I’ll call it “The Art of Not Freaking Out.”

The Dungeon Master, or Game Master as I prefer to call it, has the dubious pleasure of being the only player at the table to play not one, not two, but every character that doesn’t have a human player behind them. That’s a lot of different roles. It’s the most roleplaying you’ll ever get to do in a four or six hour session.

Plus, if the Non Player Character roleplaying isn’t enough, you get to be all the monsters and bad guys, too. Wait, that’s not all. As GM, you get to come up with all of those world details as well. You control everything from the sky above to the deep subterranean below and everything in between.

Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.

Then you get to choose between juggling a chicken, a chainsaw, and a bowling ball while naked, blindfolded, and riding a unicycle OR wrestling monkeys in bubblegum. (KIDDING!!! Please do not attempt either stunt at home. Ever. I mean it.) Seriously, you do have to rule on Player Character actions and make judgement calls regarding the rules. It can seem daunting at times, but it’s not that bad. The other players themselves are probably the most challenging element of the game sometimes.

Some would have you believe it involves endless hours of preparation, research, and writing before every game session. Somehow you have to be an award winning voice actor, Hollywood Director, and PhD level scholar to put the game together. Oh, and have plenty of money around to buy and memorized every rulebook. (Bet that monkey wrestling is looking better now, huh? LOL!) They’re only partially right. I think it’s far more likely that one gets more out of it than one puts into it.

It looks a bit intimidating from the outside looking in.

Running a game where everyone has fun is a bit like running a marathon. Runners describe a high they get during and sometimes after the race that is incomparable to any drug. The sensation of knowing it’s all good after the session and you’re finally decompressing from all the excitement and catching up your notes from the evening is pure bliss. One shots are even better because you don’t have to do a ton of record keeping unless you plan to run the adventure again.

I get that it looks like a lot of work. Truthfully I make way more work out of it than I probably have to. The older I get, the more I begin to cut down on my session prep and figure out which encounters I can skip or cut. I learned when to chuck my notes over my shoulder and wing it, and when to just roll random and just do whatever seems appropriate to the situation.

Sometimes if you give the players a chance, they might surprise you. Veteran, long-time roleplayers who have maybe run games themselves can take the reigns and make the scenes flow together. Newer players might let you completely take the reigns and run with your story for a while and jump in at dramatically appropriate moments. One of the greatest lessons a GM can learn is how to look for different playstyles and adapt to them accordingly.

The reward comes when GM and players are moving smoothly in concert with one another in relative harmony. Getting there might seem challenging at first, but once a GM can relax and go with the flow, it will come. Knowing the players and working toward that goal of having a “good” game session (however you define it) will make the game tons easier.

As in life, there will be good days, better days, and maybe some slightly worse days.

I’ll talk more about this in my “Behind the Screen” series. Having a stress free game session is a combination of preparation, rules knowledge, dramatic roleplaying, and doing all those things that lead to a stress free life. Some GM’s live through their prep work. Others prep for about 15 minutes prior to their game session and do just fine. It’s a matter of finding a style that works for you, the GM.

Here’s a GM secret you might not hear as often: We don’t have the rulebooks memorized. Back in my Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 days, I had a player whose job it was to check rules. Otherwise I’d just make the call and go back to it later. It’s not a matter of who’s right and who’s wrong so much as what makes the most sense in the moment.

Roleplaying is kinda what I’d call a basic skill for all players, and triple so for a GM. What makes for a fabulous player can also make for a spectacular GM. If you understand the motivations, objectives, and personalities of the NPCs and monsters, roleplaying them is quite fun and rewarding.

Relax and have fun with the game. Try to eat healthy, drink lots of water, and get lots of sleep before the game. Exercise, meditate if you are into that, and take your medication if you are on any. Do the stuff to take care of your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health and your game sessions will reflect that inner awesomeness. It’s important for the GM to look forward to the game session with joy and anticipation as opposed to dread and anxiety. You got this!

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Please do what works best for you as a Game Master and your group. What works for me at my table may not work for yours and vice versa. The main focus is to have fun. There is no right or wrong way to roleplay.

As Q once famously said, “Never let them see you bleed, Mr. Bond.”

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever given to a baseball umpire was, “Even if you’re wrong, you’re right because it was your call.” Have confidence as a GM or fake it until you do. It sounds crazy, but GMing is one of those cases where you can often fake it until you make it.

So you screwed up the encounter and completely forgot the bad guy’s regeneration ability or some spell you were planning to cast. Did the players notice or care? No? Good job. Keep going. Unless you’re running a prepackaged adventure, chances are the players will never know how it was supposed to go. What? He had a magic sword and a special ring of healing and never used them? Maybe he didn’t know what he had. Oh well.

My last piece of advice today is: Just jump in and do the thing.

Run a one-shot adventure or stand in for your regular GM for one session and see if it’s something you want to do again. Some people honestly just want to play and that’s great. Not everyone enjoys or has time to be a GM. That’s cool, too. Nobody said you had to do it or like it.

Taking a turn or two as a GM can be incredibly inciteful as a player. Sometimes knowing what it’s like on the other side of the GM screen can be quite beneficial as a player. Knowing when to go with the GM’s flow and maybe insert a few opportunities for everyone to shine helps the whole group. It also helps knowing when to maybe ease up on the poor GM a little bit. Not to mention most GMs love it when one of their players offers to trade seats for a night.

Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.