Above all, the Dungeon Master(DM) is a master politician. He must have superb math-ematical skills, acute psychological perception and the ability to bullshit his way out of any situation. Last, but not the very least, he must have a plan.

Truly, it is the plan that comes first. Thus, the first necessity is a map of the "region". I suggest something in the range of a sizable county or two. A hun-dred miles by a hundred miles at the very least. A good DM knows the first Law. Player Characters (PCs) rarely do what you think they will. How many games have been ruined by PCs going into a elaborate dungeon backward and getting all the rewards before having to fight a single creature. Mistakes like this affect the balance of entire campaign as a Staff of Healing, for example, would be many uses less because of the damage taken from the ordeal in getting to that point. They'd have a lot less potions of every sort since they would have needed to use those to get the reward.

The second most important trait for a DM to have is his bullshit device. You should be able and willing to lie for your cause. If you absolutely cannot convince your PC to your point of view, only give him a percentage chance to have it his way. Then list four to seven other possibilities percentage chances to occur. Give as little ground as integrity will allow you.

Maintaining integrity is where the mathematical skills are so crucial. You must be able to back your lies and concoctions with hard data. This may seem to be an oxymoron, but I assure you, it isn't. Basically, all that this means is you must have a reason for why it is the way it is. One must note that sometimes, a partic-ular thing is defined by what it is not. Think about it, what is zero?

Once you get these three things properly balanced, you get to play the politician and use those psychological perceptions of you PCs strengths and weaknesses. Espec-ially,their weaknesses. More as a student of life, I have noticed the human ten-dency to believe their flaws are not as bad as others or even completely fail to recognize they have one. These are my favorites as they are but strings that any good DM can pull at will.

Learn more about this author, Allen Mccullar.
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