"Rule Zero: The GM is always right."
—Every Tabletop RPG, (other than Burning Wheel)
"It's all well and good winning an argument against the GM. But never forget the GM runs the universe."
GM: "There's a shadow on the road ahead—it looks like a large group is heading your way, but you can't tell who it is."
Bob: "Just as long as it isn't Baron Rumbar, we'd be completely screwed if ...
Jan: "BOB! Sh! Rule Zero Violation!"
GM: (smiles enigmatically)
Bob: "Aw, @#$&%!!..."
"Communication between the Game Master and the players is crucial to keeping the game fun. Solicit feedback from your players from time to time and see how they feel about the experience. If they curse, spit, or stab you with a pencil, it means they probably aren't happy with the direction the game is going. Sadly, there isn't much you can do about this, unless you want to give them their way. And honestly, what's the fun in being the GM if you're just going to let players have their way?"
— Shamus Young, DM of the Rings
Ellen: I am Merilwen, the wood elf druid.
Mike: I am Egbert, the dragonborn paladin.
Jane: I am Prudence, the tiefling warlock.
Johnny: And I'm literally everyone else in the world.
Mike: I am Egbert, the dragonborn paladin.
Jane: I am Prudence, the tiefling warlock.
Johnny: And I'm literally everyone else in the world.
— Oxventure, "An Orcward Encounter"
You are the game master. You’re equal parts actor, narrator, referee and director. It’s your job to keep the story moving by bringing trouble into the lives of the characters, all the while shining the spotlight on them.
Disclaimer: Wizards of the Coast does not officially endorse the following tactics, which are guaranteed to maximize your enjoyment as a Dungeon Master: First, always keep a straight face and say OK no matter how ludicrous or doomed the players' course of action is. Second, no matter what happens, pretend that you intended all along for everything to unfold the way it did. Third, if you're not sure what to do next, feign illness, end the session early, and plot your next move. When all else fails, roll a bunch of dice behind your screen, study them for a moment with a look of deep concern mixed with regret, and announce that Tiamat swoops from the sky and attacks.
— Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Dungeon Master's Guide
To derive the most good from such a study, the office of Referee should be regarded, not so much in the light of an adviser, as of an arbiter. He should bear in mind the principle that anything can be attempted. The advisability of an attempt is another thing, and one that it is the object of the War Game to make evident to all concerned by result.
—from the manual to the 1880 version of STRATEGOS: A Series of American Games of War Based Upon Military Principles and Designed for the Assistance Both of Beginners and Advanced Students in Prosecuting the Whole Study of Tactics, Grand Tactics, Strategy, Military History, and The Various Operations of War, the distant precursor of Dungeons and Dragons