Can everyone be a game/dungeon master

Can everyone be a game/dungeon master
Can everyone be a good game/dungeon master with enough preparation?

It has more to do with improv acting I think. A good gm is good on his feet, not meticulously planning. Although planning doesn't hurt.

No, but a lot of people can.
Some people need prep, some need practice, some have natural talent.
Some people will never be to DM effectively.
It's not a rare ability, but it's not a universal one.

>Be able to DM effectively

No.

Some people are just really shitty at improvising. People who prepare to great lengths can often be very inflexible unless they prepare with flexibility in mind.

Additionally, some people just aren't very diplomatic. A good DM needs to be willing to do a bit of quid-pro-quo and needs to be able to convince the players they're getting their way and being clever even when they're doing exactly what he wants them to do.

He also needs to not be an autist and realize when to draw the line between his story and his players' enjoyment. Sometimes something that would be really dramatic and interesting in a novel or movie is just super fucking annoying for a player.

Replace preparation with practice, and you're right on the money.

Preparation is important, but in any given game, a PC is going to do something incredibly stupid/brilliant and you need to be able to react. That's a learned skill.

No, and no.

Some people are just going to always be bad DMs, no matter what you say.

No. But I think that most people are capable of becoming passable GMs at least. "Good" is a bit trickier though, and then there are some people who are just aren't cut out for the job at all.

This guy knows. Learning how to run a game is a skill like anything else. Sure, there are people who are naturally good at the kinds of thing a GM does (speaking in front of groups, improvisation, mediation, whatever), but the bar isn't so fantastically high that *only* those people can qualify as good--at least not any more than any other skill.

There are people out there who can paint way better than I can with just their toes.

I think yes. Approximately. It's true that you need improv talent, but if they approach their preparation the right way it is possible to have a good enough understanding of the environment that improv gets easier.

1. No

Some people really don't get what makes a GM and end up being spiteful directors that hate their players because they dared to not read their minds and follow the plot that is clear to them but obscured to the rest. There are also people out there that can misread their players so badly that they will sabotage their own attempts to make an engaging story by throwing stupid crap at them at any given time.

2. Some preperation is needed if you don't want to be caught with your pants down at critical moments, but mostly you need to be able to come up with stuff on the fly and learn the magic word: "No."

The basics of what you need:

>Ability to plan ahead
>Ability to be flexible and improvise
>Ability to manage a group effectively without alienating anyone
>Know how to make sure everyone playing gets to contribute and have a good time
>Have at least some basic acting skills with a range of good character voices
>Know the rules very well, particularly as regards game balance
>Know the game setting very well


Lacking any one of those will make a mediocre GM. Their games will be playable but lacking, unless you have great players.

Lacking two or more will make a bad DM. These games will be shit no matter what.

Man, Veeky Forums is fucking unforgiving to GMs.

The bar was set pretty high. It wasn't "can most people be a GMs?" it was "can EVERYONE?"

Everyone can be anything

Anyone can. Not everyone will. Being a good DM takes study, practice, willingness to prep, good organization skills, and relentless painful self-honesty.

You have to have people you trust tell you where you're weak and you have to put deliberate practice into those areas until you stop being weak at them.

If you can resist the urge to resort to "it's their problem, not mine" or "respect mah authority" or "it's not worth the effort, we're just here to goof around" you can and will get better until you're actually good. Bail out when it gets tough with an excuse and you'll stay mediocre. That goes for you, me, and everyone else.

The first step is,obviously,to know the rules and possibilities of the games you play. Most DMs start as players.
Second is developing improvisation. If you're a good player,you should be an adequate improviser by the time you start DMing. If not, with effort you'll develop the skill over time,though your first games will probably suck (my case).
The third step is learning to effectively plan your campaigns ahead of time; setting, scenario, NPCs, encounter and the BBEG are the most important elements,I think. Once you can figure those out on a short time but with good results, every gets into place. The only obstacles here are lazyness and procrastination, which in my experience have botched too many games I'm taken part into.

So yes,I think everyone can be a good DM is they have all the above. One of them missing is enough to fuck everything up.

...

In many ways, the work of a player is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgement.

We thrive on meme characters, which are fun to create and to play. But the bitter truth we player must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average one scene NPC is probably more meaningful than the time our characters spend rendering them so.

But there are times when a player truly risks something, and that is in the embracing and defence of the new. Veeky Forums is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends.

Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary session from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the session and its GM have challenged my preconceptions about role-playing is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core.

In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for the insipid idea: Anyone can DM. But I realize, only now do I truly understand what it truly meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.

I will be retuning to their apartment soon hungry for more.

I gotta rewatch this now

Being a good GM isn't about how meticulous and well-written your prep work is, it's about being able to take your meticulous and well-written prep work that you've put your heart and soul into, throwing it into the massive fuck-up machine that is the players, and being able to not only work with whatever god-forsaken mess you end up with, but also make sure that everyone else gets what they want out of the remaining strands of story.
Anyone can be a great GM with enough practice, but just writing up prep work ain't gonna cut it.

A GM/DM is a social role more so than planner. Here are some of my cardinal rules:
1. Someone who knows all the rules can be just as bad as someone who knows none of them. You have to be flexible and know when to guide or when to be the invisible hand. Sometimes you have to lie about a roll you do....
2. You can spend ages finding the best group to play with but no group is perfect. You've got to entertain. Provide a ride and give people their moments. You've got to handle those strong personalities but not make things a walkover for them.
3. You should plan, the Internet is awash with guides, maps, stories - better to make your own though but their is plenty to grab. Reading the rules is a must but never let rules come between a good story!
4. You have to improvise, let them take the road less travelled but also have ideas you can supply them with on these choices.
5. Balance roles, don't make the whole situation about one thing, people dig the morally complex and can speed much more time enjoying the complexities of talking and disputes than open combat.
6. Not everything is about skill. Sometimes you should make a situation that isn't a roll. A puzzle for people to sink their teeth into.
7. You will often be the centre piece holding the thing together. You can really make things great. A game doesn't have to be reduced down to strangers playing in a hobby shop. Theme nights, good food, a couple beers all the other social graces can give the event more weight and meaning. Getting everyone to bring something different and avoiding takeaways.
8. Have clear cut breaks for everyone and end at appropriate times, not everyone wants to play for 5 hours straight and nor should you.
9. Reward roleplay. For many people they get bogged down in the intricacies and rules of a game. I want to make this roll. I am not saying everyone needs to dress up and make silly voices but immersion is something to encourage.
10. Have fun and shit.

Being good isn't hard, but it's still a level of achievement a lot of assholes can't reach. You have to be flexible and honestly want the players to succeed while simultaneously being a good writer and wanting then to be murdered horribly. The 10,000 hours rule is really a good guide for a good DM.

Being great is a much steeper cliff. You need a talent on top of putting in the work.

Unless you have some kind of brain damage, you can definitely become a good GM with enough practise. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply trying to defend their own laziness.

With enough preparation? No
With enough practice? Maybe
With enough experience? Yes