According to players, the Perfect DM should be able to…
- Create an evocative world with every tiny detail thought out for whatever the players decide to investigate or whichever NPC they decide to converse with.
- Be able to improvise an entire adventure based on the whim of the players, in case they decide they don’t really care about saving the Duke after all, but instead want to follow up on a months-old plotline that they previously abandoned. (Better yet, have all potential adventure paths planned out in detail, ready to access for whenever it comes up.)
- Keep players moving from one part to the next at a decent pace without getting stuck.
- Not railroad players into following the path that the DM has set forth.
- Provide plenty of hooks for every character to follow up on.
- Have distinctive voices for every NPC, so as soon as he opens their mouth, the players can identify who it is.
- Provide surprising encounters that the players cannot predict coming, but still have a sense of familiarity.
- Give each player, no matter how divergent their stories and abilities, equal time in the spotlight.
- Even when dealing with 8 players who all split up to do different things, be able to handle everything going on without downtime.
- Let the players develop any idea they have, from crazy inventions to powerful spells. Also, he should let the players interrupt NPCs to act whenever they want.
- Satisfy all player types, no matter how many different ones there are in the group.
- Have all the rules memorized (including errata) and be able to answer any rules question in a split second, even in the middle of the DM’s turn to move the monsters.
- Come up with all complex and interesting scenarios, dungeons, and characters.
- Be well supplied with all the latest and greatest equipment for the game (and a subset of this: have a perfect miniature for your character that has the weapon and armor that the character uses.)
Most of this list is tongue-in-cheek, even if it does seem that way when behind the screen some days. There’s still plenty of these can be used or dealt with between the players and the DM ahead of time. While I’m not as enamored with the 4e DMG as some others seem to be (especially compared with the other two books), I really like that the core concept of “the DM is another player, not just an entertainer for everyone else” is spelled out. This may be a change from the paradigm in older games and even in some other contemporaries of D&D. What say you? Any to add? Any that are way off base?
(And I should say this is not a dig at any of my players, past and present, just the cumulation of my many years of DM experience.)
Reminds me of Kipling’s poem “If”:
“IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:”
The rest here: http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_if.htm. Good GM advice, all of it 🙂
I reckon a good GM is one who shares the burden and fun of the game with the players. I’ve known GMs who were utterly amazing at creating entire worlds full of adventures – and then consequently treated the players like visitors to his invented Realm. That might be great world-building, but it’s not good Games Mastery. When it comes to the game, sharing is the best way to maximise the enjoyment, every time.
(Did I really write the words “maximise the enjoyment”? Sheesh.)
“…Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a GM, my son!”
The 4th Edition DMG is actually the only one of the books for 4th Edition I actually LIKE. I’m not a fan of 4th Edition, and I am about as excited by the prospect of playing 4th Edition as I am of a prostate infection. But the DMG is one book they got right IMHO.
Instead of bogging it down with tables and crap, they instead made it about making the story work. All the other stuff is in the PHB or MM, so you’re in good shape. Is there stuff I’d like to see there but isn’t? Yep. But it’s really one of the minor quibbles about the DMG.
Part of the reason is that the 4th Edition DMG, as you pointed out, makes the DM a player in the game, not the ref. While the ref shirt will still have to be worn from time to time, it’s still about the DM having fun.
FWIW, I agree with what you’ve said, except about the list being tongue in cheek. That’s the truth and we all know it 😉
When I DMed I had an old “monologing” rule for NPCs that basically said expect the ‘universe’ to treat you very badly if you attempted to interrupt a major villain’s rant or whatnot. Essentially, I used player’s familiarity with anime and computer RPGs to persuade them just to let me finish my damn NPC rants.
Even so, having a PC interrupt the major campaign speech in 2E to ask if he ‘edge into charge range’ followed by an echo from each other player certainly grew to be frustrating.
Well, all true. That list sums up what a perfect DM is.
However what players should hope for and expect is a DM who takes responsibility of running a fun game.
Not necessarily a mind-blowing, never-before-seen gaming experience. But always fun. And fun can be had through the PCs adventures or thourgh real-life social interactions.
Yax’s last post: World domination… Check!
I honestly think I’d hate to play with that DM….
Dave: You’re going to have trouble mastering that list if we keep predicting when you’re going to send us up against gelatinous cubes :).
The O’s last post: Follow the Yellow Cat Road
O: Just because I called the adventure “Well of the Gelatinous Cube” doesn’t mean you knew what to expect.
Now to plan my next adventure, “Tarrasque Island”
What about the perfect player? It’s been my experience that the work the players do contributes more to the success or fun of the game. The fact that the 4e DMG mentions that might encourage PCs to work and lead to better games.
For me, the best DM will:
Know the solution to the big mystery plot, along with at least one possible way the group can reach it, ahead of time, so all the clues line up.
Not lay too much angst on any one player. Unless they asked for it.
Have a good enough idea of the location around them that they can stall the group with something shiny or an interesting NPC while they fill out the rest.
Always look at a player suggestion (or at least, one that isn’t directly against the rules) twice before declaring it not an option.
Be willing to deal with someone solving a problem in a way that isn’t the standard.
Be willing to tell That Player with an uncanny ability to jump into the spotlight that she should give someone else a turn for a little while…
…or that Plan A isn’t going to work, if it really shouldn’t succeed.
…or Plan B, for that matter. She’ll get to one that should work eventually.
Have enough world that people can immerse themselves properly, even if it is just little details and a few names of legendary figures.
Be willing to negotiate suggestions for little details, traditions and names of legendary figures if there aren’t already too many.
…I’m probably missing a few.
I really don’t care if the DM’s a rules omnibus or not, and I’ve no problem with not being allowed to interrupt NPCs (the farther into their speeches the antagonists get, the more snarking material I have, and I’m not going to want to interrupt the ones I respect unless it’s urgent) as long as they won’t interrupt me either. Fair, right?