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A Gamemaster or Game Master (often abbreviated as GM) is a player in a multiplayer game who acts as organizer, arbitrator, and officiant in rules situations. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Gamemaster series of board games consisted of five war simulation games created by the game company Milton Bradley, beginning in 1984 with the introduction of the extremely popular Axis and Allies. ... For other uses, see Game (disambiguation). ...

Today, gamemaster is usually associated with role-playing games. In a role-playing game the Gamemaster's purpose is to weave the other participants' player-character stories together, control the non-player aspects of the game, and create environments in which the players can interact. This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Being the GM requires more commitment and responsibility than just simply playing the game, while the basic roles of Gamemasters - rules help, moderation, and storytelling - are the same in almost all role-playing games, differing rule sets make the specific duties of the GM unique to that system.

History and variants of the term

The term gamemaster and the role associated with it could be found in the postal gaming hobby, but was coined by the game company Flying Buffalo in the 1975 game Tunnels and Trolls. In typical play-by-mail games, players control armies or civilizations and mail their chosen actions to the GM. The GM then mails the updated game state to all players on a regular basis. Play-by-mail games are games, of any type, played through postal mail or e-mail. ... Flying Buffalo Incorporated (FBI) is a company based in Scottsdale, Arizona that offers roleplaying games, gaming materials, and play-by-mail gaming services. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tunnels and Trolls is a role-playing game that was first released in 1975. ...

Each gaming system has its own name for the role of the gamemaster, such as "judge", "narrator", "referee", "Games Operation Designate" ("G.O.D.") or "storyteller", and these terms not only describe the role of the gamemaster in general but also help define how the game is intended to be run. For example, the Storyteller System used in White Wolf Game Studio's storytelling games calls its GM the "storyteller", while the rules- and setting-focused Marvel Super Heroes Role-Playing Game calls its GM the "judge". The cartoon inspired roleplaying game Toon calls its GM the "animator." A few games apply system- or setting-specific flavorful names to the GM, such as the Hollyhock God (Nobilis, in which the hollyhock represents vanity), or the oldest of such terms, "Dungeon Master" (or "DM") in Dungeons & Dragons. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Narrator is the entity within a story that tells the story to the reader. ... This article is about refereeing in sports. ... For the Jim Henson production, see The Storyteller Storytelling is the art of portraying in words, images, and sounds what has happened in real or imagined events. ... The Storyteller System (now called The Storytelling System), is the basic set of game mechanics in the role-playing games published by White Wolf Game Studio. ... The logo of White Wolf Publishing, one of White Wolf, Inc. ... A storytelling game is a game where two or more persons collaborate on telling a spontaneous story. ... This article is about the shared universe setting used by many Marvel Comics titles. ... The Marvel Super Heroes (MSH) RPG was published by TSR under license from Marvel Comics in the 1980s and early 1990s. ... Toon is a role-playing game in which the players take the roles of cartoon characters. ... Nobilis is a roleplaying game created by Rebecca Borgstrom where people play Sovereign Powers (personifications) of abstract concepts. ... The cover of the second edition of the Nobilis roleplaying game, depicting a sculpture by Charles van der Stappen. ... Species See text. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... This article is about the role-playing game. ...

Duties

The gamemaster prepares the game session for the players and the characters they play (known as player characters or PCs). The GM describes the events and decides on the outcomes of players' decisions. The gamemaster also keeps track of non-player characters (NPCs) and random encounters, as well as of the general state of the game world. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... An NPC from the video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. ... A random encounter is a feature commonly used in hack and slash role-playing games and computer and video games whereby encounters with non-player character (NPC) enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random. ...

The game session (or "adventure") can be metaphorically described as a play, in which the players are the lead actors, and the GM provides the stage, the scenery, the basic plot on which the improvisational script is built, as well as all the bit parts and supporting characters. See also Adventure! (role-playing game), a role-playing game from White Wolf Game Studio. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Theatrical scenery is things that are used as setting for a theatrical production. ... Look up Plot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Improvisation is the practice of acting and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of ones immediate environment. ... A bit part is a supporting acting role with at least one line of dialogue. ... A character of a book, play, movie, TV show or other form of storytelling usually used only to give dimension to a main character, by adding a relationship with this character, although sometimes supporting characters may develop a complexity of their own. ...

GMs may choose to run a game based on a published game world, with the maps and history already in place; such game worlds often have pre-written adventures. Alternately, the GM may build their own world and script their own adventures. A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. ... A constructed world or conworld is a fictional world, often created for a novel, video game, or role-playing game, but sometimes for its own sake. ... See also Adventure! (role-playing game), a role-playing game from White Wolf Game Studio. ...

GMs may run their game as frequently or infrequently as they wish; some gamers meet once a week or once a month, others only two or three times a year. A GM can easily run one-shot, unconnected adventures each time their gaming group convenes; in this case there is no connected plot, and the players can choose to play different characters in each session. However, a devoted gamemaster can string many such adventures into a campaign, in which the same heroes fight many different monsters and a few recurring villains, gaining treasure, reputation and power as they go. Such campaigns can last for years, even decades, earning a great deal of loyalty from their players, even as some players join or leave the game along the way. A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. ...

A good gamemaster draws the players into the adventure, making it enjoyable for everyone. Good gamemasters have quick minds, sharp wits, and rich imaginations. Gamemasters must also maintain game balance: hideously overpowered monsters or players are no fun. Gamemaster Elonka Dunin noted back in 1997 that those who favor their left-brain such as skilled code writers usually do not make it in the ethereal gamemaster world of storytelling and verse.^[1] In the ever-popular world of console, PC, and traditional games of all sorts, game balance is a very important factor. ... Elonka Dunin (born December, 1958) is an American game developer, writer, and amateur cryptographer who maintains a website dedicated to the Kryptos sculpture/cipher located at the CIAs headquarters. ...

Just as there are good GMs, bad GMs also exist. One of these is the rare but well-known type known as the "killer GM". This type of gamemaster enjoys killing the PCs, meaning that the imaginary character "dies" in the same way a character in a novel might -- they cannot go forward in the story, short of in-game mechanics like magical resurrection. The GM might get satisfaction out of creating monsters with very powerful game statistics, or designing fiendish traps that are virtually impossible for the characters to escape, but such a GM is likely to have trouble keeping players coming back for more adventures.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are GMs who try to fulfill all of the desires of their players by giving the PCs an easy time of acquiring experience and treasure. These easy GMs are often called "Monty Haul" GMs, a reference to the game show host Monty Hall. Maurice Monty Hall Halperin, O.C., B.Sc. ...

An example of a GM's duties, set in a fantasy universe

Days or weeks before a game session, the GM decides on the plot of the adventure which the players are to face. See also Adventure! (role-playing game), a role-playing game from White Wolf Game Studio. ...

Choosing a monster that will be tough but not deadly for the current power level of the characters played by the gamers in his group, he decides that the heroes are going to rescue a young prince kidnapped by an ogre. He makes a map of the ogre's lair, makes notes about the ogre's game statistics, and decides whether there are any other challenges (such as terrain or weather) that the party must face. He creates a memorable NPC, the prince's hideous and hysterical nanny.

On game day, the players gather around a table at the GM's house. The GM reminds the players of the game's setting and picks up the story where they left off, with the characters travelling on the road after their last adventure. He describes the woebegone nanny's appearance as she runs up to the PCs on the road and begs them to help save the prince who has just been abducted.

As he knows that the PCs consider themselves to be good and noble heroes, the GM expects that they will agree to aid the nanny. Since the trail will be cold before they can return her to town, they must bring her along as they try to follow the tracks of the ogre. The GM asks them to use dice to test whether they succeed at using their tracking skill.

The GM also uses whatever acting abilities he possesses to "act out" the character of the nanny, who is wailing and fearful and clumsy, ensuring that the heroes don't get the advantage of surprise. This also leads the PCs to interact with the NPC, "acting out" their own parts as they try to convince her to be quiet. This helps to create a deeper role-playing experience, where the player, instead of saying, "My character tells her to be quiet," or even "I tell her to be quiet," is led into role-playing with the GM:

Player (as Hero): "Please, please ma'am, you have to settle down, we don't want the monster to come after you too, do we?"

GM (as Nanny): "Oh, but my boy, my POOR BOY! That precious little MAN, he's going to be EATEN UP!"

Player (as Hero): "Please, lady, you've got to be quiet!"

In a straightfoward adventure, the tracks lead to an abandoned watchtower, and the fighters in the party engage in combat with the waiting ogre -- again decided by dice-rolling supervised by the GM. A good GM will ensure that this part of the game is kept quick and lively, with decisive rulings, fast-paced game turns, and energetic descriptions of the ogre's actions and the results of the players' decisions.

Meanwhile, the nimble burglar in the party climbs up the back of the tower, frees the prince from his ropes, and lowers him to the ground -- again, the GM determines how difficult these actions are and requires dice-based skill checks of some kind.

If he wanted a less straightforward plot, the GM might decide that there was no prince -- that the nanny was merely a human or shapechanged accomplice of the ogre, sent to lure unwary adventurers off the road so they could be robbed, killed, and eaten. In this case, the GM would be challenging the ability of the players to see through subterfuge and solve puzzles.

Either way, if the GM has chosen the level of difficulty well, the characters will have a good test of their abilities and wits. They will take a few injuries and be unsure of success, but with some good planning, teamwork, and bravery, will most likely overcome whatever obstacle the GM has placed in their path.

At the end of the session, the GM sometimes offers rewards: the characters may discover the ogre's treasure hoard in the tower. Based on how well they completed the adventure, the GM may give the players various types of "points", which vary in meaning depending on the game system. Often, they can be used to improve the character before the next adventure, preparing them to face even tougher foes. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Gamemasters in online games

A gamemaster's duties in an online game are less those of a gamemaster in a traditional role-playing game than a moderator or administrator in an online community. A GM in such a game is either an experienced volunteer player or an employee who enforces the game rules, banishing spammers, player killers and cheaters. For their task they use special characters with special abilities like teleporting to players, summoning items and browsing the player logs to help them in their moderating tasks. Gamemasters in MUDs are often called "wizards". Gamemasters in MMORPGs are usually employees of the game's host or developers of the game themselves, Ragnarok Online is an example of this type of GM. Often players who feel dissatisfied with the service will blame the GM directly for any errors or glitches. This is a common mistake as most employed GMs are not developers and cannot resolve the problem themselves. Online games refer to games that are played over some form of computer network. ... This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A system administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin, is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network. ... A virtual community is a group whose members are connected by means of information technologies, typically the Internet. ... This article is about multiplayer computer role-playing games. ... Cheat redirects here. ... This article is about a type of online computer game. ... An image from World of Warcraft, one of the largest commercial MMORPGs as of 2004, based on active subscriptions. ... Ragnarok Online (Korean: ), often referred to as RO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by GRAVITY Co. ...

The now defunct America Online Online Gaming Forum used to use volunteers selected by application from its user base. These people were simply referred to as OGFs by other members, and their screennames were indicative of their position (i.e., OGF Moose, etc.). While membership in the Online Gaming Forum had only one real requirement (that is, be a member of AOL), OGFs were given powers quite similar to AOL "Guides" and could call them in at will to TOS and/or ban users as they saw appropriate. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

Note that a few games, notably Neverwinter Nights and Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, are computer game adaptations of tabletop RPGs that are played online with one player acting as a traditional gamemaster. This article is about the 2002 computer role-playing game. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ...

Gamemasters in online chats

Table top Gamemasters sometimes simply can not find players interested in either the same setting, product line, or play style in his local neighborhood. The advent of computers has brought a moderate solution to this in the form of online chat programs. This enables gamemassters to find players online, and for them to meet via chat rooms. This in contrast to gamemasters of a normal table top game or of a game -meant- to be played online, faces many more duties. It is wise to write out descriptive text ahead of time, often taking hours, and since the gamemaster can not rely on his acting skills (good or bad thing depends on the gamemaster) to get the personality of NPCs and monsters across, the need for music (often considered a distraction in a normal table top game) becomes much great relying on midis files to help set the mood. Also the gamemaster must keep hard copies of all the players characters himself since he can not glance at them as he would in a normal game, and of course there is the age old requirement of trust, since the players do the math (another delay) of their dice rolls outside of the chat as they roll in another program or in real life.

Wizards of the Coast erroneously tried to solve this problem by assimilating online computers into the game play of the forth version of their product Dungeons and Dragons which lead to it becoming in fact only more exclusive, when the original version of the game boosted that "all you need is a piece of paper, a pencil, and your imagination." The original Dungeons & Dragons set Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) published by Gary Gygax and David Arneson in January 1974. ...

References