GMing Makes You a Better Person: Intro
First a disclaimer.
When I say "better person", I don't mean you're automatically superior to others because you are a Game Master. Being a good GM means checking your ego at the door.
Instead what I mean, is that by taking on the responsibility of being a Game Master, you will see so many different facets of self improvement, that after looking back, you'll be amazed at how much you've gained along the way.
I hope to convince you to try to GM for yourself one day, by showing all the amazing things I've learned and discovered together with my friends that have improved my life inside and outside of RPGs.
When I describe how to be a game master to someone for the first time, I explain it as the wearing of many different hats.
A GM is the combination of all of the following:
- Writer
- Director
- Sound Designer
- Actor
- Improvisor
- Set Designer
- Prop Maker
- Game Designer
- Historian
- Cartographer
- Referee
- Mediator
- and more...
Because it comprises so many skills, its impossible to not come out of it a better person.
Being a Dungeon Master is also infectious. Start your own epidemic.
I started DMing because my friends all wanted to play, but no one would take on the mantle (and the workload). It's the best choice I ever made.
I've heard numerous people say that they have wanted to "try gming", but that it seems like a lot of work. Well, it is. But the rewards you get back are tenfold. On top of that, I can't count the number of people that I have run games and campaigns for, who have not only become very close friends of mine, but have then gone on to host their own games and one shots for others.
I was originally introduced to RPGs through Dungeons and Dragons version 3.5 at my friend Evan's house in middle school. We'd mess around creating characters but never playing a proper game.
After a few years, we'd decided to try and play the game Dungeon World because it had simple mechanics and was easy to get into and just start playing. And it was. Soon, I had them roll up characters and after some of my first campaign preparation ever, we started out first campaign.
About a year after our first campaign, Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition came out and it defined the next decade of our RPG lives.
The following parts of the series will be what I consider the substantial take aways from my 10+ years of running games in the hopes that you'll see the immense amount of literal experience you can gain by giving being a Dungeon or Game Master a chance.
