Different styles of DM Life
What kind of Dungeon Master do you have, and do you like their style? Whether they tell the story or see themselves as the next great voice actor, there is no single ‘right’ way to DM. Most of the time, Dungeon Masters don’t actually play a character in the story or scenario they create - they just act as arbiters. Though not always, and there’s technically nothing to stop a DM from simultaneously playing a character in their own story.
We asked people in our Shop Dnd team what types of DM they’ve encountered, and how they found their campaign. We’ve identified five major subtypes of DM - if you’re a player, see if you can recognise your DM in one of these descriptions! Alternatively, if you’re a DM yourself, do you think you fit into any one of these categories? Or do you have elements of some or all of them?Â
01 Storyteller
As the name suggests, this DM simply tells a story, and that takes precedence over everything else. Everything in the game - any event, e.g.a loot, a monster or creature which appears - must be a perfect fit for the location. For these DMs, any character, phenomenon or creature needs to feed the plot. There aren’t any cool or funny characters being introduced for the sake of it, just to, well, make life more fun. Chances are, this DM knows how to weave an interesting tale (or they’ve found a good resource which does that for them).Â
02 Roleplayer
Roleplayers are outgoing and talkative, and they love doing voices and accents….or attempting to! They invest a lot in their non-player characters, giving each one unique attributes to make them interesting or fun. These kinds of DMs are willing to let the plotline slip for the sake of introducing a fun character or interesting scenario for everyone’s entertainment. This spontaneous element to their game can make things interesting, and gives players the chance for improvisation.
03 Gamemaster
For the gamemaster DM, the story and roleplay are simply tools - they’re secondary to actually playing the game. These DMs are primarily there to play the game, and invent fun, interesting combats and scenarios. They’re likely to have lots of interesting maps and miniatures.Â
04 Mercer-wannabe
This dungeon master wants to emulate the most famous streaming DMs as closely as they can. They will have chosen a DM to copy - Critical Role’s Matt Mercer, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Matt Coleville, and so on…. The presentation and delivery are crucial for these DMs - it’s all about the tone of voice, accent, dramatic pauses, intense eyes. There’s even surprise shouting to make players jump!Â
If they actually are a good orator and voice actor, then having this kind of DM is probably very entertaining. On the flip side, if they’re actually terrible at voice acting, then hopefully they’re funny at least.Â
04 Agent of chaos
These people only become DMs to see what crazy or zany events they can create in the world of Dnd. They have no regard for telling a good, coherent story when it comes to encounters between characters and events. They’ll throw in millions of magic items, even if it doesn’t fit in with the setting or plot line. Do you wanna see fire elemental fight the players on a bridge of ice during a thunderstorm? Here you go….. Agents of chaos are funny and entertaining. The story they’re telling might not be the most well developed or plausible within the realms of Dnd, but at least it’s exciting!
05 Multifaceted DM
Some dungeon masters don’t fit neatly into one of the categories we’ve described above. They might incorporate elements of several of those groups - they might be pedantic about their plot line, and also a fan of voice acting. Or they might be great at doing voices and also chaotic, throwing in crazy events out of nowhere. Any of the DM types can be fun, as long as all the players in the group know what to expect.
06 Railroad vs Sandbox
When it comes to styles of DMing, a related consideration is whether a DM is running a railroad or sandbox type campaign. There are no standard definitions for either ‘railroad’ or ‘sandbox’, and they could be applied differently by different DMs. However, it’s generally agreed that railroads are a pre-planned, linear adventure designed by the DM, with no or little room for deviation from this predesigned storyline, while a sandbox is an open-textured, player-driven campaign, where players have freedom to choose among many options. For example, a railroad might be something like a dungeon with rooms which are all set out in a linear, immutable way, with no flexibility in the order of exploration. Some campaigns might be a mixture of the two, and there are actually some DnD players who don’t think the sandbox/railroad distinction really exists, or that there are more campaign styles than just these two. We take a look at this in our next blog.
