Where Planning Meets Chaos
The role of a Game Master, or GM, might seem straightforward—until it isn’t.
Originally found in early tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, the GM serves as both narrator and regulator. They define the world’s logic, facilitate character actions, and adapt stories on the fly. While the players improvise, the GM improvises everything else—often while seated behind a screen, notebook at hand, dice nearby.
Sometimes the silence before a session is telling. Pages are prepped, but half the game never follows what’s written. And that’s fine—expected, even.
Core Responsibilities
A Game Master typically performs three main tasks: worldbuilding, storytelling, and enforcing rules. But definitions vary.
In combat-heavy systems, GMs might focus more on strategy and positioning. In narrative-driven formats, storytelling becomes central. Some Game Masters draw detailed maps in advance; others guide the action entirely through imagination. It depends—on system, on players, on mood.
One thing holds true: no two GMs run the same game. Or even the same session—twice.
Additional tasks include session prep, handling out-of-character logistics, pacing scenes, and sometimes managing multiple players remotely. Some GMs keep spreadsheets. Others use sticky notes and trust their memory. Neither is more correct—it’s contextual.
Evolution of the Role
The earliest GMs—often called Dungeon Masters—emerged from the wargaming scene of the 1970s. With Dungeons & Dragons as the pivot point, their role formalized quickly.
Over time, systems diversified. Indie RPGs, narrative-focused engines, online platforms—they all reshaped expectations. Today, GMs may run entire campaigns via Discord. Or design custom mechanics mid-session. The boundary between player and GM? Thinner than it once was.
After 2010, streaming platforms brought visibility to GMing. Actual play series blurred the line between performance and gameplay. New GMs often learn by watching others. And the “forever GM” trope? Still around—but some tables rotate roles now.
GM in Online and Hybrid Play
Modern GMs run games in various formats—from in-person sessions to online platforms and even text-based threads. Some narrate using video tools; others rely on text-only Discord bots.
During early lockdowns in 2020, online GMing surged. Numbers slowed after summer, but new habits stuck. Hybrid play—with part of the group remote—became common.
Digital tools brought conveniences—dynamic maps, soundboards, rulebook integrations. But also new friction: audio lag, time zone confusion, screen fatigue. Still, the core remained. The GM ran the story, no matter the platform.
Role Today
So what is a Game Master, today?
A referee. A worldbuilder. A narrator. A flexible mind adapting rules and plotlines in real-time. Sometimes a lore-keeper, sometimes a chaos-controller. Often both.
Some call it storytelling. Others call it work.
But in nearly every case—it starts with a question. And the GM answers, “Let’s find out.”
On paper, they prep. At the table, they improvise. And somewhere in between, the game becomes more than the sum of its rules.
That’s part of it. But not everything.