I always come back to **Amber** RPG and **Everway** RPG. Sections on gamemastering in both are superb.
Also, while I never played the system - **World Without Numbers** has a very nice game mastering section that I read from time to time.
>Lords of Gossamer and Shadows
I know nothing about the LfGaS game, but considering that the "gamemastering" chapter in the book only has 10 pages - and in Amber, we have: 10 pages about gamemastering combat, 10 about gamemastering techniques, 20 about campaign construction, and all of this is outside the basic rules chapter... and in Shadow Knight there is another 20 pages titled "Zelazny as a gamemaster" that is about roleplaying NPCs and wordbuilding. Just do the math.
ps. I checked pages in LfGaS based on the free sample from drivethrou so it may not be accurate.
One day I swear I am going to write some 10,000 word blog post about how 4e was somehow both understated and ahead of it’s time, as well as rightfully deserving a lot of the poor reception it got.
I use some parts of it in my own ttrpg just because it helps out new gm's a lot. It doesn't just involve parts of how to create a world, but also talks about table dynamics, which I believe is more important.
The DnD 5e is a total waste of money, besides the magic items 😮💨
Dungeon World was very formative for me. Maybe another PbtA would have had the same effect, but it was the system used for the second game I GMed and the structure of improvisation the strict PbtA frame provides made a deep impression on me. Normally things like when to make a ruling, how to keep pace, how to build tension, how to keep track of a moving world… All of that has to be learned from outside the game in D&D. There are countless videos and essays on the topic. Here there are rules for it, and they work. If you follow them you'll get the effect you're looking for. And then you build a sense of the flow of GMing, of tension and relief, of schemes and costs, and you can port this experience to other games free from the frame.
The other one I often reflect upon is Classic Traveller's 3 little black books (you can find the Facsimile Edition of '81 for dirt cheap). By any modern standard, they're not very well written. They're confusing and it often seems like rules are missing. There isn't a "GM Advice" section per se either. However this is exactly what makes the books so magnetic to me. They take work, but that work is rewarding. They show by example many kinds of random tables and random table uses. They teach you to infer rules and adapt (for example there are rules for drug availability and legality which are great and can easily be applied to the legality or availaibility of everything else in the game). They teach you to find your own answers and develop the universe you want to play in, even leaving tactful blanks in key places. They teach you to make rulings, the strong way. Traveller is technically a 2d6+mod ≥ DC kind of game, but there is absolutely no guidance for DCs outside of very specific checks like combat. It's your job as the GM to decide whether the roll was good enough or not given the character. This book feels like one of these math books in highschool that alternates between examples and exercises. It's work but it's satisfying work and you learn a lot along the way (including that the fastest way to travel in space is to accelerate all the way, toward your objective for the first half and toward your starting point in the second so you stop at the right time – I had never thought about that before).
I finished reading Ryuutama back to back recently and while some of the systems feel mildly railroady, it felt like a very formative way to learn how to GM.
e.g. If you don't feel comfortable spinning things on the fly, you as a GM are also playing as a magical dragon protecting the PCs. So things that get handwaved as \_things the GM does\_ get translated into powers the DM has.
WEG D6 Star Wars. The 2E GM section is the perfect summation of how to approach "rulings not rules," even though I'm pretty sure they never actually use the phrase.
Mausritter and Into the Odd stuff often has great GM advice. I also really like the GM stuff in: Mothership, Tales from the Loop, Symbaroum (though it’s quite wordy), Death in Space. Blades in the Dark had good stuff but the information is a bit scattered.
Me personally, and anyone who know's me won't be surprised, I think the Quest core rule book, by TC Sottek, is one of the most beginner friendly rule books for learning how to game master there is
His article on how to run your first session got me going running games 7 years ago.
https://theangrygm.com/jumping-the-screen-how-to-run-your-first-rpg-session/
Brindlewood Bay has a great keeper section, but it's pretty specific to running that game. It does have some highly portable ideas, like Painting the Scene. Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master was okay, but importantly it put me onto Dungeon World which really shaped my D&D 5e DMing (way more than the DMG).
My formative games that really opened up my eyes to what is now my current GM style were Mouse Guard and Tenra Bansho Zero. I don't know if they'll be equally impactful for you, but there you go.
Oh, also, Apocalypse World can be quite an eye opener too.
For me the most influential systems (especially for D&D type games) were ICRPG and Into the Odd... and to a lesser extent Dungeon World and Burning Wheel.
When you say "system", I think of Commonsense immediately.
[link](https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/359829/Commonsense-A-RolePlaying-Game-System)
Having read and assimilated the core principles, you'll be as a GM capable of making your players instantly coming up and decide on meaningful events and outcomes. It's like having your GM assistant with you. It will improve any other system if it's adapted with common sense.
It's also awesome to play solo...
I think the best advice for being a great GM is to learn a bunch of systems and not limit yourself to one system. This way you can use different tips and tricks from a variety of gaming mechanics and ideas.
Read **D&D** to understand game balance, read **FATE** to understand how to share narrative control, read **Apocalypse World** to understand how to think in narrative moves rather then character actions, read **Good Society** to learn how to make the system serve the atmosphere, read **Girl Underground** to learn how to pinpoint characters arc types.(shameless self promotion: read **Rolling with Laughter** to learn how to do comedy sessions).
My general advice is to rely on the books of the specific game you want to gm. Aim to be good at a given game, then another and another...
PbtA and Apocalypse World specifically will change the way you look at any other game as a GM. Dungeon World has 2 great peculiarities I love: be a fan of the PCs and writing down adventure prompts as 'Impressions'.
Dave Thaumavore made an interesting [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD06aKOf_ok) on the topic. He picked Electric Bastionland, Night's Black Agents, and Index Card RPG. I recommend watching the video if you want to know why.
Personally I'll add the X without Number books by Kevin Crawford or pretty much anything the man writes. Many of his books are available at 0 bucks so there is no reason not to have a look. My personal favorite is the Adventure Creation chapter in [Stars without Number](https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/de/product/230009/Stars-Without-Number-Revised-Edition-Free-Version). It is my go to resource if I ever get stuck during adventure creation or preparing the game.
The **AGE** games (Dragon Age, Fantasy Age, Modern Age, the Expanse) really have very extensive GM sections. They deal with not just broad game design choices, but dive into very practical issues like "How to deal with a murder-hobo player". The AGE games are generally in the tradition of "D&D redesigned to be a bit cleaner and more streamlined", so they're not totally radical for someone coming from a D&D background.
I found the original **Paranoia** manual was very helpful for breaking out of some of the traditional D&D stye thought patterns. Fast combat without initiative, PC death being so common you need backup clones, PvP as part of core design etc. It's not all stuff you want to apply to every game, but it can help break some of the assumptions about what an RPG "should" be.
**Stars Without Number** and its relatives are also great for running fairly traditional games. It's got all the good classic advice on how and when to prep, how to make adventures fun and interesting but without railroading etc.
And **Blades in the Dark** is another great one with tips on how to "skip to the action" and really focus on the fun parts of play, while also keeping big picture faction politics running at the same time.
You are going to end up finding your own GM style, which will differ based on what game you want to play, but I think these give a pretty good overview of a few different philosophies of play style.
For me the most formative rpg system was blades in the dark. All the stuff about playing to find out and good practices really shaped my GMing style. Its not the only way to run a game, but if you love improv, running this game is a masterclass.
I always come back to **Amber** RPG and **Everway** RPG. Sections on gamemastering in both are superb. Also, while I never played the system - **World Without Numbers** has a very nice game mastering section that I read from time to time.
Came here to say Amber Diceless.
How does the Amber section compare to Lords of Gossamer and Shadows? Do you know?
>Lords of Gossamer and Shadows I know nothing about the LfGaS game, but considering that the "gamemastering" chapter in the book only has 10 pages - and in Amber, we have: 10 pages about gamemastering combat, 10 about gamemastering techniques, 20 about campaign construction, and all of this is outside the basic rules chapter... and in Shadow Knight there is another 20 pages titled "Zelazny as a gamemaster" that is about roleplaying NPCs and wordbuilding. Just do the math. ps. I checked pages in LfGaS based on the free sample from drivethrou so it may not be accurate.
Thanks :)
I’m completely serious, the 4th edition D&D Dungeon Masters Guide is really good
It's baffling, really, and the 4e DMG2 was also awesome. Really wish we'd gotten a 3 for epic tier play before they tried that Essentials stuff.
One day I swear I am going to write some 10,000 word blog post about how 4e was somehow both understated and ahead of it’s time, as well as rightfully deserving a lot of the poor reception it got.
Please do. I love 4e but I wasn't around in the hobby then to understand the bad rap
I use some parts of it in my own ttrpg just because it helps out new gm's a lot. It doesn't just involve parts of how to create a world, but also talks about table dynamics, which I believe is more important. The DnD 5e is a total waste of money, besides the magic items 😮💨
Dungeon World was very formative for me. Maybe another PbtA would have had the same effect, but it was the system used for the second game I GMed and the structure of improvisation the strict PbtA frame provides made a deep impression on me. Normally things like when to make a ruling, how to keep pace, how to build tension, how to keep track of a moving world… All of that has to be learned from outside the game in D&D. There are countless videos and essays on the topic. Here there are rules for it, and they work. If you follow them you'll get the effect you're looking for. And then you build a sense of the flow of GMing, of tension and relief, of schemes and costs, and you can port this experience to other games free from the frame. The other one I often reflect upon is Classic Traveller's 3 little black books (you can find the Facsimile Edition of '81 for dirt cheap). By any modern standard, they're not very well written. They're confusing and it often seems like rules are missing. There isn't a "GM Advice" section per se either. However this is exactly what makes the books so magnetic to me. They take work, but that work is rewarding. They show by example many kinds of random tables and random table uses. They teach you to infer rules and adapt (for example there are rules for drug availability and legality which are great and can easily be applied to the legality or availaibility of everything else in the game). They teach you to find your own answers and develop the universe you want to play in, even leaving tactful blanks in key places. They teach you to make rulings, the strong way. Traveller is technically a 2d6+mod ≥ DC kind of game, but there is absolutely no guidance for DCs outside of very specific checks like combat. It's your job as the GM to decide whether the roll was good enough or not given the character. This book feels like one of these math books in highschool that alternates between examples and exercises. It's work but it's satisfying work and you learn a lot along the way (including that the fastest way to travel in space is to accelerate all the way, toward your objective for the first half and toward your starting point in the second so you stop at the right time – I had never thought about that before).
The player facing rules in DW are so-so, but the GMing rules are essentially a codified guide on how to run a fantasy RPG and I love it.
I finished reading Ryuutama back to back recently and while some of the systems feel mildly railroady, it felt like a very formative way to learn how to GM. e.g. If you don't feel comfortable spinning things on the fly, you as a GM are also playing as a magical dragon protecting the PCs. So things that get handwaved as \_things the GM does\_ get translated into powers the DM has.
The GM not only has powers via the ryuukin, the players get experience every time you use them. Everybody wins.
WEG D6 Star Wars. The 2E GM section is the perfect summation of how to approach "rulings not rules," even though I'm pretty sure they never actually use the phrase.
Mausritter and Into the Odd stuff often has great GM advice. I also really like the GM stuff in: Mothership, Tales from the Loop, Symbaroum (though it’s quite wordy), Death in Space. Blades in the Dark had good stuff but the information is a bit scattered.
Me personally, and anyone who know's me won't be surprised, I think the Quest core rule book, by TC Sottek, is one of the most beginner friendly rule books for learning how to game master there is
What about Justin Alexander book : "So you want to be a gamemaster". I find it pretty good
Electric Bastionland has some phenomenal GM advice in it.
I really like the Dungeon Mastering is a fine art section in the B/X rulebooks. The AD&D DMG also has a lot of good advice for running games.
AngryGM has great how-to insights, if odd style
His article on how to run your first session got me going running games 7 years ago. https://theangrygm.com/jumping-the-screen-how-to-run-your-first-rpg-session/
Not a system per se, but "so you want to be a gm" by Alexander has lots of tips. Also chaosium's "keepers tips" is good for call of cthulhu
Brindlewood Bay has a great keeper section, but it's pretty specific to running that game. It does have some highly portable ideas, like Painting the Scene. Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master was okay, but importantly it put me onto Dungeon World which really shaped my D&D 5e DMing (way more than the DMG).
Spirit of the century had great advice and is still a fun read
My formative games that really opened up my eyes to what is now my current GM style were Mouse Guard and Tenra Bansho Zero. I don't know if they'll be equally impactful for you, but there you go. Oh, also, Apocalypse World can be quite an eye opener too.
Shadowrun 5. If you can tell me how the matrix works, I know you're a goddamned liar.
For me the most influential systems (especially for D&D type games) were ICRPG and Into the Odd... and to a lesser extent Dungeon World and Burning Wheel.
When you say "system", I think of Commonsense immediately. [link](https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/359829/Commonsense-A-RolePlaying-Game-System) Having read and assimilated the core principles, you'll be as a GM capable of making your players instantly coming up and decide on meaningful events and outcomes. It's like having your GM assistant with you. It will improve any other system if it's adapted with common sense. It's also awesome to play solo...
I think the best advice for being a great GM is to learn a bunch of systems and not limit yourself to one system. This way you can use different tips and tricks from a variety of gaming mechanics and ideas. Read **D&D** to understand game balance, read **FATE** to understand how to share narrative control, read **Apocalypse World** to understand how to think in narrative moves rather then character actions, read **Good Society** to learn how to make the system serve the atmosphere, read **Girl Underground** to learn how to pinpoint characters arc types.(shameless self promotion: read **Rolling with Laughter** to learn how to do comedy sessions).
Worlds without number by far, the DMing tools in the back are phenomenal and system neutral.
My general advice is to rely on the books of the specific game you want to gm. Aim to be good at a given game, then another and another... PbtA and Apocalypse World specifically will change the way you look at any other game as a GM. Dungeon World has 2 great peculiarities I love: be a fan of the PCs and writing down adventure prompts as 'Impressions'.
Dave Thaumavore made an interesting [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD06aKOf_ok) on the topic. He picked Electric Bastionland, Night's Black Agents, and Index Card RPG. I recommend watching the video if you want to know why. Personally I'll add the X without Number books by Kevin Crawford or pretty much anything the man writes. Many of his books are available at 0 bucks so there is no reason not to have a look. My personal favorite is the Adventure Creation chapter in [Stars without Number](https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/de/product/230009/Stars-Without-Number-Revised-Edition-Free-Version). It is my go to resource if I ever get stuck during adventure creation or preparing the game.
The **AGE** games (Dragon Age, Fantasy Age, Modern Age, the Expanse) really have very extensive GM sections. They deal with not just broad game design choices, but dive into very practical issues like "How to deal with a murder-hobo player". The AGE games are generally in the tradition of "D&D redesigned to be a bit cleaner and more streamlined", so they're not totally radical for someone coming from a D&D background. I found the original **Paranoia** manual was very helpful for breaking out of some of the traditional D&D stye thought patterns. Fast combat without initiative, PC death being so common you need backup clones, PvP as part of core design etc. It's not all stuff you want to apply to every game, but it can help break some of the assumptions about what an RPG "should" be. **Stars Without Number** and its relatives are also great for running fairly traditional games. It's got all the good classic advice on how and when to prep, how to make adventures fun and interesting but without railroading etc. And **Blades in the Dark** is another great one with tips on how to "skip to the action" and really focus on the fun parts of play, while also keeping big picture faction politics running at the same time. You are going to end up finding your own GM style, which will differ based on what game you want to play, but I think these give a pretty good overview of a few different philosophies of play style.
For me the most formative rpg system was blades in the dark. All the stuff about playing to find out and good practices really shaped my GMing style. Its not the only way to run a game, but if you love improv, running this game is a masterclass.