Post/Author/DateTime	Post
MiniMan2000 01-22-07, 01:21 AM	I've been pondering this for some time. I game online and have my eyes on getting a GM Training Program going for DnD. I'd be happy to take any pointers on how to set up said GM training program.
Tarus 01-22-07, 10:26 AM	By making them do things. Set up scenarios and let the trainees work them out. Then coach them on mistakes or things they could do better. Also coach them on coming up with good descriptions and story lines. Show them how to develop dungeons and intelligently place NPC's. Lastly, and most important, ensure they can think fast. Throw twists at them that requires for quick thinking and/or acting.
Edymnion 01-22-07, 10:36 AM	Being a player or a DM is a skill, just like any other. Training someone to be a DM simply requires that they have a good working understanding of the rules, and be able to think fast on their feet. Make 'em go read some books to learn how to create stories, maybe an improv class or three, and you're good to go.
tharivol266 01-22-07, 10:41 AM	if you are going to do this online you will need alot of help. like say four players per trainee. i would make like say 25 low level adventures and have the trainees run them while you play and you say what they did wrong. when they get that right you would probably be in mid levels and you could start having them make and submit then run adventures and once again you could tell them what they did wrong. and finally have them make and run adventures at higher levels that you dont see prior to the game and then you just try to screw them up like countless players do to us.
drake_vampiel_d 01-22-07, 11:49 AM	take a well planned premade one time campain (something from teh Wizards website or dungeon mag.) have them DM the campain but have someone watch over them and at the end of the campain have the new DM and the person watching him get together and discuss what he did well and what he needs to improve on.
stargate525 01-22-07, 03:00 PM	Make sure they have read the entire players handbook at least once. I can't tell you how much that has helped me, just knowing whether something is in there or not. I'd probably start them in on running a game session from the first. Take an entire 'class period' or however you're going to do it and have them come up with a basic plot. What they want the players to accomplish, and how the DM is going to make it hard. Be sure to discuss the making of contingency plans and what-if scenarios. Then you should devote one on game session prep. How to audit a character sheet (average skill totals, how to tell if something looks wrong, etc.), making sure they read up on the players' abilities so they know how they work, as well as the abilities of whatever they plan on using, should be taught. A third session, shorter, could be a 'run through' for them, with two or three people (not the players), the instructor, and the DM sit down and go through the game, minus roleplaying and die rolling. So for instance the DM would narrate what happens and then the others would give their reactions and figure out how to proceed. Then they would discuss what the DM would do if it failed, if it suceeded, or if the rolls went completely unexpected. Then you would have the 'graduation,' the actual session. The instructor would be only an observer taking notes, giving no help to the DM unless something goes horribly wrong. At the end get the players and the DMs reaction, and then walk through what the DM could have done better. My suggestions at least.
PenderGrass 01-23-07, 02:38 PM	Lesson 1: The difference between a GM and a DM. :dragon: ****
tharivol266 01-23-07, 08:59 PM	Lesson 1: The difference between a GM and a DM. :dragon: **** oh dont be cutting dragons' teeth. its generally a bad idea and you will end up hurt
High Octane 01-23-07, 10:51 PM	Well its rather simple. When the DM does something good, you give him a scratch behind the ears and when he does something bad you hit him with increasingly blunt and heavy objects. A hammergun gives a +5 circumstance bonus on Handle DM checks.
PenderGrass 01-24-07, 12:51 AM	oh dont be cutting dragons' teeth. its generally a bad idea and you will end up hurt Seriously, if you can't tell the difference between a DM and a GM, you should really think about seeking some serious training. :dragon: ****
tharivol266 01-24-07, 10:13 AM	Seriously, if you can't tell the difference between a DM and a GM, you should really think about seeking some serious training. :dragon: **** true. buts its hardly worth making someone worry over
a_psh 01-24-07, 11:03 AM	Seriously, if you can't tell the difference between a DM and a GM, you should really think about seeking some serious training.One is a generic term while the other is specific to D&D? Who the hell cares? In RPGs, it's standard practice to call the player handling that particular set of tasks the "GM" -- though what the specific tasks are does tend to vary wildly. (Or a game will make up some kind of stupid term for it, like "Seneschal" or "Storyteller", and most people will call that guy the "GM" anyway because that sounds a lot less silly.)
Arrowhen 01-24-07, 11:41 AM	Being a good DM requires more than just skill. You can teach the skills (rules knowledge, balancing encounters, etc.), but can you really teach people how to assess and meet the needs of their own particular group while still having fun themselves? Can you teach them the "right" way to balance pre-game prep vs. the ability to toss that all out when the players go off on an entertaining but unforeseen tangent? Can you teach them the "right" balance between "roleplaying" and "game"? Can you teach them the "right" way to fudge rolls? So much of what constitutes "good" DMing depends on the group. What one person might consider a "good" DM, I might be miserable playing under, and vice versa. The best way to become a good DM is, unfortunately, the hardest: play lots of D&D with lots of different people and learn from your mistakes. Now, that isn't to say that DMs are completely on their own when it comes to developing their abilities: there are countless books, magazine articles and forum posts offering tips on becoming a better DM. But none of these tips are a substitute for practice and experience.
High Octane 01-24-07, 11:50 AM	The difference between DM and GM is the difference between ninja and rogue. You have to be pretty delusional to think theres much of one.
Kas 01-24-07, 12:25 PM	Well its rather simple. When the DM does something good, you give him a scratch behind the ears and when he does something bad you hit him with increasingly blunt and heavy objects. A hammergun gives a +5 circumstance bonus on Handle DM checks. Heehee.
CharlieRock 01-24-07, 01:01 PM	Watch lots of movies. Read lots of books. And steal ideas from about 50-100 per session. :D
Thought 01-24-07, 01:03 PM	Since it has been brought up, it is better to train someone to be a GM rather than a DM. Having experience with multiple systems is ideal for determining what a game needs to function and be fun and what a game has that is a hinderance. A good GM should also have a reading list (generally by Author). Robert Jordan, OSC, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelly, etc. Any creative endevor requires a lot of reading. A good Gm should also understand the basics of research. If a GM doesn't know something that they want to include in a campaign, they need to know how to get the information. A good knowledge of the paranormal is good too, because some of the zaniest ideas work great in a fantasy setting. Rules... meh, they need to know where to find the rules and how to run situations in general, but there is no need to memorize. And they need to go to roleplayingtips.com Or, you know, GMs could always learn as they go and develop their own style.
PenderGrass 01-24-07, 01:09 PM	One is a generic term while the other is specific to D&D? Who the hell cares? That is not a proper attitude. :dragon: ****
Gobae 01-24-07, 03:22 PM	You could also have an experienced DM work right along side the newb. "Co-DM'ing" is what we called it. The Co-DM would give on the fly pointers as well as be an instant answer resource for the new DM. As well, the Co-DM might split tasks with the newb, particularly running the monsters. In fact in large campaigns (8-12 players) we did run with 2 DMs BOTH of whom were experienced. The Co-DM in this instance was responsible for all the monster moves, and extraneous NPC's while the primary DM controled plot, and important NPC's. It worked really well. It was nice to have intelligent monster attacks because the Co-DM didn't have to divide his time between that, game mechanics and game balance. The primary DM could just say to the Co-DM "I want 7 of 'these' to attack 'here'." and the Co-DM would make it happen.
revnk 01-24-07, 05:26 PM	Rub his nose in it while saying "no" in a commanding voice or using a rolled-up newspaper to the snout are no longer en vogue; today's experts recommend making sure he understands his role in the pack and that you're the pack "alpha." If all else fails, try obedience school. Sorry, I thought we were talking about puppies. I have to disagree with much of what's written here: DMing isn't a skill, it's an art--in other words, it's not something you learn so much as it's something you hone with much practice. Memorizing the rules won't make you a good DM (and not knowing rules won't make you a bad one, although it may not help). Advice from well-meaning fools such as myself may or may not be any use at all. So, no, you can't "teach DMing" as such, although I imagine you can set up practice scenarios and workshops that allow a DM to learn in much the same way that a good art class or writing workshop is less about instruction and more about practicing techniques and receiving feedback.
a_psh 01-24-07, 06:01 PM	Rules and crap are pretty irrelevant. Most of that knowledge is easily acquired by just being a player for a while and reading the rulebooks a ton, and, moreover, the knowledge is useless to you if you ever change games, editions, whatever. All the other stuff is much more important. However, it's also harder to "teach" in the context of some kind of formal instruction.
stargate525 01-24-07, 06:16 PM	Since it has been brought up, it is better to train someone to be a GM rather than a DM. Having experience with multiple systems is ideal for determining what a game needs to function and be fun and what a game has that is a hinderance. *snip* Or, you know, GMs could always learn as they go and develop their own style. bah. If the person wants training on multiple systems, he should already know the rules set, everything else carries over. The rest of your post was essentially a long definition on how to get a fake imagination. I have to disagree with much of what's written here: DMing isn't a skill, it's an art--in other words, it's not something you learn so much as it's something you hone with much practice. Memorizing the rules won't make you a good DM (and not knowing rules won't make you a bad one, although it may not help). Advice from well-meaning fools such as myself may or may not be any use at all. So, no, you can't "teach DMing" as such, although I imagine you can set up practice scenarios and workshops that allow a DM to learn in much the same way that a good art class or writing workshop is less about instruction and more about practicing techniques and receiving feedback. heh. DMing, to me, is both. If you have one or the other exclusively, it won't work.
Olskool 01-24-07, 06:31 PM	The best way to learn how to DM is to do it. Nobody can teach anyone else to DM. The very idea of some DM teaching other people to DM just seems off some how. I mean, you can offer advice and constructive criticism, but you can't teach it in a classroom like setting.
a_psh 01-24-07, 06:42 PM	The best way to learn how to DM is to do it.Agreed. On that same note, the second best way to learn how to DM is to just plain play.
Arrowhen 01-24-07, 08:10 PM	Agreed. On that same note, the second best way to learn how to DM is to just plain play. Maybe. Provided you're paying attention to what the DM is doing and why, and asking plenty of questions at the appropriate time. All the playing in the world isn't going to help you DM well if you're thinking "Man, my character's getting totally hosed. When I DM I'm gonna give (favorite class) x, y, and z and take away (least favorite class)'s a, b and c. I'm gonna make so many houserules my first time DMing that D&D is finally gonna be perfect!"
Thought 01-25-07, 09:15 AM	The rest of your post was essentially a long definition on how to get a fake imagination. Actually, the rest of my post was a conglomeration of what various successful writers (OSC, as a teacher on the subject, recommends both, for example) have told people when asked how to become a writer. GMing is a lot like writing; one needs to tell a good, realistic story. Without a good knowledge base (of both story telling and alternate elements) one is really just writing 3rd rate fan fiction.