These are three GM chapters that changed my brain forever

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"Always be ready to abandon facts not yet introduced", or as I like to call it, Schroedinger's Lore. In my games, things that happened in the past become "canon" only when the players interact with them. It's easier for me to write around what players come up with than try to fit their plans into my world.

I just had a revelation, these are the things we should have on our GM screens not rules. We can look up rules anytime we need (or just make it up on the fly), but we need to continually be reminded of this amazing GM advice. Someone needs to turn this GM advice into a GM screen.

The idea of not saving the best for last genuinely felt like a divine revelation -- such a simple answer I've been missing this whole time! Incredible video!

I also love the nugget in Bastionland about giving information: "When players ask a question, give an answer and then ask a question back." I am going to challenge myself to do just that in my game tonight.

I did not expect this much cool stuff, thank you. As a humble offer of value back, one of my favorite world building and roleplaying techniques I had gotten was for travel or downtime scenes: go around the players, one by one, and ask them to tell something that happened. Maybe something leading, like why did your wagon break down, or something open, like you pass by a village on your travels, what odd thing were they celebrating? Give them a minute to describe or set something up. Then go to the next player, and ask them, how did they solve this problem or what did they do in response? So, if the wagon got stuck in the mud, a wizard might say, they use mage hand and lifted it to get it out, a holy character might pray for good weather to get rid of the mud, a tinkerer might make some contraption to get them moving. Maybe at the village, the wizard does some fireworks for them, the good hearted rogue wins a prize for a poor child, or the ranger gets bored and decides to sleep on someone's roof in the sun. It's not about making them roll dice, or even have memorable adventures, but to get them to engage with the world, and with each other, as their characters. It also pushes them to improvise and roleplay, as well as give them a chance to show off different sides of their characters that can't come up fighting orcs in a cave. Also also, far/near/close? Best thing I ever learned for combat encounters, though I got it from 13th age.

It's interesting that the tips in Bastionland seems to be focused on prepping sessions, Night's black agents on managing and delivering a good campaign, and icrpg on running the sessions. Really does make me wonder how many great tips I've been skipping to go straight to the systems meat

I'd like to add the GM's Segment from "Fear Itself"! It's incredibly powerful, imo, because it breaks down the different types of games you could play, and while it walks you through examples, you see the logic at work. It's hard to describe why it clicked with me so well but god damn, did it click

One bit of advice that has really stuck with me comes from GURPS. It's a game that's known for crunch and excruciating detail, but there is a box in the Game Mastering section entitled "When it Doubt, Roll and Shout". Looking back it seems obvious, but it wasn't when I first encountered it. Now that phrase has embedded itself deep in my soul. For the longest time I tried to prepare for everything and then I got frustrated when it didn't pan out. I still have a lot of preparation (I enjoy doing it, after all), but I've learned not to panic or argue when the players step into undefined territory. Now I embrace it.

One of the best GM sections that formed my GM style was from West End Games Star Wars: 2nd Edition. Great section on GMing in that book about how to structure and pace and exciting game, including using In Media Res beginnings to act as an incitement to action immediately. The second big inspiration was reading just the quick reference guide to Monster of the Week which is a Powered by the Apocalypse game. That made me realize that I had been doing way too much of the heavy lifting as a GM. Instead, let the players world build and create the hooks for you. Ex: You find a dead body, who is it and why do you care about them? Bam, player created hook to get involved. You crack the code, what does it tell you? Boom, the players just told you what they want to do next, just incorporate or improv it. Combining the world building/hooks/stakes from the PBTA and the Pacing from WEG 2nd edition has always led me to good/fun games that keep the energy, stakes, and threat high. If you like cinematic adventures that is.

You know, I think a big reason why we fall back on worn-out tropes, non-threatening encounters, and situations in which there is little real choice for the players, is simply that we are sadly not all geniuses at improv and have limited energy preparing for many contingencies. An ideal game for me would be one in which everything feels meaningful and deep and gives a real sense of agency and urgency to the players, and every choice is a hard one because it comes with a sacrifice. But the reality is that I'm just not a good enough DM to consistently run a game of that quality level. Still, a nice thing to aspire to, and a useful way of thinking when you find yourself wondering 'why does this part of my campaign feel bland / why aren't my players more engaged?' It's sadly almost always your own fault as a DM. No pressure ':D

This is one of the single most helpful videos I’ve watched in all my 17 years of DMing. Thank you, Dave!

My favorite was the GM section in Dungeon World. It blew me away and changed the way I GM and prep forever. I use Fronts and keep a list of principles and moves handy to this day in every game I run.

The Wardens operations manual for Mothership is exquisite for teaching people how to create horrific situations, but isn't locked down to any particular setting and is worth a read for any horror RPG GM

Id also add the latter half of worlds without number.

I was scouring the oceans of the internet searching for good distilled GM material. Alas, the mighty algorithm pointed me towards your video. It seems my quest is not complete (will it ever?) but thank you, fellow master. May your soul find its way into the Supernal Realms, for your content was truly... illuminating.

You are a great content creator! This was my first Thaumavore video and you have quickly become my favourite TTRPG youtuber. I love reading learning about new innovative systems but there are just too many and your videos are perfect for highlighting the ones that I want to know about (it's getting to the point where I might skip a system if you didn't do a video on it). The editing is top notch, your voice is clear and they go just as indepth as they need to be. You're doing a great job and I am pretty sure you will be the biggest general TTRPG youtuber in no time.

Fantastic video! I've heard about these books having exceptional GM chapters, but you did a great job highlighting what exactly makes them great.

I have enjoyed and learned from many DM & GM focused videos. I am thankful for them all. That being said, THIS is the most helpful by a long shot. Thanks for making this. My players will be grateful as well. Excellent work. Seriously. This video is full of gold.

Great video! ICRPG is a true masterpiece in this and many more aspects, a game with a vision and the courage to pursue it according to its own philosophy. It should be noted though that any tools/pieces of advice the GM uses/follows lead to a specific style that may not be what one is looking for. The most important thing is to know what you want to happen on the gaming table and build a GMing toolset that makes that possible. That is why those three chapters are great in the first place, because Chris McDowall, Kenneth Hite and Hankerin Ferinale know what they want from their gaming and put that above anything else (gaming traditions for instance). Following their spirit will be great advice even when the game they made is not what you're looking for.