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Each gaming system has its own name for the role of the gamemaster, such as " judge", " narratorIn fiction, a narrator is a voice or character who tells the story. The narrator generally can be divided into several types. First person "I walked into the room and I saw a man sitting in a chair. The narrator is a character in the story, usually the pr", " refereeA referee is a person who has authority to make decisions about play in many sports. Officials in other sports are known by a variety of titles, including umpire or judge. Origin The term referee originated in football. Originally the team captains would" or " storyteller", and these terms not only describe the role of the game master in general but also help define how the game is intended to be run. For example, the Storyteller SystemThe Storyteller System is the basic set of game mechanics in the role-playing games published by White Wolf Game Studio. Games using this set of rules include the World of Darkness product line, Exalted the Trinity line, and Street Fighter: The Role-Playi used in White Wolf Game Studio's storytelling gameA storytelling game is a game where two or more persons collaborate on telling a spontaneous story. Usually, each person takes care of one or more characters in the developing story. These characters are often reused in different stories, and players oftes calls its GM the "storyteller", while the ruleRule has several meanings: A rule in mathematics is something which is always true. A rule is a regulation to be followed, as in government and sport. A rule may also be used a straightedge and for measurement. Rule of thumb is a suggestion which is usuals- and settingThe Marvel Universe is the fictional shared setting where most of the comic stories published by Marvel Comics take place. History Though the concept of a shared universe was not new or unique to comics in 1961, writer/editor Stan Lee, together with sever-focused Marvel Super Heroes Role-Playing Game calls its GM the "judge". A few games apply system- or setting-specific flavorful names to the GM, such as the " Dungeon Master" (or "DM") in Dungeons & Dragons.
The term game master and the role associated with it originated in the postal gaming hobby. 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. Today, the game master is nearly always associated with role-playing games and that is what this article will continue to focus on.
Being the GM requires extra commitment and responsibility than simply playing the game. 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.
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 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 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!
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. Long-time role-players joke about their experiences with bad GMs (for example, see this list of "The 28 Types of Game Masters").
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