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1 year ago ::
May 20, 2012 - 3:50AM
#31
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Date Joined:
May 18, 2002
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A DM should strive to be a Carl Sagan, not a Yahweh.
"This is why that happens, in a language you can understand" is always preferable to "Because I say so!"
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1 year ago ::
May 22, 2012 - 7:26AM
#32
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Date Joined:
Apr 27, 2012
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Actor: This adds even more than puzzles to the game. If a DM can't do it well he should be really good elsewhere or this is a negative.
Demiurge: This is absolutely required for me. I generally avoid DMs that use canned worlds. It's a sign to me that they aren't really the type of DM I'm looking for. Of course, thats just my preference and in no way a judgment. I also realize that it is a sweeping generalization that is not always true. But when snap decisions have to be made, I go with the guy who has his own well defined world. If he can't produce a map or some background though then he's probably not for me.
Field Marshall: This all depends no the PCs. If they are not so good the DM doesn't have to be as good. If they are great then the DM needs some skills. I'd say it's important.
Game Designer: Not necessary but a big bonus. Probably more important to me than puzzle maker and actor.
Judge: Knowledge of the rules is less important than courage and force of personality. The DM needs to know he is the judge. I'd say an average knowledge of the rules is good and great knowledge is even better. But the courage is most important.
Puzzle master: I think puzzles add to the game but they are not essential. So I consider this a bonus.
Writer: This is required and a must. If you fail your skill check here you are gone. You can use third party adventures but you must graft them in well to your world.
So if I had to rank things in order of importance....
1. Writer
2. Demiurge
3. Judge
4. Game Designer
5. Field Marshal
6. Actor
7. Puzzle master
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13 months ago ::
May 23, 2012 - 12:53PM
#33
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Date Joined:
Aug 12, 2006
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I think the answer to this question depends on the group he would be DM:ing for. For me personally I would value each trait as follows:
Actor: Cool bonus, but not important to me. If I get a few attributes describing the character I can envision the acting well enough in my imagination.
Demiurge: This is more important. I do not want the campaign world to be self-contradictory. It does not need to be all that great though where everything makes perfect sense for the world.
Field Marshal: I'd rather they be imperfect in this regard. I want to face encounters that are too hard and too easy once in a while. Encounters that feel too reliable are likely to become boring to me.
Game Designer: Not important... Everyone at the table can work together with this. The DM just needs to be a good judge.
Judge: Important. The DM needs to keep the table working and happy.
Puzzle Master: Cool, but not necessary.
Writer: The most important trait to me. If the story is good enough, pretty much everything else can be utter crap and I'll still be a happy player. Conversely, if the story is crappy enough, no battles in the world can keep me interested.
You know, I almost always disagree with you but here we're on the same side.
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13 months ago ::
May 25, 2012 - 3:10PM
#34
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Date Joined:
May 25, 2012
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Well its been nearly 12 years sence i played anything more then one time game as i player. I as i G.M. try very hard to make all aspects of my games even and balanced. The most important thing i fell that i do to be a better G.M. is i ask for feedback from my players after every game. I also ask them what would they like to see thier characters accomplish in the game world. I have gotten good feedback and i have been told that i suck as a G.M. , but not every game is going to be a great game. Having said all that i would rank the skills in this order.
1.Writer
2.Demiurge
3.Actor
4.Judge
5.Field Marshal
6.Game Designer
7.Puzzle Master
8. Set / Prop Master
Ok i know that one wasn't listed. Bet ever sence i started using props and sets (yes sets, i have built a 6'x9' dungeon table) my players cant wait to game the next game. Maybe ive just gotten better at Gaming or they love to see where thier characters are at and what they are seeing, like a point of interest for them to use. It really make the casters pay WAY more attention to whats going on.
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13 months ago ::
May 30, 2012 - 7:11AM
#35
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What makes a good DM?
Your answers SHOULD vary depending on what you want out of your game. A good battle tactician runs great epic battles. A good storyteller tells awesome stories.... And players of like minds will come and go... Depending on wether or not they are getting what they need out of that DM.
What I have found makes me a good DM to my players (groups that tend to stick together for 8+ years and grow til I start discouraging new additions)....
IS CONSISTANCY.
After agame or two, your players know what they can and can't argue, what they can bring to the table pre-constructed, what they can creatively ad-lib, ect.... If your players get comfortable enough with you and your world to anticipate how you are going abjucate their playing..... I think your doing something right!
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11 months ago ::
Jul 14, 2012 - 3:37PM
#36
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- Forum Guide
- Hero Craftsman Gold Medalist
- Master Dungeon Master
Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2005
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And now, my analysis of the poll results...  Less than Competent: Actor and Puzzle Master
Life's full of questions, isn't it?-The Riddler, The Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City, Part 1Players did not seem to think it was all that important for Dungeon Masters to be particularly good at voices or puzzles. They seem perfectly content if their DM is good at it, but it isn't something that requires more than amateurish levels of competency. This is probably for the best. Teaching people to act is difficult, particularly through the written medium of a Dungeon Master's Guide, and there are plenty of books out there for DMs who want to transform into thespians. Puzzles are even more idfficult to teach, and finding a DM who enjoys crafting puzzles (and is actually good at it) is rare indeed. Possibly, the players are simply bowing to reality. None of the remaining professions exceed the "Must be Competent" category. Which is good. A Dungeon Master's Guide need only concentrate on getting aspiring DMs to be comfortable in these roles -- they don't have to be professionals. Even within the "competent" category, however, there are distinctions to be made...  Right Brain: Demiurge, Game Designer, and Writer
Do I look like a guy with a plan?- The Joker, Dark KnightSmack dab in the midst of the "competent" category are the three professions I would classify as "right-brain" jobs because they rely on whimsy, creativity, and artistry. Writer and Demiurge actually tied with Puzzle Master in the category of "amateur"; they got moved into this category because they had more votes for "Competency" than for "minimal competency". Game Designer, which actually straddles the right and left brains, had only a slightly higher rating than Writer and Demiurge. Still, the player base clearly asserted a preference that their DMs be competent writers, game designers, and demiurges. In the end, I conclude that D&D is a game about stories and people want good, compelling stories. As a game designer, the mechanics should serve those stories and not the other way around. Some basic advice on how to craft a good story, how to create compelling NPCs, and how to set a mood, would all be important components of a Dungeon Master's Guide designed to aid DMs in these areas.  Left Brain: Field Marshal and Judge
To manipulate the fears of others, you must first learn to master your own, are you ready to begin?-Ra's al Ghul, Batman Begins
There was great consensus that a Dungeon Master should be competent in these three areas. The profession of Field Marshal, in fact, was the only category in which a clear majority -- 52% -- believed the DM should be competent. Nearly three-quarters of the respondents felt the DM should be either competent or a master at judging. That profession received the highest number of votes for both "mastery" and "must be better than anybody else". So clearly, these skills are considered very important to the players. What can the developers do to help a DM? These skills are what I call the "left brain" skills. They require a lot of analytical thinking, clarity of communication, and quickwittedness. One thing the developers can do with respect to judging is make the rules clear and state the game design assumptions up front. That way when a DM has to adjudge a rule, it will be infrequent, and he will have a decent way to understand what the developers intended might happen in an unexpected scenario. With respect to the field marshal, monster design and encounter building guidelines shoudl be explicit and easy to apply. This is, to my mind, one of the most important pieces of "guidance" that a DMG can include for new and even experienced DMs. Avoiding accidental TPKs as well as accidental cakewalks, is a matter of art as much as it is science. Incorporating terrain, different types of creatures, environmental factors, traps, and hazards is a lot to juggle. A DM needs a lot of guidance on how to make this seem seamless, and how to make their adventures flow without being boring.
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11 months ago ::
Jul 14, 2012 - 10:51PM
#37
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Problem is, what makes a good DM is dependant on what kind of players are playing.
Almost all need a ref that can answer questions fairly and honestly with a leniancy toward the players.
But after that, many need a tactician.
Some need an actor.
Others still need simply a good writer.
So, while your questions are good and valid, they still can't hit the point. Because in the world of D&D, there are microcosms. Much like weather: there are areas that differ daily, but still a major overarching pattern. That's D&D. That's why there are edition wars.
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11 months ago ::
Jul 15, 2012 - 5:50AM
#38
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- Forum Guide
- Hero Craftsman Gold Medalist
- Master Dungeon Master
Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2005
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My poll is not about edition wars, nor is it trying to solve every roblem. It was a poll, so it as trying to get at the common experience and determine what areas a Dungeon Master's Guide should address to help the greatest number of people.
Of course every table is unique. That's not what this poll is about.
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11 months ago ::
Jul 15, 2012 - 6:08AM
#39
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Date Joined:
May 14, 2010
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Field Marshal and Judge is the most important skill for the DM.
1. You need to know how to balance an encounter to challenge the PC and to make them have fun. A bad DM either not make the game challenge enough or TPK the party because using a Lich for a 5th party for some reason was a good idea.
For Example: I had a DM who send a Lich to my 2nd lv party follow by a chain devil.
2. You got to know the rules, no expection. You are the DM, you are the judge, jury, and executioner. You need to know the rules, how to resolve problems, and what doesn't fly in your book.
For Example: Know what doesn't fly in my book? Higher lv character giving high lv items to lower lv character by the same player. Striaght up told him," Hey this won't be fair to the other players".
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11 months ago ::
Jul 15, 2012 - 9:01AM
#40
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My poll is not about edition wars, nor is it trying to solve every roblem. It was a poll, so it as trying to get at the common experience and determine what areas a Dungeon Master's Guide should address to help the greatest number of people.
Of course every table is unique. That's not what this poll is about.
My bad. I didn't mean to come off sounding adversarial nor negative. I liked your poll, especially how you did the results. It was creative and informative. I was just merely stating (perhaps a bit too cynically) that I thought all games are individualized.
I think if this were tweaked a little, it would be a great way to match the correct DM that will fill player's niches. We could call it DMHarmony. 
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