Comments on: Something Old, Something New: Great DM’s

By: Something Old, Something New: What Makes a Great GM? : Critical Hits

Something Old, Something New: What Makes a Great GM? : Critical Hits — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:38:18 +0000

[...] let’s have a look at what NewbieDM has to say about this. (The post is [...]

By: Friday Links for October 2, 2009 | Moebius Adventures

Friday Links for October 2, 2009 | Moebius Adventures — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:08:20 +0000

[...] Something Old, Something New: Great DM’s from www. Newbie DM .com (newbiedm.com) [...]

By: LordVreeg

LordVreeg — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:22:56 +0000

I’m going to leave a follow-up here, as I responded on Chatty’s site, filtered through something you said here.

How does a new GM make sure that they give the best performance in front of theor audience/players? Make sure the material you have written is good stuff, and not just average. And make sure you know it cold enough to work off of it.

You want that NPC to come off as real? Write a good description, and know it when the players interact with them. And I will challenge even the best GM to ad-lib overarching, multi session plots as well as someone who puts it all together ahead of time.

In short, do your homework. GMing a good game takes work, but is even more worth it when you put it all together.

By: Anarkeith

Anarkeith — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:49:21 +0000

On NPCs in particular, I’ve found that one outstanding characteristic is usually enough to cement them in my players’ memories. I was at a mall and overheard a conversation in which this guy used the word “backpack” about 700 times in a very distinctive nasal tone. Of course he became an NPC at my table, and the “backpack guy” has become a running gag that has given us years of amusement.

By: The Chatty DM

The Chatty DM — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:33:02 +0000

I got the same lessons as you at Gen Con, the GM makes or breaks the game. All the attributes you described are shoe-ins for Great DMs and as Wrath points out, non are out of reach for new and veteran DMs alike.

Your ‘Hamming it up’ comment made me laugh because it’s so true. The larger exagerated NPCs like characters in a Play stand out in an evening.

Great post and a great start to what I hope will become a regular series.

By: wrathofzombie

wrathofzombie — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:55:18 +0000

Great post Newbie! Your advice is sound and many of the things are skills that even veteran DMs need to improve in. One of the biggest pitfalls of a DM is complacency.

By: » Something Old, Something New: What Makes a Great GM?

» Something Old, Something New: What Makes a Great GM? — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:31:20 +0000

[...] let’s have a look at what NewbieDM has to say about this. (The post is [...]