How to become a Game Master
So, you want to be a Game Master (GM)? Fantastic! GMing is an incredibly rewarding experience that allows you to explore new worlds, challenge your creativity, and bring people together for unforgettable adventures. Whether you're completely new to tabletop gaming or a seasoned player stepping into a new role, this guide will help you get started as a GM. It’s designed to ease you into the art of game mastering. With your group, schedule, and game system ready, let's dive into the essentials of starting your journey as a GM, from finding inspiration to mastering your first game session.
Finding Your Inspiration
The first thing you need is inspiration. Every great story starts with a spark—an idea that ignites the imagination. You could be inspired thematically by stories or technically when you see someone like Matt Mercer or Brennan Lee Mulligan orchestrate magic behind the GM screen. As a GM, your inspiration can come from almost anywhere:
Books, Movies, and TV Shows. Think about the stories that captivate you. Is it the epic fantasy of Lord of the Rings, the dark mysteries of Twin Peaks, or the futuristic explorations in Blade Runner? Use these narratives as a framework for your adventures, adapting elements to fit your game’s setting and tone.
TTRPG Games. Experience is one of the best teachers, and experience watching or playing definitely counts. You can participate in games or watch actual plays to understand different GMing styles. Notice how the GM handles the flow of the game, player interactions, and storytelling.
Adventure Modules. Most TTRPG systems offer pre-written adventures that are great for understanding game structure. These modules provide a clear path from the introduction of a quest to the climactic encounters, offering insights into pacing and development that you can apply to your own stories.
Maps. Most TTRPG games use visual representations of locations for combat, atmosphere, and spacial depictions to help players. Maps can be a great jumping-off point to all sorts of adventures - and knowing that you have choices about where to go next and what to do can make all the difference. For over 5,000 maps to look through, check out czepeku.com.
I know that from personal experience, my enthusiasm for GM’ing is kept at a healthy level when I’m continuously making time for new inspiration: reading my favourite books, watching new movies or TV (especially in the fantasy or sci-fi genres), and flipping through adventure books or campaign settings for various TTRPGs. If I go for extended periods of time and my drive to GM begins to fall off, it only takes a single moment of “wow, that’s cool, I’m going to use that” while consuming some other media, and I’m instantly re-engaged.
Preparation is Key
Preparing for your role as a GM involves a balance between being ready for anything and being open to improvisation. When you’re starting out, it’s important to keep in mind that less is more. TTRPGs are supposed to be driven by the players as much as the GM. It is very easy to feel like you have to prepare for any possible scenario—you absolutely do not, and this is an easy trap to fall into.
Choosing Your Adventure. If you're new to GMing, I’d recommend starting with a pre-made adventure, particularly one advertised as beginner-friendly. Many game systems provide starter adventures designed to help new GMs learn the ropes. These adventures usually include well-defined settings, plots, and characters, making it easier to focus on running the game rather than managing countless details. Furthermore, you’ll have access to an online community that has already run the adventure and can ask questions or get feedback on how you plan to run it, should you so choose.
Creating Your Own. If you have a strong spark of inspiration and prefer to create your own adventure, start small. Develop a concise scenario and expand as you become more comfortable with the role of GM. Focus on key locations, major NPCs (Non-Player Characters), and the main conflict. This approach helps prevent becoming overwhelmed and allows you to adapt more readily to your players' actions. In the case of Dungeons and Dragons or similar fantasy systems, for example, you could start with as little as a single five-room dungeon, the six goblins that inhabit it, and a reason to investigate, such as a missing boy who was last seen near its entrance. Start the session outside the dungeon door, and you’re off to the races.
Conducting a Successful Session Zero
‘Session Zero’ is the popular name given to a pre-game chat you would have with your group to align on expectations for the game. It’s crucial in setting the stage for a successful campaign or even aligning expectations for a single session of play. It’s the foundation upon which your game will be built.
Setting Expectations. Clear communication about what you and your players hope to get out of the campaign is vital. Discuss the type of story you’re aiming for, the rules, and any house rules you plan to implement.
Character Creation. Help your players build characters that fit both the story you want to tell and the dynamics of the group. This process also helps players form connections to the world you’re creating. Nobody wants to end up with a frustrating lone-wolf character who isn’t actually interested in adventuring or a joke character in the context of a ‘serious’ setting.
Discussing Boundaries. It’s important to understand and respect personal boundaries to ensure that everyone feels safe and valued. The group should align on which topics or scenarios might be uncomfortable for group members and, therefore, are best avoided. You shouldn’t assume what topics anyone in the group might be comfortable with. This is also where you would discuss and establish safety tools to handle any discomfort that might arise throughout the course of play.
The concept of a Session Zero easily justifies its own article. If you’re looking for more information, countless articles or discussions on running a Session Zero are available online.
Supplementary Resources
A wealth of resources is available to help you sharpen your GM skills. Don’t at all feel like there’s a certain amount you need to review before you jump in and play. There isn’t. I, however, have found tremendous benefit in the following resources over my years GM’ing, so I’m happy to refer them to you.
Matt Colville's 'Running the Game' series on YouTube offers an array of practical tips that are accessible to new and experienced GMs alike. There’s probably over a hundred hours of video content here for you to peruse.
Reddit's r/DMAcademy is a community where GMs can ask questions, share experiences, and find resources. While the subreddit is specific to Dungeons and Dragons, most of the questions and wisdom here often aren’t.
Sly Flourish’s ‘The Lazy Dungeon Master’ is an approach discussed on Mike Shea’s blog and catalogued in two separate products, ‘The Lazy Dungeon Master’ and the updated ‘Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master.’ Shea offers strategies for reducing preparation time while improving the quality of your sessions. A lot of the information is free, though products for sale provide a few additional tools at an incredibly fair price.
Official Dungeon Master Guides are a mixed bag, and of course, their relevance depends on what system you’re running. The DnD 5th Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG) gets a lot of fair criticism, so if you’re running DnD, Pathfinder, or anything in a remotely similar category and you’re interested in reading an instruction manual for how to GM, I’d recommend the DnD 4th Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide and its second iteration. You can still find older physical copies, as well as PDFs, on sites like DrivethruRPG. Though some of the information in these guides will obviously not apply to the edition of whatever game you’re playing, their wisdom on handling different player scenarios, planning campaigns, and structuring scenarios is timeliness.
With all of this being said, remember, every GM makes mistakes, and that’s okay. There’s a good chance your players won’t even notice. And if they do, you’re all still bound to be having fun anyway. Each session is an opportunity to improve. Embrace the unpredictable. Happy GMing!