I will be describing these in more detail over the next several days in what I’m going to call a brief Dungeons & Dragons series. For now, my theory on the five types of Dungeon Masters that exist:
1) The Narrative Diety: this is the classic Gygax style DM who does the job of running the game as if there is a narrative in place (a module for example) and insures above all that a story is told. This DM pushes you back to the plot points.
2) The Private Bard: this DM is all about making sure each player character has a custom experience, often twisting and turning the overall narrative to accommodate the desires of players to experience some specific sort of adventure. They give the ranger a woods, the paladin a church, the wizard a library, etc.
3) the Thrilling Entertainer: this DM wants you to have fun. If that means jokes, and a party atmosphere, you get that. If this means a theatre-like experience, you get that. If it’s a war game you want, you get it. Maps? Music? Minis? Oh yeah.
4) the Judas Scribe: Some DMs want to win. They want to defeat the players by creating a harsh and unforgiving experience that rewards good play but much like the original modules will severely punish mistakes. This is the DM who takes your character sheet when you die and destroys it. This DM is playing harder than the players.
5) the Clockwork Monitor: this is the DM who believes you’re the master of your destiny, so he or she is a charismatic rule-set that doesn’t volunteer anything that could influence you as a player. Fair to a fault, this DM plays the game as the game would ask, but unlike the figures above, this DM will give you the rope to escape but also the rope to hang yourself with equal enthusiasm. Sometimes thought of as chaotic, this DM doesn’t see chaos at all. The DM knows what is happening, but that doesn’t mean the players do. The Clockwork Monitor doesn’t care if you live or die, if you tell your story or the DM tells it. The game matters here.