BenjaminTD6
Senior Member
I feel like I am... mediocre at best. any tips on becoming not that?
Advice/Help How to be a not bad dm
- Thread starter BenjaminTD6
- Start date
GrumpySwallow
Four Thousand Club
The most important thing about being a DM/GM is that you are a leader. That means sometimes you'll have to step up and be the "Bad Guy" by saying no, enforcing the rules you've established as well as the site's ToS, and telling problematic players to leave the game. Don't be a tyrant, but don't let people walk all over you. If there are problems with the game you need to address them, not ignore them and hope it will somehow take care of itself. I've seen plenty of RPs fall apart because the GM was weak.
As the GM, you're the one building the game. Know what kind of game you want, and make it clear what you expect from your players.
Understand that players will often stray from the story path expected of you. You will need to be open-minded and flexible. Maybe things didn't go as planned, but opportunities for a more exciting plotline may have opened up! They may introduce concepts that you've never thought of. If you want absolute control over the story and characters, write a book.
Sometimes the best way to be a GM is to sit back and let the players take off!
Don't be afraid to ask your players their thoughts and opinions on things.
It's okay to take breaks. My own RP just hit two years old, so burn-out and writer's block are to be expected. It's understandable that my players will need to take a break and not think about the RP for a bit. Right now, I'm trying to do some plotting with more active players and just having fun in the OOC thread. With the holidays coming up, it's a good time for everyone in the game, myself included, to take a break from it.
Players are going to ghost. Accept this and don't take it personally. Set a time for inactivity before you push the scene along and ignore the missing players. If people are invested in the game, they will post. There is no need to let a RP die because everyone is waiting for a single person who has been inactive for months.
Most RPs do not last long, if they even get up off the ground. If you spent so much time building up an entire world and its lore, that makes the failure of a game even more frustrating and heartbreaking. Because of this, I find it best to start off small and simple. Keep notes of ideas you have and slowly introduce them as the RP goes on. At least if the RP doesn't take off, you haven't wasted too much of your time and creative energy.
No one is perfect. Learn from your mistakes and grow as a GM.
As the GM, you're the one building the game. Know what kind of game you want, and make it clear what you expect from your players.
Understand that players will often stray from the story path expected of you. You will need to be open-minded and flexible. Maybe things didn't go as planned, but opportunities for a more exciting plotline may have opened up! They may introduce concepts that you've never thought of. If you want absolute control over the story and characters, write a book.
Sometimes the best way to be a GM is to sit back and let the players take off!
Don't be afraid to ask your players their thoughts and opinions on things.
It's okay to take breaks. My own RP just hit two years old, so burn-out and writer's block are to be expected. It's understandable that my players will need to take a break and not think about the RP for a bit. Right now, I'm trying to do some plotting with more active players and just having fun in the OOC thread. With the holidays coming up, it's a good time for everyone in the game, myself included, to take a break from it.
Players are going to ghost. Accept this and don't take it personally. Set a time for inactivity before you push the scene along and ignore the missing players. If people are invested in the game, they will post. There is no need to let a RP die because everyone is waiting for a single person who has been inactive for months.
Most RPs do not last long, if they even get up off the ground. If you spent so much time building up an entire world and its lore, that makes the failure of a game even more frustrating and heartbreaking. Because of this, I find it best to start off small and simple. Keep notes of ideas you have and slowly introduce them as the RP goes on. At least if the RP doesn't take off, you haven't wasted too much of your time and creative energy.
No one is perfect. Learn from your mistakes and grow as a GM.
BenjaminTD6
Senior Member
thanks for the advice
Beckoncall
World-Weaver and servant to the most-holy PC
I have been a GM for decades and still make big mistakes now and then. Forgive yourself and move on. The biggest mistake you can commit however, is taking away agency from the players.
I'd love to talk to you about this at length, so feel free to ask questions, discuss ideas, or if you want we can chat in real time on discord (DM me if you'd like to)
-Beck
I'd love to talk to you about this at length, so feel free to ask questions, discuss ideas, or if you want we can chat in real time on discord (DM me if you'd like to)
-Beck
Bacon is fluffy
Wut'n th'name of davy jonez lockr is uh sall-add?
The biggest thing I'd say is take a look at what you have done and try to surpass it. Whether that be understanding player's needs to perhaps showing more than telling. You just gotta analyze every aspect of your rp and try to do better.
Me? I'm crap but this time I'm taking my time with the world building and am gonna roll out an environment day by day. And I'm trying a new approach to gming where I try to strike a middle ground between hover copter and laissez Faire.
Whereas in previous rps I've ran, if someone didn't fill out my sheet or acted in a way counter to my intentions...it threw my off my game due to too much pre-planning.
So if you feel mediocre in any area of gming which is multi faceted, try to do better. And if you feel good about anything you do, still try to surpass it. To me you're only a bad gm when you think you got it figured out and stop trying to improve your approach.
