Game Master Duties
Create Locations to Explore. A good location is seeded with treasures, traps, friends, foes, monsters, devices, secrets, problems without obvious solutions, and powder-keg situations ready to explode. Avoid linear environments and provide multiple routes to most areas.
Flesh out the Supporting Cast. Give NPCs and monsters personalities, goals, fears, loyalties, motivations, and entangle their lives together.
Let the Players Guide the Action. Don't plan out a plot for the players to experience. Each session's outcome should be a surprise for everyone.
Keep the Game Moving. Point to players and ask what they are doing. If necessary, appoint a "caller" to lead the party if they spend too much time debating.
Use Common Sense. Most actions the PCs take should simply succeed or fail. Avoid making players roll for everything, it can slow down the game.
Make Impartial and Consistent Rulings. The players should be playing against the world, not against you. Roll your dice out in the open and don't fudge the results.
Immerse the Players. Pull the players into the world by making it a living, reactive, internally consistent place. Use random tables and generators to keep things fresh and surprising.
Reveal the World. Give the players plenty of information about what is happening around them. When in doubt, give them more. Without information, players cannot make choices, and making choices is the core of the game.
Signpost Danger. The more dangerous a thing is, the more obvious it should be. Don't penalize players for things they could not have avoided.
Reward Smart Plans. When players figure out clever ways to eliminate obstacles, consider making such plans automatically succeed. Creative problem solving is a vital skill in D&D, and parties that use should prosper.
Keep Time Records. Time is a resource for players, and wasting it should have consequences. How many resources do you have left? What are the other NPCs and factions up to while the players are adventuring? What threats are advancing?
Edit the Rules. The rules are your servant, not your master. If a rule isn't working the way your group likes, talk to them about it and tailor things to fit.
Flesh out the Supporting Cast. Give NPCs and monsters personalities, goals, fears, loyalties, motivations, and entangle their lives together.
Let the Players Guide the Action. Don't plan out a plot for the players to experience. Each session's outcome should be a surprise for everyone.
Keep the Game Moving. Point to players and ask what they are doing. If necessary, appoint a "caller" to lead the party if they spend too much time debating.
Use Common Sense. Most actions the PCs take should simply succeed or fail. Avoid making players roll for everything, it can slow down the game.
Make Impartial and Consistent Rulings. The players should be playing against the world, not against you. Roll your dice out in the open and don't fudge the results.
Immerse the Players. Pull the players into the world by making it a living, reactive, internally consistent place. Use random tables and generators to keep things fresh and surprising.
Reveal the World. Give the players plenty of information about what is happening around them. When in doubt, give them more. Without information, players cannot make choices, and making choices is the core of the game.
Signpost Danger. The more dangerous a thing is, the more obvious it should be. Don't penalize players for things they could not have avoided.
Reward Smart Plans. When players figure out clever ways to eliminate obstacles, consider making such plans automatically succeed. Creative problem solving is a vital skill in D&D, and parties that use should prosper.
Keep Time Records. Time is a resource for players, and wasting it should have consequences. How many resources do you have left? What are the other NPCs and factions up to while the players are adventuring? What threats are advancing?
Edit the Rules. The rules are your servant, not your master. If a rule isn't working the way your group likes, talk to them about it and tailor things to fit.
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