I’m here to tell you not to drink that Kool-Aid. As we have
grown and matured into not just a hobby but a pastime with numerous social
applications, a developing and evolving vocabulary is essential for critical
study, creative writing, and even in the classroom. But we are still talking
about Dungeons & Dragons, in the end.
In the introduction to the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide, Mike Carr asks the rhetorical question, “Is Dungeon Mastering an art or a science?” Again with the binary choice! Why can’t it be both? I posit that it is, in fact, a balancing act (on the teeter totter or whatever metaphor you wish to use). Carr goes on to make a few points, which I will repeat in brief:
In the introduction to the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide, Mike Carr asks the rhetorical question, “Is Dungeon Mastering an art or a science?” Again with the binary choice! Why can’t it be both? I posit that it is, in fact, a balancing act (on the teeter totter or whatever metaphor you wish to use). Carr goes on to make a few points, which I will repeat in brief:
If you consider the pure creative aspect of starting from scratch,
the "personal touch" of individual flair that goes into preparing
and running o unique campaign, or the particular style of moderating o game
adventure, then Dungeon Mastering may indeed be thought of as on art. If you
consider the aspect of experimentation, the painstaking effort of preparation
and attention to detail, and the continuing search for new ideas and
approaches, then Dungeon Mastering is perhaps more like a science - not always
exacting in a literal sense, but exacting in terms of what is required to do
the job well.
Esoteric questions aside, one thing is for certain - Dungeon
Mastering is, above all, a labor of love. It is demanding, time-consuming, and
certainly not a task to be undertaken lightly…But, as all DM's know, the
rewards are great - an endless challenge to the imagination and intellect, on enjoyable
pastime to fill many hours with fantastic and often unpredictable happenings,
and an opportunity to watch a story unfold and a grand idea to grow and
flourish.
…Dungeon Mastering itself is no easy undertaking, to be sure. But
Dungeon Mastering well is doubly difficult. There are few gamemasters around
who are so superb in their conduct of play that they could disdain the
opportunity to improve themselves in some way…Take heed, and always endeavor to
make the game the best it can be - and all that it can be!
My takeaway from that, back then, and now, is to not get
locked into one way of thinking. Adam West as Batman had an array of aerosol
can oceanic threat repellents in his Bat-Copter. I bet you a million dollars he
never had a reason to use the barracuda repellent spray. But I’m sure he’d
rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Do not fear the railroad. Do not be overwhelmed by the sandbox. They are tools to be creatively used, not fixed states of being that are never altered when set in motion. The biggest realization you can come to as a DM is this: You’re making all of this shit up as you go.
Do not fear the railroad. Do not be overwhelmed by the sandbox. They are tools to be creatively used, not fixed states of being that are never altered when set in motion. The biggest realization you can come to as a DM is this: You’re making all of this shit up as you go.
And for the record, I think Dungeon Mastering is
emphatically and unequivocally an art.