DM's Corner Round 1

In this series I've named DM's corner, I'll be explaining the basics of becoming a DM and what specifically they are responsible for. First of all, you may be asking the question, "What is a DM?" A DM or Dungeon Master is the most important person in any tabletop role-playing game. They create the world, situations, and are the primary person that the players interact with. "Well, whats the difference between a Dungeon Master and Gamemaster?" There is actually no difference, the title is usually based off of the type of tabletop game you are playing.

The DM's primary responsibility is to make sure that everyone is having fun. If that means everyone is constantly engaged in combat, great! If it means that the group is skulking through a seedy underworld looking for clues about the missing magistrate's son, then awesome! Its important to find out if your group wants story, or conflict and try to tailor fit the adventures to the group.

As the DM, this will be a view you will become accustomed to.

The DM has a very special job because they create all of the fun that the group has. Most specifically they role-play as all of the characters that the group interacts with. From the King, to the Evil Wizard to the scullery maid. Because of this role-playing interesting characters is important! (I'll do some posts about effective DM role-playing in future DM's Corners) As a DM its important to know the rules, be sure to carefully read over the rules for the game you're playing. If its your first time, explain to your group that you need their support and patience. As a general rule for a DM, if a result is very unclear but something could benefit the players, then take that course of action. Your plan for the game may be different but remember, killing all of the players off constantly may be fun for you, but its will quickly get irritating for the players.

In future posts I'll explain the basics of Campaign and Adventure creation, in addition to tips for the players as well!

The First Step

                          When we think of role-playing one thing universally comes to mind. Dice.

 Selecting your dice can be an excellent first step in becoming a successful role-player. Just like those whom make their cars look spiffy with new rims, hydraulics, or even body kits; Dice can be just as important to role-players. When setting out to buy the right dice choose one that you find esthetically pleasing and have fun with it! I've been gaming for a long time so I have a enormous amount of dice most are mismatched and come from sets that I've long ago lost the other pieces to. The most important part in making the right dice decision is to do some research on the type of game you are interested in playing and make sure to get enough of the proper type. For right now however I will give you a basic suggestion for dice you should choose for Dungeons and Dragons (hereafter refereed to as DnD). the basic set of dice that you'd need to have to play in a DnD game is : 1-20 sided dice, 1-12 sided, 2-10 sided dice, 2-8 sided dice, 4-6 sided dice, and, 4-4 sided dice. Common names for these types of dice are D(standing for dice) and the number corresponding how many sides it has (Such as a D20). My personal choice in dice happens to be a set of burnished steel, while they are definitely not the ordinary and stand out easily they suffer for not rolling well on every surface and being too dangerous to roll on glass tables.

Make the right choice and you'll be the envy of your role-playing group!