Full Video Transcript

Hello friends and welcome to the table. I’m continuing my series of looking at the very beginnings of getting involved in tabletop role-playing games.

Today we’re going to talk about: what is a DM?

So DM stands for Dungeon Master and you may also see in some games people use the term GM for Game Master, especially when it’s not necessarily a Dungeons and Dragons type of setting. The Dungeon Master is, for lack of a better term, the game show host? On a game show, you want to see what’s behind door number three? Well, the game show host tells you what the rules are, what you’ve got to do to be able to see what’s behind door number three, and if you’re lucky, who knows what you get? That’s that sort of idea.

The concept that a Dungeon Master or a Game Master is trying to help everybody through the story by understanding what we have to do with the rules, what’s possible, what’s not possible, and playing all the characters that are not the people.

In some game systems, there is no person assigned to that role. It’s a very collaborative gameplay. Everybody kind of shares the duties of making sure the game can play.

But if you’re playing something more traditional like Dungeons and Dragons or other systems like that, you will have one person who will come and prepare for the session. They will come to the game with an idea of what the story is that they’re trying to tell, or at least what the world is like that the players are inhabiting, and then they facilitate and help everybody get through it.

Some people get intimidated. They think this role I could never do it. But you can. Anyone can be a Game Master or a Dungeon Master.

The big part that you really need to be willing to do is to: take the time to prepare.

Take the time to learn the system enough to be able to help everybody who has questions.

And be willing to make mistakes.

Things are going to go wrong. You will never expect everything. There’s an ongoing joke that whatever you prepare your players will find a way in the first 10 minutes to throw all of it out. You need to be able to adapt on the fly and be able to say, “OK, I’m gonna be able to swing with what you’re doing. And you also have to be willing to say: “Whoa, I didn’t expect this. I need to take a break”. Or: “Maybe this is a good place for us to break for the session so I can prepare something else”.

The Dungeon Master’s role ultimately is to allow everybody at the table to have an opportunity to have fun in the story that’s coming. A really good Dungeon Master is going to make sure that they notice when a character is not getting enough of the spotlight, and maybe they should be brought forward a little. They’re going to notice when someone’s maybe not having a good time, and how can we adjust to make sure they’re enjoying it as well. If you’re doing things professionally like a facilitation type of role, that will translate very well over to this.

If you are just getting started and you want to be a Dungeon Master, go for it! You’re gonna have a great time. Find a group that’s willing to learn with you and you’ll be able to work together to tell a great story.

Just remember, you’re always welcome at the table.