46 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
46 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
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> By NVGM
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> Written February 2019
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The introduction to the Dungeon Master’s Guide endeavors to exposit the role of the GM through a menagerie of verbs and epithets, but presents no unified understanding of relevant skills.
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Page 8 of the Player’s Handbook gives us the “Three Pillars of Adventure”, which include the three basic in-game activities for which players will be rolling dice: exploration, social-interaction, and combat. But this is a model for character sheets, not characters or players. You can specialize or generalize your character’s skill in those activities, but the model is not particularly useful for players to better themselves, let alone GMs.
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We want a system to model the multitude of skills relevant to the roles of the GM so that we can get better at them. This is especially productive when the devised skill subsets relate to subjects for which educational materials are readily available. I’ve begun using the following trichotomic system to pursue that objective:
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* Game mastery. Understanding the core rules of the game system, as well as the more advanced principles and assumptions of the game’s design.
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* Storytelling. Understanding basic storytelling models, modes for effectively delivering your story, and how to engage your players with acting.
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* Leadership. Understanding the out-of-game responsibilities of the GM, including coordinating game schedules, settling player conflicts, and keeping everyone focused on the game.
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Let’s look at each of these to better understand how each sub-role is defined, what skills they consist of, and what materials exist with which we can improve our abilities.
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## Game Master
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Even in normal conversation, wherein I would usually use the copyrighted term for this role, I refer to this pillar as “Game Master”. This subset of skills includes knowledge of the game and its core design principles. It includes expertise in both the systems and content in the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monster Manual, and the text of any other content you’re using.
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Game systems. How does overland travel work? How do you resolve initiative in an ambush? How do you design a full adventuring day? These are the basic questions that are answered explicitly in the rulebooks. How do you assign rarity to a magic item? How do you design a balanced homebrew subclass for one of your players? How do you ensure your boss battle is engaging? More advanced topics like this address the game design considerations behind these rules, understanding of which allows you to make fully-informed modifications to the structure of the game.
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Game content. Which class features refresh after a short rest, instead of a long rest? How many goblins should the party encounter in a day? What magic item would be best to give your barbarian? These basics are either very common questions, or general guidelines for answering questions that come up during your game. More advanced questions could involve specific interactions between class features (especially multiclassing), understanding class power progression, and knowing how to scale a monster up or down in difficulty impromptu.
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Your learning materials for this role are the rulebooks of the game you’re playing. Your Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual or equivalents are required reading. Every GM I’ve played with whom I would consider excellent in this role has read those books cover-to-cover more than once.
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## Storyteller
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The sun set on the era of murderhobo dungeon crawls as default long ago. But actual-play media like Critical Role and an accommodating new design paradigm for 5th-edition D&D have galvanized a subcultural zeitgeist for RPGs as a platform for long-form storytelling. This has led to a greater share of players emphasizing the importance of compelling narrative and characters in their games. A good storyteller excels in both the story and the telling.
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Writing. Story structure, exposition, scene narration, and character development are a few of the important topics to understand to tell a good story. And a strong understanding of literary principles and devices is arguably more important for a GM than a novelist, since the GM must improvise narrative paths to account for characters they cannot control.
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Acting. Voices, body language, verbal mannerisms, character comprehension, and even prop design contribute to your ability to effectively deliver the story and characters you’ve written, as well as your ability to improvise new characters appropriate to the situation.
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Your learning materials for this role are creative writing textbooks, acting guides, prop design tutorials, video essays, author AMAs, and anything else that can better your understanding of constructing and delivering a story to engage your players.
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## Leader
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Some become GMs out of a desire to share their creative work, others out of servanthood for their friends. Regardless, all GMs take on themselves the responsibility of leadership when they mantle the title of Game Master. The skills learned through embracing and developing this aspect of GMing are the most widely-applicable to professional and personal life.
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Coordinator. The arduous task of collecting availabilities, and identifying the most optimal overlap, as well as devising contingencies for any of the myriad potential misfortunes wont to derail the best laid plans rests heavily on your shoulders. Further, you are responsible for putting out session reminders, delegating snack duties, and organizing hiatuses when necessary.
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Mediator. Good people, especially good friends, conflict. Over the course of a full campaign, you will conflict with your players, and your players will conflict with each other, plenty of times. It is your responsibility to maintain a composed demeanor and resolve issues as amicably as possible.
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Your learning materials for this role are business management courses, self-help texts focused on confidence and leadership, and most importantly, experience and effective communication with your players.
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## Conclusion
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You are the GM. You are always seeking to improve your skills. This model breaks down the role of the GM into three pillars: game mastery, storytelling, and leadership. With this model, you can evaluate your current state, identify areas of greatest potential for improvement, and begin the long and rewarding process of improving that skill.
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Different players place emphasis on different pillars. Your players may all hold storytelling in higher esteem than game mastery. Or your players may agree that running the game precisely by the rules as written is important to them. But most parties feature a mix of preferences, and you are tasked with appeasing all. I hope this model will help you do that.
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