by Aaron Harris

Created on: January 15, 2009

Things to remember as a DM. Wow, what an article title. There's quite a bit for a DM to remember that I'm sure everyone that's submitted something to this article probably missed something.

Below are what I think should be remembered as a DM. I am one, afterall, so hopefully writing this will help myself as well as others out there.

1) House Rules - It's your game, and with it are some rule or campaign changes you may have made. If you don't remember these house rules, then you can't really get mad at the players for breaking them. I typed mine up and printed it out, handed a copy to all my players for reference and kept myself a copy in the DMG. I'll then look it over at the beginning of every session and again after we get back from our dinner break. This way, it'll keep the rules fresh in my head and eventually to the point that I'll have them all memorized.

2) NPC's - NPC's are the second source of lifeblood in your game (PC's are the first). I made a custom template in Notepad to keep all my NPC information. From stats and saves to equipment, personality, and appearance. Never get rid of these notes either. Never know when the players may throw you a curve and seek out an NPC you thought they forgot about long ago. Not only that, but if the NPC died, whose to say they weren't brought back as a living dead enemy for them later (Lich anyone?).

3) Session - It's the DM's responsibility to remember where the session left off. Keep a notebook and write a little note for yourself at the end of every session so that you can recap at the beginning of the next session. The players may have forgotten something, or the whole game session (had that happen once after the holiday break). By knowing where you left off, you can seamlessly get the game up and running again with no complications.

4) Items - It's always a good idea for the DM to know what magical items the character's have in their possession. This way, you can either pit them against something to use it on, or have it stolen by a thief and thus, giving them an adventure to track it down and get it back. Plus, it keeps you from having to reference their character sheet or having to ask them what they have all the time.

4) Stats - As with magic items, it's a good idea to know what the stats of the characters are. Makes it easier to make a secret Spot skill check or Will save without the characters knowing it's happening. You can easily reference what the characters are capable of without having to ask them all

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