Canon:Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master is a Game Master for a Dungeons and Dragons game. Dungeons and Dragons is rare in naming this position otherwise. It is the job of the dungeon master to roleplay the realm that the players act in, describing the environment, fighting as the monsters, and discussing as the non-player characters. It is also up to the Dungeon Master to arbitrate on rules, basically using Rule 0.
Dungeon Master is frequently abbreviated as DM.
Some players have suggested and used alternative names such as Mister Caravan. Other roleplaying systems, such as World of Darkness use Storyteller.
There are many types of adventures for the DM to engage different kinds of players. From:
- heroic and imperialistic (find the prisoner and rescue him/her, build the city),
- explorations and dungeoneering (make it through mirkwood forest, or mysterious unknowns/puzzle-solving),
- industrious (build a bridge to cross the chasm and open trade routes, or build the magic to hold open a portal from one realm to another),
- cast and slash (kill the dragon, eliminate the marauding goblins).
Settings start light or dark, functional or frenetic, respectively.
The rewards and incentives are various:
- abundance of money and better equipment,
- legacies of acheivement engraved in the cities of the realm, making you a legend,
- elite one-of-a-kind items (special gemstones conferring various abilities, Ring of Invisibility, Helm of Brilliance)
- or more XP to level!
You'll have interactions from leaders, nobles, wizards, or other adventurer-fighters. It's quite a ...simulation.
Back to Main Page → DnD Encyclopedia → Terms
