There’s some old information that is extremely useful for DM’s. I vaguely remember reading it way back in the day and just found a link to all the old articles. Some really cool stuff here and if you’re a DM then give it a look. Â If you’re a player then point it out to your DM, they might find something they don’t know there.
The series is quite long and covers a lot of ground and has stuff for the person just considering doing the DM thing and those that may have been doing it for a very long time. It was these articles that got me to quit doing dungeon crawls where each room might have a monster that apparently lived in a vacuum waiting for the PC’s to show up. The word dungeon ecology came up and it was ever so more ‘real’ afterward.
Here’s a small excerpt from the first article that asks the prime question, “Should I DM at all?”. Only you know the answer to that…
1. Should I DM?
Running your own AD&D campaign can be incredibly rewarding. In essence, you get to create an entire world, write its history, populate it as you see fit, and craft your own legends. What’s more, if your campaign is effective, you might experience the unique satisfaction of creating something that eventually attains a depth and a life of its own. Some AD&D campaigns have run for twenty years or more and have generated enough tales to fill several volumes. On the other hand, you should recognize that DMing isn’t a responsibility to be assumed lightly. Before you begin, you should take some time to make sure that you’re ready to start a game.DMs face two real problems. The first is a lack of time. While it’s certainly enjoyable work, preparing and running an AD&D campaign is just that-work. In the early going, you should count on spending three to four hours per week (in addition to actual playing time) preparing adventures, drawing maps, and adding little details to your setting. If you don’t have the time to spend, don’t even try to run the game; you’ll only frustrate your players. You can significantly decrease prep time by using published adventures and settings, but as a practical rule, you’re likely to get only as much out of these products as you’re willing to put into them. Never try to run a published adventure without reading it thoroughly prior to play.
The second problem facing DMs is a lack of restraint. If you think you’d rather be a player, don’t DM. Part of the DM’s job is to let the players grab center stage. A good DM always gives the players the last word and lets them decide what happens next. While this advice might sound straightforward, losing sight of it has been the downfall of many a campaign. Once play begins, you’re going to have to resist the urge to use favorite NPCs to steal the spotlight from the players. You’ll also need to keep an open mind about the outcome of the adventures and storylines you create lest you steer the players toward the endings you favor. Ultimately, the stories arising from your campaign belong to the players. If you have a problem with that, let someone else run the game.
“False starts” can waste a lot of time (yours and the players’) and they inevitably make it even harder to set up a viable game later.
