On wielding the forces of Fantasy: 10 suggestions for aspiring Dungeon Masters
While it is well established that a Dungeon Master or Game Master is the person that will conduct a game of Dungeons and Dragons, the minutiae about what the title entails may vary from edition to edition. The Wikipedia defines the dungeon master as:
The game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events.
It is quite interesting as a definition. It speaks of a duty to maintain a continuity of events and uses the expression "participant in charge", which will serve as foreshadowing for the most important piece of advice that I will include later in this text.
The 5.5 version of the Dungeon Master's guide does, in my opinion, a bit of a poor job of describing the functions of a DM, with a quite intimidating list of roles. However, the introduction to the first chapter does a much better job, naming the DM as:
The player who presides over the game and makes sure everyone is having fun.
I love this definition because it is almost there. But let's be honest, given the DM/Player ratio, we are going to need something uplifting, maybe a bit epic, if we want more people to take the lead on this. So allow me to roll the dice and come up with my own:
Dungeon Masters are in charge of wielding the forces of Fantasy in order to bring joy to all the people in a game of D&D, including themselves.
Yeah, that sounds a bit cooler. Now, allow me to introduce you to the world of scheduling and calendars.
Just kidding. Calendars are important and intimidating, but if you want to be a Dungeon Master and you want actionable advice, here are 10 suggestions based on my own experience.
- Gather all the tropes, stories, genres. Any fiction you enjoyed trough your life. Imagine you put everything in a box, and when in need of inspiration, reach out to the box and grab something. All the fiction that ever brought you joy is now at your service.
- You need to fail. A lot. Screwing up is part of the system. Embrace it and learn from your mistakes. There is no way of skipping this step. The more you fail, the more you'll learn. But in order for this to work,
- You will need kind people by your side. This is why the vast majority of Dungeon Masters assemble a first group made by friends or close acquaintances. You need people that will look beyond your first missteps and carry on with the narrative. If you need to find folks in the internet, look for the kind people.
- All groups have people that is good with taking notes and reminders. Find them. Once you start playing, the reason for this advice will soon become obvious.
- Watch some Actual Plays. They are the best kind of art for a newbie DM to understand the job. But remember this: you want to learn how to play basketball, and these folks are the NBA. Adjust your expectations accordingly, since APs are at this point more of a form of art than a simple game with friends.
- Start small. A couple one-shots. A short campaign. Low stakes are excellent to begin, since people can part ways if the thing didn't work.
- If it didn't work, and you feel this may not be for you, take some rest and maybe do another one-shot with a different group. See if the feeling stays, decide accordingly.
- Practice self care. DMing is an activity that can take a lot of spoons. Be kind to yourself and remember to rest.
- Apply the rules before breaking them. If you are starting, rules are there to help you. Once you are more confident with them, you will know which ones are worth breaking.
- Games involve people. People are messy. Be kind to others, and expect the same from them.
There is a lot of people wanting to play D&D, and we will always need more Dungeon Masters. I hope this serves as inspiration for anyone that wants to call upon the forces of Fantasy and bring some joy to their friends. If you want to know more, Mike Shea at Sly Flourish has an entire blog devoted to help Dungeon Masters with their prep, and the first advice of my list was inspired by something he once said on his show. Mike is awesome, follow him!