Whatever you call the person behind the screen, game master (GM), DM, referee or judge, the position can be the most awesome seat at the table. I enjoy being a player, but I never hesitate to take my turn "running the game" because I find it very enjoyable...mostly because I do it my way. The role has developed and changed over the decades and I definitely enjoy running some game systems more than others, but this post is about how I have fun as a referee and why I think being the referee is awesome.
Probably the most awesome thing about being the referee of a role-playing adventure game is the creative freedom that goes with that task. The referee designs the setting, milieu, world. In the old days that was a dungeon drawn out on graph paper and keyed with encounters, puzzles, traps, and anything you could imagine. The goal was to make it interesting and fun for the players to explore. Soon the hobby ventured outdoors and the referee becomes a world builder. How fun is that! Again, anything you can imagine is possible. New races, unique cultures, wondrous cities - invent, borrow or steal, but use any idea that is appealing. The referee has creative control of their world.
The players get one (maybe two or three in older games) character(s) to play, but the referee has an infinite number of non-player characters. Some are helpful to the party of adventurers and some are villains. Some are around for a single encounter, but some are recurring and can become among the most memorable characters of a campaign. (Never let your NPC upstage the PCs, however.) I have fun with my NPCs. I use voices and give them motives and personalities based on characters from novels, film and real world memories. My goal is to make the NPCs seem like real beings.
Entertainment in the form of watching the players discover my world is the reward I get for my efforts. Players are amazing and funny. Players do the unexpected. They sometimes challenge the referee to keep up as they take the game in unforeseen directions. Working with the players following the adventures of their characters through your setting is awesomely rewarding. To hear them talking excitedly about the adventure afterwards is priceless.
Some lessons I have learned about helping the process along and having a good time as referee are:
Listen to the players. Find out what they are interested in.
Remember as referee you are the eyes, ears, nose, etc of the player characters. Try to be as descriptive as possible without boring anyone.
Encourage players to ask questions. Be a teacher.
Be enthusiastic. If the referee is enthusiastic about the game, it is likely the people listening will also be interested.
Be flexible. Preparation is a necessary and fun creative process, but players will always do the unexpected. A referee must follow as well as lead. Thinking quickly while at the table is a skill and the more one practices it, the better one becomes.
Narrate the mechanics. Rolling dice and shouting out the score is fine, but I see part of the fun of being a referee as interpreting the mechanical outcomes in terms of the emerging fiction. "The orc swings and his halberd cuts high above your head as you smartly duck under the intended blow."
Remember to encourage the players. The PCs are the movers and shakers of the story, the protagonists. Help the players have a good time by giving each character a significant part to play in the session and note their successes with some colorful language.
Keep the game moving. The beauty of "rulings not rules" is not stopping the action to look up a rule. Be fair and be consistent, but don't worry too much about what nobody at the table can remember about what the rules say. Be assertive, you are the "judge".
If the players are stuck, give them suggestions. We referees have all the answers and it is too easy to forget not everyone thinks just like we do.
Run a friendly, welcoming table. Be respectful.
And encourage others to take their turn behind the referee's screen, it can be awesome!
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