Summary

  • Beware of DMs with a God Complex, who act like gods in the game.
  • Avoid DMs with a Me Versus You mentality; they try to kill off players.
  • Watch out for Punisher DMs who squash creativity and punish risks.

Every great 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons campaign needs 🍸a great Dungeon Master at the helm. Most of the time, having a great DM is even more important than having the𝔉 perfect character concept, campaign setting, or character build. But if you're a longtime Dungeons & Dragons player, you know that there are many terrible DMs out there, just waiting to tank your campaign.

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We all know that feel🧜ing of wasting a great character on a terrible campaign and DM. But if you've somehow avoided the terrible DM curse, be wary. Here a𒈔re some of the worst types of Dungeon Masters you can have in DND.

10 The God Complex 💝

Created In My Image

A horned devil standing tall with glowing yellow eyes in DND.
Horned Devil by Yongjae Choi

This firs✨t on😼e is one of the worst DM archetypes around. Some DMs use the game to simply act like a god, stomping around like they own the place. This can be really frustrating to play with, as the game ends up feeling like the DM's personal plaything.

At the end of the day, Dungeons & Dragons is a cooperative storytelling game, and having the DM co-opt the entire story for their🀅 own deifying purposes is really annoying. Plus, god-complex DMs tend to be tyrants when it comes to other parts of the game, too, like rules and homebrew.

9 The 𒉰Me Versus♏ You

Keep Your Friends Close

A legion of undead zombies in Dungeons & Dragons.
Zombie Hoard by Andrey Kuzinskiy

This next archetype rears its head with terrible Dungeons & Dragons players too, as well as DMs. Some people like to view Dungeons & Dragons as a game of DM vs. the players, and this is rarely fun to deal with. DMs 🤪whose life mission it is to try to TPK the party miss out on some of the best things DND has to offer.

Plus, if a DM is trying to kill your character all the time, as a player, you might be afraid to take risks. Risk-taking makes for some of the best storytelling in DND.✅ But if players feel stifled creatively, risks have to be put on hold.

8 𝓡 🐭 The Punisher

Go To The Corner

A student being punished at Strixhaven in DND.
Detention via Wizards of the Coast

Speaking of risks, there's nothing more fun as a DND player than trying to take a big swing, whether in combat or roleplay, and having it pay off with aplomb. However, sometimes, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeon Masters don't like it when players veer too far off course or take big risks. These 🌟DMs tend to punish creative thinking.

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For example, say a player wants to make a really out-there play, and try to seduce the villain of the current arc while in disguise. The Punisher variety of DM will simply squash the idea entirely, and perhaps have the villain try to kill the playeꦦr's character, punishing them for even trying. This creates terrible tension at the table and makes the playing environment not very fun at all.

7 The Rul♕es Judg෴e

Jury And Executioner

A gorgon in DND uses its petrifying breath to attack players.
Gorgon by Kai Carpenter

Just like rules lawyers, rules judges are the DM variety of terrible DND archetypes. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:DMs hold a lot of power at the table, and it must be wielded💃 responsibly. When you sit down at a table, all the players agree that whatever the DM says goes.

However, if a DM wields this power ruthlessly and starts coming down hard on rules being broken, this caཧn make the overall atmosphere of the game feel very unfun. Rules are there to help keep the game on track, but ultimately, if a rule is broken in service of somethingꦰ cool, who cares? Rules are meant to be broken, but there's nothing more frustrating than a DM who simply won't allow it.

6 The Can't Bend, Will Break

Don't Push Me

Two prismari students practice dueling at Strixhaven in DND.
Prismari Magic via Wizards of the Coast

The number one sign of a novice DM is a DM who creates a puzzle or problem for the players with only one solution. The point of great DM-i💖ng is to let the players come up with 🦋the solutions themselves, encouraging creativity and ingenuity.

However, some DMs are either unwilling or unable to bend the rules of their own game, and they just break down. For example, some DMs will create a puzzle that players try to solve in a more brute-force way. Then, instead of accepting the players' solutions,🀅 they will simply refuse to let the party progress until they solve the problem the way they originally intended.𝔍 This creates a frustrating immovable object effect that grinds the action of a great DND game to a halt.

5 ♛ The Self-Inse🌺rt

Takes DMPC To A Whole New Level

Two spy NPCs in DND.
Spies by Cyprien Rousson

Every DM has done it at one p🍸oint or another; you want to get i🤡n on the fun the table is having as an adventuring party, so you create a DMPC to either guide players or find ways to augment the party. However, there's a brand of DM that takes it to a whole other level.

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Ultimately, the players still have to be the protagonists of the story. If the DM is coming in hot with a DMPC that's sucking up all the air in the room, or defeating bad guys left and right, thisꦡ can take away from the players' agency. This can be a real buzzkill and feels akin to the DM god complex archetype.

4 The No-Take-Backsies 🙈

You Said You'd Do It

Three players playing a card game in DND.
Three-Dragon Ante via Wizards of the Coast

Longtime Dungeons & Dragons players, we've all been there before. We try to cast a s𓃲pell or do something, only to realize that the situation is not quite what we thought it was, or we miscommunicated with our DM in some way. Most benevolent DMs might allow for a m♏ulligan, but not this type.

Some DMs adhere to the 'you said it, so you have to do it' mentality. Typically, I would agree with this mentality. But, on occasion, if a player misunderstooꩲd something, it's easy to forgive and let them try something else, especially if the action hasn't really taken place yet in the fiction.

3 🦋 The Naysayer

Whatever Happened To Yes, And?

A wizard studying a magic book in DND.
Magic Spellbook via Wizards of the Coast

Improv has always been a part of Dungeons & Dragons; it's improvisational storytelling after all. However, some DMs forget the most important rule of improv: 'Yes, and.' Instead, DMs of this variety adhere to just a simple 'No.ꦐ'

Most of the time, as a DM, if a player wants to try something, you should at least let them roll for it, even if the DC is impossibly high. There's nothing worse than a player who wants to try something and the DM just says, 'No, you cꦜan't.' It grinds the fiction to a halt and takes the wind out of everyone's sails.

2 The Dice Denier 𓂃 🌠

I've Got This DM Screen For A Reason

The Minotaur of Baphomet stalking his pray in DND.
Minotaur of Baphoment by Brian Valenzuela

Everybody does it on occasion as a DM. It's natural to want to fudge a dice roll or a DC behind the DM screen, particularly if you're feeling like it's not worth the effort or doesn'꧑t serve the story you're te𒀰lling. However, some DMs like to fudge dice rolls in their favor.

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I've personally played games where I can tell that the DM is augmenting their rolls behind the DM﷽ screen, particularly if the combat is proving too easy or players figured out a clever solution to a problem they posed. This is not only incr𒈔edibly annoying as a player, but takes all the agency and realism out of the game.

1 ༺ The H𒀰omebrew Hoarder

I Can Homebrew, You Can't

An artificer with a metallic creation in DND.
Artificer via Wizards of the Coast

Lastly, some DMs can be real sticklers about homebre𒆙wing. Some DMs allow it in some capacity, while others will just outlaw it altogether. This is up to the prerogative of the DM, but it can prove infuriating if they're homebrewing overpowered monsters or NPCs while you're not allowed to.

At the end of the day, there needs to be a balance between DMs and players. Most of these DM archetypes suffer from a power imbalance, in which the DM is giving themselves buffs and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:nerfing the players in unfair ways. The point of being a DM ☂is to litigate fairly, not punish players and reward yourself.

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Original Release Date
1974
Designer
𒆙 🌱E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson
Player Count
2+