All the GM talk in several threads has me wondering what everyone's general experience with "Good GM's". It dawns on me that some may never have had that kind of experience before?

So - do you GM? Why? What do you get out of it?

What makes a good GM to you?

I think it's someone who can run good situations (whether they are made by the GM or someone else) in a fair manner.  And the primary focus of a good GM is to describe the situation at hand in a way that allows the players to made meaningful decisions.  This would include listening to what the players are describing their characters doing and then using the system to resolve that rather than using the system to parse what the players are saying in order too reduce it to one of the approved game actions.

Basically, take a list of what people say bad GMs do avd do the opposite.

Bad GMs railroad.  Your decisions are meaningless and what the GM wants will be forced through using a variety of techniques.

Bad GMs are poor describers.  The pictures in everyone's heads at the table don't line up enough and too little is done to rectify it.

Bad GMs are unfair.  There's a lack of consistency in how decisions are made and factors such as social issues can influence which things succeed or fail.

Bad GMs provide boring play opportunities.  Your options will be limited to a subset of things the GM either likes or sees as being covered by the rules and thus appropriate.

In the last case, I'm not saying it should be anything goes.  A good GM is flexible while still maintaining some limits on what is possible given the details of the situation/setting/genre.

Hmmm...tough question. There's something awfully pretentious about starting a post with "I'm a good GM because..." I guess it's a modesty thing. Personally, I think I'm a damn good GM, but I always feel like I have plenty of room for improvement.

I enjoy what I'm doing. I love the prep. I love the research. I love making stuff for my game. I love learning new tricks, finding new gear, and making my game sessions an event players want to come back for again and again.

I listen to my players. Are they invested in their characters? Are they invested in the world? Am I giving them what they want? Am I giving them what they need?

I'm reflective about my game. Where is it going? Where can it go? Does it need an injection of something new? Do I need to keep my hands off it and let the players go? Who needs a turn in the spotlight and what can I do to facilitate that?

I'm critical about my performance. Why did I forgot that special ability with that monster? Did I forgot to ask for fear checks...again?! Are two glasses of wine too much? Is my pacing off? What can I do to improve my notes? How can I make the Roll20 environment less "breakable"? Am I comfortable improvising? If not, what do I have to do to get there?

I read. About a year ago I realized that one reason why play didn't feel up to snuff was that I wasn't reading as much. Before wife and kids, I could kill a weekend with a book. Now, I get about an hour before bed. So rather than kill that time on the iPad or reviewing the rulebook (something I should probably do on occasion), I have to have a book.

Tom

The two best GM's I've ever had shared one common trait.

They balanced the players and characters.

Off the top of my head: A min-maxing gun nut, a theater wannabe, a weirdo playing a support character, and a player or two just wanting to have fun with friends.  

The support character would have his "only you can save the day" moment. The theater wannabe could play the face and make sure we weren't getting fleeced/set up by the NPCs.  The gun nut could serve as mentor and lifeguard in-game and out to the people who just wanted to enjoy a fun game.  Everyone at the table had moments to shine, no matter how ridiculously unbalanced the player makeup or character sheets looked.

Everyone had a time and place.

I remember those games well.

I think knowing when the shut up and go with the flow is vital. Kind of Tao, having complete control of the table without doing much of anything most of the time.

I'd say:

Fair
Flexible
Friendly
Fun

The rest, like what type of campaign they run, etc., is naught but spurious detail, because this is s social activity, above all.

Quote from: cranebump;840785I'd say:

Fair
Flexible
Friendly
Fun

I'd add Firm, as in enforcing the norms of the game world, to keep it consistent and seeming real, even if this disappoints some of the players. Maybe it's subsumed in Fair (to the NPCs/game world) and Fun (to not spoil immersion).

Quote from: rawma;840807I'd add Firm, as in enforcing the norms of the game world, to keep it consistent and seeming real, even if this disappoints some of the players. Maybe it's subsumed in Fair (to the NPCs/game world) and Fun (to not spoil immersion).

Actually, you're dead on -- I assumed firm was part of fair, but certainly it's a good add!

When you play in a game that has a great GM, you wonder what the hell kind of cluster game you been playing in previous up until then. You never want to go back to playing your old group's way again. And probably don't want to play with those old players either. That's what a great GM can do to a role-player. Soon, that player becomes a great GM. Great players want to be great GMs. Crap players have no interest other than just showing up and metagaming for the win.

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;840989Great players want to be great GMs. Crap players have no interest other than just showing up and metagaming for the win.

I disagree with this. Strenuously.

I like to think I'm a pretty good player, maybe even great. I'm always on time and ready to go on game night, do my best to help out the less experienced players, do everything I reasonably can to make the DM's job easier and always try to be aware of my shortcomings and look for ways to improve (or at least curtail bad behavior). I have absolutely no interest in meta/power gaming, I just want to jump into the sandbox the DM has created and run around poking everything with a metaphorical stick to see if I can make some fun fall out.

That said, I've never really felt the desire to sit on the other side of the screen. I've tried it a few times to be sure it's not just an excuse to be lazy and it's never stuck. I suck at keeping track of and juggling NPCs' personalities and motivations relative to the PCs' actions, I suck at thinking on my feet and reacting to those actions in a way that keeps things engaging and fun. I suck at designing interesting worlds and adventures. Essentially, all the things I excel at when I'm just managing my PC go to shit when I'm trying to manage the world.

Which isn't to say the qualities that make one a great player or GM aren't necessarily going to overlap. Of course they are. Saying great players necessarily make or even want to make great GMs, though, is like saying people who enjoy playing platformers are necessarily going to enjoy and be good at making platformers. A casual perusal of the community maps for Little Big [strike]Penis[/strike] Planet handily puts the lie to that.

Edit: As for what makes a great GM, I generally agree with cranebump's list (and rawma's addendum). I tend to place a higher premium on flexibility than the other items, but they're all necessary for a solid game.

Quote from: Daztur;840654I think knowing when the shut up and go with the flow is vital. Kind of Tao, having complete control of the table without doing much of anything most of the time.

I'm looking forward to your constructive criticism after today's gaming session.

1. Players/Characters first! The game really should be about the characters, the choices made during character creation, and the dreams and whims of the players. I call it player-centric-play, but it's as much or more to do with the characters and then filters down to the players themselves.

2. Study up on the art of being a GM! Some games have great advice in them even if you don't appreciate the system, style or setting. I believe the GMing section in Apocalypse World is pure gold as an example. Challenge yourself, learn new tricks, and keep an open mind.

3. Flexibility! You have to be able to respond to unexpected turns, reactions, plans and shenanigans. You have to prepare for a missing player, or events to screw with the schedule. Sometimes there's a hurricane. Sometimes people turn right at Albuquerque. Flexibility is not just at the table running the game, but also scheduling. It helps with the mentality of it.

4. Discuss! Always talk first, act/react afterwards. I'm a Steven Covey fan, so I like one of the first principles - Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Find out what people want, what they don't want, what might bother them, whenever you want to update/change rules, or amend a previous ruling, or correct a ruling, etc. The hobby is predicated on conversation, so I'm not afraid to converse about anything. Also, being flexible, I can adapt the game to meet concerns and expectations. So both these attributes play off each other.

5. Prep, just not too much! GM burnout IS. A. THING. :-) So you have to be prepared but not TOO prepared. Also, planning the typical A - B - C adventure path bores me to tears. I will not do that to my players. My prep revolves around setting knowledge, rules knowledge, short cuts, NPCs, encounters, multiple clues and ways to obtain them, events, and the like. I want to be able to grab a card, or reference a table to inspire something in the moment when things "go astray".

In fact, you can't really go astray in one of my games because everything is an option. I will adapt as you make choices, and those reactions will be based on your choices. The world is made from the actions of the characters. I prep so I can be THAT GM. The players WILL fill in some details as we go along. I consider that the epitome of collaboration.

6. Improv! Here's the best advice I can give about Improv. Doing something is better than standing there with your mouth open. Eliminate the word "ummm" from your brain. When you prep have a couple roleplaying encounters, a couple combat encounters, a couple mystery encounters to keep in "your back pocket". If all else fails SAY THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND!! Trust yourself. You know what's going to be fun. Almost every GM has been a player. When all else fails SAY SOMETHING and make something happen you know will be fun. Keep a short list of character traits and flaws of the PCs and look at one and then do SOMETHING quickly based on that! Look at your events list or clues list or NPC list and just GO WITH IT! Just start talking, ask for a roll or check, have robots jump out of the water barrels, have an earthquake. The key to Improv is trusting your instincts and reacting NATURALLY to what might have otherwise been a lull in the narrative. Be the world around the PCs and don't ever let that world fade to black.

I love being a GM. I love it when the players make some choice, and I riff on that, then they make other choices, and I react, and before you know it this wonderful amazing interaction occurs. Everyone is in the moment. It's like some magical thing happens where everything around you disappears and you're all standing together in the place you made up in your minds staring at each other going "holy shit!".

Now, I don't bat 1000. Maybe a solid 400. :-) I have bad days, screw up, interject pure stupid when I was hoping for brilliant, mess up a rule, or do something that irks a player. It happens. The key is to learn from it. Dust yourself off and keep going. I am very much addicted to the feedback loop. Sometimes that doesn't happen. I remind myself that it WILL happen, just maybe not in this session. You have to keep reaching and keep improving and in the end you WILL be a Good GM.

Quote from: trechriron;8410021. Players/Characters first! The game really should be about the characters, the choices made during character creation, and the dreams and whims of the players. I call it player-centric-play, but it's as much or more to do with the characters and then filters down to the players themselves.

2. Study up on the art of being a GM! Some games have great advice in them even if you don't appreciate the system, style or setting. I believe the GMing section in Apocalypse World is pure gold as an example. Challenge yourself, learn new tricks, and keep an open mind.

3. Flexibility! You have to be able to respond to unexpected turns, reactions, plans and shenanigans. You have to prepare for a missing player, or events to screw with the schedule. Sometimes there's a hurricane. Sometimes people turn right at Albuquerque. Flexibility is not just at the table running the game, but also scheduling. It helps with the mentality of it.

4. Discuss! Always talk first, act/react afterwards. I'm a Steven Covey fan, so I like one of the first principles - Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Find out what people want, what they don't want, what might bother them, whenever you want to update/change rules, or amend a previous ruling, or correct a ruling, etc. The hobby is predicated on conversation, so I'm not afraid to converse about anything. Also, being flexible, I can adapt the game to meet concerns and expectations. So both these attributes play off each other.

5. Prep, just not too much! GM burnout IS. A. THING. :-) So you have to be prepared but not TOO prepared. Also, planning the typical A - B - C adventure path bores me to tears. I will not do that to my players. My prep revolves around setting knowledge, rules knowledge, short cuts, NPCs, encounters, multiple clues and ways to obtain them, events, and the like. I want to be able to grab a card, or reference a table to inspire something in the moment when things "go astray".

In fact, you can't really go astray in one of my games because everything is an option. I will adapt as you make choices, and those reactions will be based on your choices. The world is made from the actions of the characters. I prep so I can be THAT GM. The players WILL fill in some details as we go along. I consider that the epitome of collaboration.

6. Improv! Here's the best advice I can give about Improv. Doing something is better than standing there with your mouth open. Eliminate the word "ummm" from your brain. When you prep have a couple roleplaying encounters, a couple combat encounters, a couple mystery encounters to keep in "your back pocket". If all else fails SAY THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND!! Trust yourself. You know what's going to be fun. Almost every GM has been a player. When all else fails SAY SOMETHING and make something happen you know will be fun. Keep a short list of character traits and flaws of the PCs and look at one and then do SOMETHING quickly based on that! Look at your events list or clues list or NPC list and just GO WITH IT! Just start talking, ask for a roll or check, have robots jump out of the water barrels, have an earthquake. The key to Improv is trusting your instincts and reacting NATURALLY to what might have otherwise been a lull in the narrative. Be the world around the PCs and don't ever let that world fade to black.

I love being a GM. I love it when the players make some choice, and I riff on that, then they make other choices, and I react, and before you know it this wonderful amazing interaction occurs. Everyone is in the moment. It's like some magical thing happens where everything around you disappears and you're all standing together in the place you made up in your minds staring at each other going "holy shit!".

Now, I don't bat 1000. Maybe a solid 400. :-) I have bad days, screw up, interject pure stupid when I was hoping for brilliant, mess up a rule, or do something that irks a player. It happens. The key is to learn from it. Dust yourself off and keep going. I am very much addicted to the feedback loop. Sometimes that doesn't happen. I remind myself that it WILL happen, just maybe not in this session. You have to keep reaching and keep improving and in the end you WILL be a Good GM.

Cut. Stamp. Print. Read this, young GM's. Then DO THIS.

A good DM actually shows up to their own game.
A good DM doesn't oversleep to a ridiculous hour after being up all night gaming the previous night and totally miss their own game.
I am a shit DM.

A good GM knows how to manage people and their expectations while having fun. I can't disagree with a lot that has been posted before, but a good GM has social skills. These games we love are about people, so one of the best tools you can have is skill in interacting socially with people.

A good GM has their own particular style of GMing, which may be great for some and not so great for others. If it is yours and you can actively claim it while gaming, then you will be able to bring out the best in yourself and thus create a unique and entertaining experience for others. Nothing is more boring than a cookie cutter GM running a cookie cutter adventure that is just a copy of someone else's ideas that has been done before, to death.