Friday Flap: DungeonTubers and New GMs.

Dispelling myths and rumors about being a Game Master.

So I hear all this nonsense going around again on YouTube about how “Game Mastering is (supposedly) hard work,” and “GM burnout is a scary real thing.”

The short answer is “No” on both counts. If you wonder why DungeonTube is dying, this is the kind of thing right here that is driving nails into the proverbial coffin. STOP CHASING PEOPLE AWAY FROM GAME MASTERING!!! Arrgh!

Side Note: Please stop hyping up these DungeonTubers whose sole purpose in life is to hype up their appearance a Green Dragon Fest which is a super elite convention that only a select few GMs and players can afford to attend. One of these days I’m going to spend more time addressing this tomfoolery. Until then please understand that I have a very dim view of the people running this thing. <cough> Gatekeeping. <cough>

Where was I? Oh yes, this week’s DungeonTube myths and rumors. Let’s just do a quick rundown of a few things:

Being a GM is fun and engaging. I’ve talked about this before on the blog but let me go over the highlights.

• You don’t need any special skills or talents to run a game. If you can play, you are already qualified to be a GM. It’s really just a matter of playing more than one character.
• Prep time for a Game Master can be hard work. But it can also be fun and exciting. Do as much as you need to in order to feel ready for the game. The rest will fill itself in.
• You don’t have to be “Professional Quality.” Just be you. Your players might actually enjoy that more. Besides, they’re probably not professional voice actors. Most GMs aren’t in this for money. If you are in it for the money, then that’s cool. Just do the best you can with what you have.
• You DO NOT have to have the rulebook memorized. Some GMs don’t even allow rulebooks at the table. Yes, a familiarity with the system helps. When in doubt, make a ruling to the best of your ability and look it up after the game. (Helpful hint: GMs can take lots of notes to help after the session.)

  Once you get used to being a GM, you can run anything, anywhere, any time. You can walk into a convention, pick up a game, look over the scenario, and rock it with only minimal rules knowledge. Knowing how to roleplay goes a lot farther than rules memorization. (Helpful hint: you can usually recruit a player to help with the technical rules if you really need exacting detail.)

• There are no bad GMs. Sure, feedback and experience help. The main factors are motivation and communication. If you have a rough session, keep going. At a certain point you can only get better and better.
• Everyone starts somewhere. Even the “great GMs” of our hobby were new once. Like I said, keep going. Run that next session. You got this. If you listen carefully, there are hundreds of other people cheering you on somewhere in the background.
• COMMUNICATION is key! Listen to what the players are saying both in and out of combat. Let them speak. Remember the wise person listens while fools only ramble on.
• Do NOT get attached to any plot or storyline you’ve created. The players almost always take even the most well thought out story beats and run 90 yards in the wrong direction with them. It’s okay. Remember you’re running a game, not writing a novel. The rule of thumb here is: No plan ever survives contact with the players or the timetable.
• Many GMs love having random tables on hand. Sometimes a random encounter will give a GM time to breathe, maybe even get to the end of the session so you can regroup and prepare for what might be coming next.

This notion of “GM Burnout” is sensationalized to get YouTube clicks.

If I ever make a GM Burnout video on this channel that completely contradicts what I’m about to go into, please someone call me out on it? I’ve talked about this before on my blog. I think the whole notion of being “burned out” as a GM is completely farcical.

Most of the time being “burned out” as a GM has little to do with the game or the players and a lot more to do with whatever is going on in the GM’s life outside of the game. Unless you’re running multiple games per day and at least one game every night of the week, you probably don’t need to step back and take a break from Game Mastering. Even then, it’s a phenomenon more common to “paid, perfeshional GMs.” For the average GM on the street, running a game once or twice per week really doesn’t cause stress, grief, or anxiety.

Game Masters are people, too. We often have jobs, classes, relationships, and even offspring in out lives. Like regular humans (or so I’m told) we have stress in our lives from these various things, especially the offspring… Most of the time the game sits on the backburner of our lives.

Occasionally things happen that are going to put prep time if not the game itself on temporary hold. Cars break down, relatives get sick or worse, bills need to be paid, relationships experience strife or end, and any other number of weird things happen in the real world that cut into our real lives. Yes, that stuff is stressful.

Yes, sometimes that leads to sessions getting cancelled, one-shots being pulled out at the last minute instead of the regularly scheduled game, or an impromptu boardgame night/social gathering with the group if it’s in person. Life happens. It’s usually a good idea not to run a game if you’re too stressed to think straight as a human.

Mental health is important. Knowing when to step back and engage in self-care is important. Knowing when to talk to a professional such as a therapist is important. If your group has any sense of empathy, they will be cool with you taking a breather.

Nine times out of ten, this ridiculous notion of “GM burnout” is because of things that have nothing to do with the GM’s game, prep, or play style. In-game issues are pretty easily fixed most of the time. Player-GM interpersonal issues are pretty easily remedied as well. It’s all about communication as I said before.

Please be willing to at least try running a game session. It’s not as hard as it sounds. There are dozens if not hundreds of advice articles, tips, and strategies out there for new GMs. If you have any roleplaying chops as a player, being a GM is lots of fun.

Please do not let some of these DungeonTubers scare you away from being a GM or a player for that matter. I’m starting to think some of these guys are only into gaming for the money. Please do yourself a favor and listen to real GMs that have run a lot of real games. The bulk majority of us are here to legitimately help people.

I say it every year, but I think 2026 bears repeating it. This year I intend to write more, read more, and discuss cool TTRPGs as well as supplements. Most of all, let’s just have more fun. Let’s explore. Let’s save the kingdom from the evil warlord. Let’s discuss all the fun stuff in gaming that we love.

With the world in the state it finds itself in today, please be kind. Please be considerate to one another even if we don’t agree. Lastly, please pursue the thing that brings you the most joy without harm to others. Thank you!

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Wooo! We hit 4k on the channel!!! I know it's just a numbed but I wasn't sure I'd ever make it this far talking roleplaying games on the internet.

Got to celebrate those milestones when you can. Thanks everyone who has supported the channel, y'all are the reason I keep making videos.

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