thing he can do, is to sit back and let the players bask in the spotlight.  The DM’s job is to do everything possible for the players to be in the spotlight, while remaining in the background.  After all, the PC’s are the protagonists of the story, not the DM.  Being a team player allows the DM to enjoy the successes of the PC’s over his own need to impress everyone at the table with his Story and Dungeon design.

Generosity– Being a DM is a very intensive endeavor.  DM’s spend a lot of time on brainstorming for their games, doing session prep, reading supplements, and running the game.  The DM is often the host for his game, offering up his house, which for us older gamers, is no longer empty, but now contains a spouse and children.  A good DM does not demand anything from his players for the time he takes to run his campaign.  Rather he is grateful that his players are willing to give up their time to sit at his table and partake in the story he has created.

Dedication– A DM needs to be dedicated to his campaign.  As said above, running a campaign is a busy task, and running one week after week, and month after month, is not easy.  As a game goes on, the players become committed to the campaign, and become emotionally invested.  A DM is often challenged to keep their campaign running, when his creative tank has run low, when he is on the edge of burnout, or just isn’t “feeling it”.  A DM that drops his campaign on a whim, lets his players down.  One that does it over and over again, creates players unwilling to deeply invest into his game.  A good DM is one that is dedicated, and digs in, to keep their game running when the work becomes hard.

So Yax, there are my three skills, or really traits that make up a good DM.   Add your own to this thread, or back to Yax’s original article.