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"Always be ready to abandon facts not yet introduced", or as I like to call it, Schroedinger's Lore. In my games, things that happened in the past become "canon" only when the players interact with them. It's easier for me to write around what players come up with than try to fit their plans into my world.

The idea of not saving the best for last genuinely felt like a divine revelation -- such a simple answer I've been missing this whole time! Incredible video!

I just had a revelation, these are the things we should have on our GM screens not rules. We can look up rules anytime we need (or just make it up on the fly), but we need to continually be reminded of this amazing GM advice. Someone needs to turn this GM advice into a GM screen.

I also love the nugget in Bastionland about giving information: "When players ask a question, give an answer and then ask a question back." I am going to challenge myself to do just that in my game tonight.

I did not expect this much cool stuff, thank you. As a humble offer of value back, one of my favorite world building and roleplaying techniques I had gotten was for travel or downtime scenes: go around the players, one by one, and ask them to tell something that happened. Maybe something leading, like why did your wagon break down, or something open, like you pass by a village on your travels, what odd thing were they celebrating? Give them a minute to describe or set something up. Then go to the next player, and ask them, how did they solve this problem or what did they do in response? So, if the wagon got stuck in the mud, a wizard might say, they use mage hand and lifted it to get it out, a holy character might pray for good weather to get rid of the mud, a tinkerer might make some contraption to get them moving. Maybe at the village, the wizard does some fireworks for them, the good hearted rogue wins a prize for a poor child, or the ranger gets bored and decides to sleep on someone's roof in the sun. It's not about making them roll dice, or even have memorable adventures, but to get them to engage with the world, and with each other, as their characters. It also pushes them to improvise and roleplay, as well as give them a chance to show off different sides of their characters that can't come up fighting orcs in a cave. Also also, far/near/close? Best thing I ever learned for combat encounters, though I got it from 13th age.

My favorite was the GM section in Dungeon World. It blew me away and changed the way I GM and prep forever. I use Fronts and keep a list of principles and moves handy to this day in every game I run.

It's interesting that the tips in Bastionland seems to be focused on prepping sessions, Night's black agents on managing and delivering a good campaign, and icrpg on running the sessions. Really does make me wonder how many great tips I've been skipping to go straight to the systems meat

One of the best GM sections that formed my GM style was from West End Games Star Wars: 2nd Edition. Great section on GMing in that book about how to structure and pace and exciting game, including using In Media Res beginnings to act as an incitement to action immediately. The second big inspiration was reading just the quick reference guide to Monster of the Week which is a Powered by the Apocalypse game. That made me realize that I had been doing way too much of the heavy lifting as a GM. Instead, let the players world build and create the hooks for you. Ex: You find a dead body, who is it and why do you care about them? Bam, player created hook to get involved. You crack the code, what does it tell you? Boom, the players just told you what they want to do next, just incorporate or improv it. Combining the world building/hooks/stakes from the PBTA and the Pacing from WEG 2nd edition has always led me to good/fun games that keep the energy, stakes, and threat high. If you like cinematic adventures that is.

This is one of the single most helpful videos I’ve watched in all my 17 years of DMing. Thank you, Dave!

One bit of advice that has really stuck with me comes from GURPS. It's a game that's known for crunch and excruciating detail, but there is a box in the Game Mastering section entitled "When it Doubt, Roll and Shout". Looking back it seems obvious, but it wasn't when I first encountered it. Now that phrase has embedded itself deep in my soul. For the longest time I tried to prepare for everything and then I got frustrated when it didn't pan out. I still have a lot of preparation (I enjoy doing it, after all), but I've learned not to panic or argue when the players step into undefined territory. Now I embrace it.

I'd like to add the GM's Segment from "Fear Itself"! It's incredibly powerful, imo, because it breaks down the different types of games you could play, and while it walks you through examples, you see the logic at work. It's hard to describe why it clicked with me so well but god damn, did it click

You know, I think a big reason why we fall back on worn-out tropes, non-threatening encounters, and situations in which there is little real choice for the players, is simply that we are sadly not all geniuses at improv and have limited energy preparing for many contingencies. An ideal game for me would be one in which everything feels meaningful and deep and gives a real sense of agency and urgency to the players, and every choice is a hard one because it comes with a sacrifice. But the reality is that I'm just not a good enough DM to consistently run a game of that quality level. Still, a nice thing to aspire to, and a useful way of thinking when you find yourself wondering 'why does this part of my campaign feel bland / why aren't my players more engaged?' It's sadly almost always your own fault as a DM. No pressure ':D

The Wardens operations manual for Mothership is exquisite for teaching people how to create horrific situations, but isn't locked down to any particular setting and is worth a read for any horror RPG GM

Great video! ICRPG is a true masterpiece in this and many more aspects, a game with a vision and the courage to pursue it according to its own philosophy. It should be noted though that any tools/pieces of advice the GM uses/follows lead to a specific style that may not be what one is looking for. The most important thing is to know what you want to happen on the gaming table and build a GMing toolset that makes that possible. That is why those three chapters are great in the first place, because Chris McDowall, Kenneth Hite and Hankerin Ferinale know what they want from their gaming and put that above anything else (gaming traditions for instance). Following their spirit will be great advice even when the game they made is not what you're looking for.

You are a great content creator! This was my first Thaumavore video and you have quickly become my favourite TTRPG youtuber. I love reading learning about new innovative systems but there are just too many and your videos are perfect for highlighting the ones that I want to know about (it's getting to the point where I might skip a system if you didn't do a video on it). The editing is top notch, your voice is clear and they go just as indepth as they need to be. You're doing a great job and I am pretty sure you will be the biggest general TTRPG youtuber in no time.

Fantastic video! I've heard about these books having exceptional GM chapters, but you did a great job highlighting what exactly makes them great.

ICRPG is my go-to game. That DM section and the Runehammer videos that go into detail on done of the topics were a real eye opener for me. Beginner's mind, best mind.

I have enjoyed and learned from many DM & GM focused videos. I am thankful for them all. That being said, THIS is the most helpful by a long shot. Thanks for making this. My players will be grateful as well. Excellent work. Seriously. This video is full of gold.

thanks Dave!

Bought Electric Bastionland on drivethrurpg and am looking forward to trying these GM guidelines. Much like the evolution of car design, learning new techniques to running games can feel like "why didn't we do it this way already, it's so intuitive!" Like how front seats in cars went from looking like your living room couch to ergonomic individual seats with controls wrapped around the people.

I was scouring the oceans of the internet searching for good distilled GM material. Alas, the mighty algorithm pointed me towards your video. It seems my quest is not complete (will it ever?) but thank you, fellow master. May your soul find its way into the Supernal Realms, for your content was truly... illuminating.

Electric Bastionland’s such a cool book. I love how succinct and yet specific the advice, failed careers and map-building are. It’s definitely one worth getting to the table sometime.

Excellent video! These ideas aren't entirely new to me, but they have are so clearly presented in these books, without 20 pages of clutter around them, that they feel like a blast of fresh air. "Don't save your best ideas for later" is brilliant. I've definitely been guilty of this, and now I'm not sure why. Of course I'll think of more great ideas, and they'll be shaped and inspired by whatever cool stuff my players do while riffing off my original cool idea. This is so simple and obvious, but I'm not sure I've ever heard anything like it. Whenever I check these out, maybe soon, I'll be sure to support the channel!

I pick up GMing advice from all over, but I think two things that stick out in my mind the most are XDM and Amber: Diceless Roleplaying. XDM sort of a a joke system, but the real purpose of the book is pure GM advice. It led to me thinking abstractly about what the purpose of dice in a system is and what goals that system is meant to enforce. Amber is a game that uses uses pure number comparison for resolution. Your combat is 50 while theirs is 40? You win flat. But that's not really true because how you roleplay can change that. If you go in to recklessly and not taking your opponent seriously the GM might rule you aren't making use of all 50 points as it were and that the 40 point opponent that was taking the fight completely seriously will win instead. There's a lot of setting stuff (It's based on a book series) but nearly the entire book is GMing and roleplaying advice because that's the resolution mechanic.

Id also add the latter half of worlds without number.

This was disturbingly informative, in that it disturbs me that these ideas were presented so concisely, but are so inherently useful, especially for new DMs (and especially D&D 5th Edition DMs). I needed to hear all of the things here *MUCH* more than I needed to have a working knowledge of the Forgotten Realms or even ways to improve monsters in combat.

Great one! I hope this becomes a series. I’d love to see your thoughts on the Apocalypse World MC chapter.

using good ideas quickly rather than hording them is good advice. You don't know how good your idea really is until players have interacted with it. How your best ideas work interacting with other people might inspire new even better ideas.

This is probably one of the best videos I've ever watched. You crafted this as a great presentation and delivered perfectly. Surprised you don't have wayyy more subscribers!! Thanks for sharing this ❤

The BEST Gm book I own is the Lamentations of the Flame Princess Referee's Guide; rather than a book full of 'behind the scenes ' rules, it very literally gives you the tools to create your own, personal Gm's guide.

Lots of gold nuggets here. I'll definitely have to re-watch this to let it all sink in. And I'll be picking up each of the games you mentioned through your affiliate links.

So much quality content packed into 22 minutes. Bought every one of the books.

Great video! I didn't know nights black I'll have a look! P. S. I think clocks were actually initially introduced in Apocalypse World which Blades gets most of its inspiration.

Monster of the Week, Dungeon World´s (front system) Blades in the Dark, Kult. These have amazing gm tipps.From my expierence as player I can tell that 90% of all gm have not read the gm chapter in the Call of Cthulhu 7th edition. You can tell from the way they alwas interpret failed skillchecks and a lot of different stuff that they forget about.

I have been an ICRPG acolyte for more than a year now. I can appreciate the genius of Bastion and will explore it further. I am not ready for Vampire Spies, yet. I crave to be good at being GM.

Use the good ideas now! So many times I’ve had my good idea for a cool scenario and it never comes to fruition. Use that big cool idea now, because you’ll have another one tomorrow. Also that list of rules is frigging inspiring, I’ll need to write them inside my notebook or binder

Love it! Will dive back into Bastionland, it was my first RPG I purchased just because of the beautiful artwork! ICRPG is my favourite book, especially the GM section was a godsend for me as a beginner. I would add the Black Hack to this list just because it is so useful and yet concise.

Very cool video. Thanks!! I was particularly fascinated by the formatting of Bastionland advice. I found ideas whirling around in my head right away as I read the very short format key points. I'm intrigued to know more about it now. Again... thanks for presenting these books!

I used to skip the GM sections as they are all very samey but there's a chance of a new idea, or the way it's written differently makes you think about it a new way. Or even just to refresh yourself on the basics of GMing. It's all good practice. DMing is like every other skill in that you need to practice. If you have a piece of descriptive text to be read, rehearse! Part of DMing is acting!

Always nice to have 2/3 of the books mentioned already! Particularly as one was purchased due to your agents video. Great video!

Thanks for the amazing tips. Cheers from Brazil!

I’ve been thinking about writing since i picked DM’ing up again. This helps a lot. Thanks dude

really great collection of insights, thank you very much!

🥳❤️👍🏿 Thanks for the link - great video - I have two of these already, so I guess I’ll have to check out Night’s Black Agents

I'm super grateful for these. ICRPG was, in a sense, my 2nd life as a GM when I fell out of love with D&D. Hope to see a Dungeon World/PbtA round of this in the future too!!

Maybe it's partly because I'm bored at work. But that Electric Bastionland's chapter sounds so cool that I'm tempted to buy it just for that.

Good video, and I hope one day people will talk about my Drama Moderation chapter in the same manner. My only issue here is with the thump nail, I hate the sentiment of GMs being seen or think of themselves as deities.

Love this vid! I’m running Warhammer Wrath and Glory and Age of Sigmar: Soulbound at Adepticon in March and I always worry that my regular creative process of building my one shot adventures is getting old or bogged down in my own repetitive tropes. I really appreciate information like what’s in this vid to “Filter” my encounters, stories, bad guys, and NPCs though to make sure that I’m not getting set in my ways and always challenging myself to improve and be ready for any type of player that might set down at my table at a large event. Thank you!

This is a great video for any GM, new and old-timers! All of these games have tips that are very insightful, eyeopening, and incredibly helpful. Thanks for the concise overview. Great job! Gonna go and buy them now! 🤠👍

This is one of the best youtube videos I’ve watched in a long time.

How about Stars Without Number and Worlds Without Number, Dave?

NBA is one of my favorite games to run, and my players enjoyed it tremendously.

Peak DM advice was still given to me by the Lazy Dm guide and return of the lazy dm but these sections are EXELLENT …and I do tend to skim GM section usually

I'll have to add Night's Black Agents to my collection. I've been on a Gumshoe kick lately. There's just so much goodness in every gumshoe game that I've read. They all have something innovative, and do something new, or give you a new perspective on genre tropes. It's really a great family of games, and there's so much great variety in them!

This was great! I was already on board with ICRPG, thanks for pointing me towards Night’s and Bastionland

A transcript of this video would be exceedingly helpful for those of us who want to add some of these gold nuggets to our GM screens.... 🙂

I've always had this idea I call 'clearing the chamber', in regards to using your best ideas right away. Essentially, I imagine new ideas like a gun's magazine. So long as you're holding on to one idea, it's 'in the chamber', and nothing's operating. Only when you release that idea from your mind, either by writing it down or simply letting your players experience it does the next idea come to light. So long as you're holding onto a concept, nothing's percolating. Good analogy? Who fuckin' knows but it's how I see it, and every time I get stuck I stop and ask 'what am I holding on to? Can I do this now?' Who cares if the grand twist at the end of the campaign is excellent and cool if no one cares enough to finish the story? Won't telling them how interesting things REALLY are get them hooked NOW? New twists will emerge, I promise. In addition, for anyone still reading; I notice that once I pass a cool concept or twist off to my players, they start doing things or filling in due to their newfound interest in what I've just done which can take the plot in new and interesting directions I didn't even expect, but make perfect sense given the rules of the world. Getting your cool concepts on the table fast makes things HAPPEN. An example: I had a twist brewing that a God was real, and that the prophet of said god was executed by a false church, leaving those who follow that church doomed. I ended up getting a reason to introduce the truth of the God early in the campaign, so I just went for it. Players got hooked by the sudden intrigue, and the campaign started to become about how to convince the kingdom they were dooming themselves without making the same mistakes that old prophet made. The party were researching lore figures to see where they went wrong, navigating social situations to try and gain support, and fighting off accusations of following an apostate's words. Next thing I know, all signs start pointing to the fact that the God in question is actually some eldritch thing feeding off of unconscious worship, and the church was almost right to kill the prophet. My initial twist become the hook, and a new twist presented itself emergently. What you want to do will happen if you let it. Just get your ideas out there and get them out there as soon as possible.

Oh, I am glad I found this one again! This was good!

True, I played a lot of systems and freestyled some sessions but never read any rule books completely.

I love Chris McDowall's blog. He is incredibly generous with real, concrete stuff.

I personally do a skip read most of the time. Some I did read fully (like icrpg and swn )..one of the times I skipped was 5e dmg because there was really close to 0 tools or just basic advice to how to run a game. And the rest is information that should have been in the player guid

I have been following Runehammer for a while. I think his pseudonyms go as follows: Hank is the writer, Brandish is the artist, Runehammer is the business. He is a man of boundless energy and too many ideas to be contained by a single nom de plume. Great video.

this is a fantastic video. TLDR..... (and because I wasnt familiar with two of the games and had to return often to refress my memory) Into the Odd from Bastionland; Night's Black Agents; Index Card RPG (my note: get the Master Edition) I now have ICRPG and love the content. Even if I don't use the whole ruleset I will adapt at least some for homebrew mods (maybe without telling the players.)

Everytime I pick up an ICRPG book I learn something new inside

Wonderful! I just spent the last hour taking notes. Thank you!

This channel is a gem, just discovered it today, great great content 👍👍👍

Great Video, I'm always striving to be a better GM and I feel like the advice you've presented here is going to help me out alot. Glad to see you also appreciate concise wisdom

Great video! I have Night's Black Agents, but hadn't the chance to run it yet. ICRPG is on my radar now.

I love Electric Bastionland!

This is the opposite of a clickbait title, those recommendations are truly mindblowing

The power of brevity and practicality make for a strong alchemy.

ICRPG is top tier stuff. One of my favorites

Probably my favorite dm advice (kind of echoed here) is from Monsterhearts : Treat your NPCs like stolen cars. They're fun for now but you don't get to keep them.

You've earned yourself a new subscriber, great stuff! can't believe this is free

Fantastic video and great advice. I own ICRPG and 100% agree (also super jealous you got to play with Hank). I really want those other two, now. Played in a game of Electric Bastionland and it is a wonderful system.

Really great video. Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge with your viewers. I'll probably rewatch this one at least once more to absorb everything.

Great video. Really sums up quite eloquently ideas and principals I've been using but could never explain.

I’m writing the section to my Judge’s Guide. This video is brilliant and I’ll be rewatching it several times. Thank you!

Great breakdown Dave, and a interesting insight into each of the games listed. I find that ICRPG provides good guidelines, and the selection of provided settings in it are interesting, and there's a lot of cool steal-able mechanics. I'm curious to check out the other two, for comparison if nothing else. I would note there is one RPG I feel is missing from this list, Kevin Crawford's Worlds Without Number. You can get a copy for free at his website, but if you go for the paid version it provides a little extra advanced content. WWN in my opinion, hands down, contains the best tool set for running anything from a one-shot to a years long campaign. I will die on that hill, it's that good. I cordially invite you to see for yourself.

Agreed on ICRPG is a great starter game, also just a great game in general too.

Watching this made so much sense. It is what ive been telling myself for so long. This gave me a huge boost thanks for sharing this

I've been running a Dracula Dossier campaign for about eighteen months and it is great. Not least because I did some prep work at the start, and now I never really need to prep for sessions. We rock up, they pitch their operation and we're away! ...and they are following the sub-conspiracy devotedly while missing all the overt clues to the main conspiracy... :D

I really like how broadly applicable alot if this advice is. Good stuff. Thanks!

This is a great video. Sometimes the GM sections are better than the system lol

I was considering purchasing Electric Bastionland: while I am far too young to have played any version of DnD prior to 5E, I am intrigued by OSR and OSR-esque TTRPGs and Bastionland's setting and artstyle really drew me in. However, after seeing simple but sound advice presented by the GM section, it's now got a nice little spot on my list of TTRPGs I want to check out; even though I've only dabbled in GMing, seeing a well written GM section gives the impression that a game was designed by people who understand that GMs are also participants in TTRPGs, and not just a referee. Also the advice not to get too attached to your BBEG and not to worry if they die early seems pretty solid. After all, they couldn't have massed a large amount of power, minions, and other assorted tools of evil on their own...

As a game designer, I have been doing a lot of those things this whole time. Chiefly I have been ranting about the lack of level design focus in ttrpg, and I am so glad to see you are not only pointing out that glaring issue (imagine any other kind of game that didn't bother with level design and only delivered empty arenas), but those games also bring incredible help material for GMs. I'm going to be purchasing ICRPG and Electric Bastionland for my own references too.

This is great stuff. Thanks for sharing, Dave.

I think session 1 sets a tone. We all have struggled with the "you are all in a tavern" beginning. (Yes we know, everyone is sitting their backs to the wall). I have started to use the idea that the "Big World Changing event" happens right out of the gate within the first 5 minutes. You are in the tavern, "and there is an Earthquake", roll dex. Or you are in a caravan and....roll Con saves, as a meteor strikes a 1/4 mile away and the blastwave is about to hit you. First it gives the party some buy-in as to why they are a party. there is a shared experience of danger and near death that they have bonded over. (but in fact they were never going to be killed, but pinned by falling debris, or needing healing after you break a rib from the force damage, that will bring together a party real fast.) And Secondly, from there, you are free to think about how the world would change, and the players are going to be agents of that change. What does that event change in this world? Before this event, the world had systems of power. There were kings, Churches and religious orders, Wizards have a tendency to gather. Every city of any size would have at least 1 dominate crime syndicate if not having a least a few competitors. Governments will fall and rise, religions will be created, wizards will seek knowledge and secrets. Perhaps, the event released something; an imprisoned deity, a primal force, something long forgotten? War will be waged, and songs of legends to be, will be sung. Just stay 1 session ahead of the party!🤩

Very nicely presented sir! Shall pick these books up just for the read :)

Wow, that ICRPG oath really resonates with me.

I love Electric Bastion Land and ICRPG. So much! I haven’t read the third, but it sounds great!

100% agereed. Also the GM section of Apocalypse World

There are two second? edition d&d supplements that I love for there world building advice; the first is the catacomb builders guide once you get past the part about making a dungeon it starts talking about how to incorporate the fantastical into your world in terms of geology because if magic makes physics a strongly worded suggestion then what is to say that the magical world would follow those suggestions when it comes to geophysics. The second is the complete priest which has a chapter about actually creating a pantheon or pantheons in a way that makes sense in terms of a society that would worship them, and how to tool that to work for a playable fantasy world.

My intro to your channel... already subbed. Terrific explanation of DM tools from lesser-known sources. You have a great voice for tone and pacing, which also helps. I want to try Index Card RPG for sure.

This collection of advice is really great!

Looking forward to the EBL review… I’ve only run into the odd once and one of its hacks in a mini campaign, but I love the system. I think it’s great for newbies. … also I got icrpg master Ed. a while back and haven’t had a chance to run or play it, I’m not sold on the one room difficulty idea, guess I just need to see it in action

Great video. Great choice of GM/DM guides.

This is an absolutely fantastic video. Keep it up.

on the night’s black agents section saying that they’re different from other games by having an end point: I think it’s referring to how the game has ONE specific end point. d20 fantasy almost never has a prescribed end point baked into the system, that end point is put in by the DM. a 5e party’s campaign might end at level 20 facing down orcus, or at level 7 facing a vampire. a system’s core assumptions, or lack thereof, inform its design, and 5e in no place says “you are expected to reach level 20 and fight one of the evil gods,” the end point is purely player dictated.