How hard do you really think it is to be a GM?

S'mon · December 22, 2011, 08:09:47 AM

It requires the ability to actually turn up and run the damn game, which seems to be too hard for some people.

Other than that, not too hard, no.

RPGPundit · December 22, 2011, 11:10:38 AM

Quote from: Brad J. Murray;495973Yeah, I've always preferred "referee". The whole concept of "GM" could stand a dose of humility.

Seriously, dude?

Because you are doing something where you get to create a world, fill it with people and things, and have the godlike power of making whatever you want to happen in that world happen, you have power over life and death itself... but if you call yourself a "game master" it might not be humble?

Someone has GM-issues I suspect...

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Brad J. Murray · December 22, 2011, 11:17:12 AM

Yes, seriously. None of those things are real and the other players are inventing pretty hard (in a different scope in most games, of course) as well. It just smells pretentious to me.

daniel_ream · December 22, 2011, 11:35:40 AM

"Game Master" evolved as a non-dungeon fantasy equivalent to "Dungeon Master". Do you have a problem with "Dungeon Master"?

(I will freely admit the two have subtly different connotations, which is why I ask).

RPGPundit · December 22, 2011, 11:39:54 AM

Ah, but there you've hit on them. A referee is just a referee, mediocre at best.
A game master is worthy of the title and is NOT just a simple "referee" because he MAKES his worlds real.

That is one of the most important, and toughest, GMing skills.

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Brad J. Murray · December 22, 2011, 11:40:52 AM

Quote from: daniel_ream;496662"Game Master" evolved as a non-dungeon fantasy equivalent to "Dungeon Master". Do you have a problem with "Dungeon Master"?

(I will freely admit the two have subtly different connotations, which is why I ask).

I would be less likely to use "Dungeon Master" certainly, but that's partly because it evokes images of me at age 11 demanding that the players call me "god" and otherwise aggrandizing my role at the table beyond what it was worth. It's embarrassing to me.

I don't insist that anyone else feel the same way, of course. Oddly (maybe) I find "GM" pretty natural as a term divorced from the the words "game master" -- it's become just a symbol of the role I guess.

Bedrockbrendan · December 22, 2011, 11:43:33 AM

Game master or dungeon master is fine to me (so are the numerous variations different games use for flavor). At this stage game master is pretty much the generic term. Don't think the name itself is negatively impacting GM performance.

Planet Algol · December 22, 2011, 12:43:54 PM

The GM is the MC; ergo the M.

Ghost Whistler · December 23, 2011, 02:59:46 AM

How about 'Sholari'?

Or, as in Golden Heroes, Script Supervisor (or SS!).

The Butcher · December 23, 2011, 08:06:03 AM

GM (or DM, for D&D) is what we use around here, or just mestre ("master", in Portuguese).

It's even become a neologistical verb in Portuguese, mestrar (to run a game).

That being said, referee does have a certain old-school charm, though precious few Brazilian gamers would identify this use of the term.

Mostlyjoe · December 23, 2011, 08:18:14 AM

Wait, wait, wait....wait.

What about Storyteller?

I got nothing...

boulet · December 23, 2011, 12:06:15 PM

Quote from: The Butcher;496804It's even become a neologistical verb in Portuguese, mestrar (to run a game).

We've got that in French too: masteriser. Though I can't verify if a majority fo gamers use it or not. Also a lot of people try and avoid neologism/frenglish.

David R · December 23, 2011, 08:59:17 PM

Quote from: Ghost Whistler;496775How about 'Sholari'?

An excellent suggestion Mr.Whistler.

Regards,
David R

RPGPundit · December 24, 2011, 04:38:46 PM

Quote from: daniel_ream;496662"Game Master" evolved as a non-dungeon fantasy equivalent to "Dungeon Master". Do you have a problem with "Dungeon Master"?

(I will freely admit the two have subtly different connotations, which is why I ask).

No, I don't really have any problem with DM; though its kind of an inaccurate term in any game that doesn't actually have Dungeons. The spirit of it is the same as GM.

RPGPundit

RPGPundit · December 24, 2011, 04:44:40 PM

Quote from: The Butcher;496804GM (or DM, for D&D) is what we use around here, or just mestre ("master", in Portuguese).

It's even become a neologistical verb in Portuguese, mestrar (to run a game).

That being said, referee does have a certain old-school charm, though precious few Brazilian gamers would identify this use of the term.

There are all kinds of nealogisms like this in spanish too. In spanish (at least here in Uruguay), by the way, they don't call the GM/DM the game master ("maestro del juego") or dungeon master, they just call him "El Master".

And yes, there's "masterear", "mastereando", etc. There's also "roleando" ("playing role").

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