What "that guy" is called

[S.Lonergan]

called a beer master in Boast

[xiombarg]

Well, this thread was as good as any excuse to inventory my RPG collection, so here is my entire RPG collection, indexed by what it calls "that guy". Some notes:

1. If a title is in italics, it uses the term for an assistant GM rather than the main GM. This is mainly an issue in the "Narrator" entry.
2. The date after each game is the date of the printing I'm using, as far as I can tell.
3. Games in bold I've actually run or played, as of 2002-09-08.
4. If it appears in two places, it uses two terms interchangibly.
5. The "none" entry is for games that claim to be RPGs but have no GM.
6. Yes, I own all these games. I am a geek.

Administrator -- Top Secret (1981)

Animator -- Toon (1991)

Bartender -- Tales from the Floating Vagabond (1992)

Big Mac Daddy (BMD) -- STUPERPOWERS! (2001)

Booker -- Kayfabe (2002)

Camp Counselor -- Squeam 3 (2000?)

Cobbler -- Chain of Being (higher arc system version, 2002)

Conductor -- UnderWorld (1st ed, 2000)

Counselor -- Power Kill (1999)

Chronicler -- CJ Carella's Witchcraft (2000)

City Planner -- Nightlife (1990)

Director -- noir (1996), Theatrix (1993)

Dungeon Master (DM) -- Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (2nd ed, 1989), Dungeons & Dragons (3rd ed, 2000)

Game Master/gamemaster (GM) -- 7th Sea (1999), Amazing Engine (1993), Amber Diceless (1992), Boot Hill (1984), Big Eyes: Small Mouth (2nd ed, 2000), Cartoon Action Hour (2002), CoNTINUUM (1999), Demon City Shinjuku (1999), Eldritch Ass Kicking (2002), Elfs (2000), El Hazard (2001), Fading Suns (1st ed, 1996 and 2nd ed, 1999), Furry Pirates (1999), Gamma World (Alternity Edition, 2000), GURPS (3rd ed, 1994), HeartQuest (2002), Hero System (5th Edition, 2002), Heaven & Earth (2nd ed, 2001), Heavy Gear (1st ed, 1995), In Nomine (1997), InSpectres (2002), James Bond 007 (1983), Kult (first English version, 1993), Little Fears (2001), Og (1995), The Mechanoids (1985), Nightbane (2000), Paladin (2002), Palladium Fantasy RPG (2nd ed, 2000), Paranoia (2nd ed, 1987), Passion Play (2000), Rifts (1999), Project A-ko (1995), Robotech (1988), Swashbuckler (1998), Murphy's World (1st ed, 1995), Nephilim (1994), Nexus Live Action Roleplaying (1994), Risus (?), Sketch! (2000), Skyrealms of Jorune (3rd ed, 1992), Sorcerer (2001), Star Wars (WEG version, 2nd ed, 1992; d20 1st ed, 2000 and Revised 2002), Star Wars Live Action Adventures (1996), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness (1988), Underground (1993), Trollbabe (2002), Unknown Armies (1998), Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play (1995), Webs Gaming System (1993), Zero (1997)

Game Moderator (GM) -- Dying Earth (2001), Feng Shui (1996), Godlike (2001), OctaNe (2002), Over The Edge (1st ed, 1992 and 2nd ed, 1997)

Guide -- Brave New World (1999), The Everlasting: Book of the Light (?), Psychosis: Ship of Fools (1994)

Hollyhock God -- Nobilis (2nd ed, 2002)

Host -- Castle Falkenstein (1994)

Holmeister (HM) -- HOL (1994)

Keeper -- Cthulhu Live (1st ed, 1997 and 2nd ed, 1999)

Marshal -- Deadlands (Revised, 1999), Hell on Earth (1998), Lost Colony (2002)

Mythguide -- Aria (1994)

Narrator -- Dragonlance: Fifth Age (1996), Hero Wars (2000), Immortal (1994), Immortal: Milennium (1999), Laws of Ascension (2001), Laws of the East (2000), Laws of the Hunt (1st ed, 1998 and Revised, 2002), Laws of the Night (for Masqerade 2nd ed, 1997 and Revised, 1999), Laws of the Resurrection (2002), Laws of the Wild (Apocalypse: 2nd ed, 1997 and Revised, 2001), Laws of the Wyld West (1999), The Lonq Night (1997), Maestrom Storytelling (1997), Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game (SAGA Version, 1998), Oblivion (1996), The Shining Host (1998)

none -- De Profundus (2001), The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1998), Pantheon & Other Roleplaying Games (2000),

Puppetmaster -- Puppetland (1999)

Referee -- Boot Hill (1984), Cyberpunk (1988), Bubblegum Crisis (1996), Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. (v2.01, 1993), Marc Miller's Traveller (1996), Mekton Zeta (1998), Space: 1899 (1988), Star Legion (2nd ed, 2001), Star Frontiers (1980), Teenagers From Outer Space (2nd ed, 1997), Tinker's Damn (1997), Traveller (reprint, 2000)

Storyguide -- Ars Magica (4th ed, 1997)

Storyteller (ST) --   Aberrant (1999), Adyenture! (2001), Aeon (aka Trinity, 1997), Changling: the Dreaming (1st ed, 1995 and 2nd ed, 1997), Kindred of the East (1998), Laws of Ascension (2001), Laws of the East (2000), Laws of the Hunt (1st ed, 1998 and Revised, 2002), Laws of the Night (for Masqerade 2nd ed, 1997 and Revised, 1999), Laws of the Resurrection (2002), Laws of the Wild (Apocalypse: 2np ed, 1997 and Revised, 2001), Laws of the Wyld West (1999), The Lonq Night (1997), Mage: The Ascension (2nd Edition, 1995), Mage: The Sorcerers Crusade (1998), Mummy: The Resurrection (2001), Oblivion (1996), The Shining Host (1998), Vampire: The Dark Ages (1996), Vampire: The Masqerade (Revised, 1998), Werewolf: the Apocalypse (2nd ed, 1994 and Revised, 2000), Wraith: the Oblivion (2nd ed, 1998)

Weaver -- Tribe 8 (1998)

[Walt Freitag]

Is it OK to extend this exercise into imaginary nonexistent RPGs? (This is the RPG theory forum, after all).

Las Vegas RPG: The House*

Dude, Where's My Car? RPG: That, you know, guy

Pageant, the RPG: Gam master

Provincetown, the RPG: Gaymaster

YMCA RPG: Gymmaster

Modern Education RPG: Multilinear Adjucative Cross-Perceptual Linguistic Facilitator Specializing In Afferent Semiotics of Nondeterministically Selected Polyhedral Surfaces

Sewers & Selectmen, the Local Politics RPG: City Hall

Monty Python's Flying RPG: The Fat Naked Organist

Your Cat, the RPG: Door Opening Device (DOD)

Iron Chef RPG: Chairman**

The Dubya Administration RPG: Dick Cheney

The Forge RPG: The Server***

Airplane! The RPG: The man in charge, the big cheese, top dog, head honcho...

Stripes and Whistles, the Referee RPG: Referor

Basic Cable, the RPG: TVGuide

Basic Training, the RPG: Sir (or Ma'am)


*"The House rules" is therefore not just a plural noun phrase, it's also a declarative sentence.

**whose descriptions must all begin "If memory serves me..."

***reflective of the principle that answering to any sort of "master" or other authority figure is automatically deprotagonizing

- Walt

[hyphz]

Fate  (Synnibar - Sorry..)

Zombie Master  (All Flesh Must Be Eaten)

Didn't HKAT! have Director or something?

[xiombarg]

Fate  (Synnibar - Sorry..)

I actually like this name for the GM, about the only thing to like about Synnibar.

What do they call it in SENZAR?

[Mytholder]

As a related observation: how many of these are actually used? I know that in 90% of the games I play, the title gets ignored and we default to "GM". Offhand, the only titles we've actually stuck to are GM, DM and Storyteller, with the occasional "Fear Me, For I Am The Hollyhock God..."

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Gareth,

My experience is similar to yours - even in Dust Devils, for instance (in which "the Dealer" is literally the case), we just say "GM." That's one of the reasons I went with Game Master, or GM in most of the text, in Sorcerer. It seems to parallel the actual behavior/term in use.

Which leads to the concepts ... that alternative names for "that guy" are Color at best, and in some cases meaningless Color, which seems aesthetically displeasing but I suppose isn't a big deal.

That's not to say that the roles, tasks, and "purpose" of GMing is the same across all these games. Here's my real thought on the matter, though: the diversity among the names doesn't parallel the diversity among the functions. I can see some real diversity of function within the games that use the term "GM," for instance, and I can see similarity/identity of function across different terms, especially some of the more kitschy ones.

Best,
Ron

[xiombarg]

That's not to say that the roles, tasks, and "purpose" of GMing is the same across all these games. Here's my real thought on the matter, though: the diversity among the names doesn't parallel the diversity among the functions. I can see some real diversity of function within the games that use the term "GM," for instance, and I can see similarity/identity of function across different terms, especially some of the more kitschy ones.

Right. Personally, I find that what the game calls the GM functions less as color because it implies something about the role of the GM -- if they're not calling it a GM. My personal favorite term is "Game Moderator" -- IMHO, all the games that use it have a sort of mild view of the role of the GM that matches the term, while allowing the traditional "GM" abbreviation to be used.

I also notice a lot of "old school" games use Referee, I suspect out of a desire to view RPGs as a legitimate "sport", as it were.

[Seth L. Blumberg]

"Og"?

[JSDiamond]

Didn't some of the Bad Classics have some interesting terms, too? Games like SenZar, Synnibar, DeadErth

From Synnibar I recall the gm title being "Fate"

I've read the term "Judge" being used for some games, -but I can't think of any of them by name.  Didn't Zero have some cool names for that stuff?

From DeadEarth, both players and gms are called "suckers".  Well, that's what I'd call 'em for losing their money on that turkey.

J

[kevin671]

Hello, all.  This will be my first post on this forum.

Referee was used in the RTG titles.

There was a game called Agone that I owned for a while which called the GM the Eminence Gris (or Gray Eminence).  Produced by some French company, I think.  (Please do not laugh at me.  I only bought the game because it looked cool when I first looked at it)

I've also seen Narrator, Storyteller, Controller (although I can't for the life of me remember which game THAT one came from), and Game Control (from Spycraft)

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Kevin,

Welcome to the Forge! Nice to have you here.

I will make one suggestion that will help us all out - please read all of a thread before replying to it. In this case, your points and references have been brought up already by others.

Best,
Ron

[kevin671]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Ron.

As far as reading the entire thread,  Point taken.  I was posting at 4 am, so even if I did read the whole thread, I probably wouldn't have been able to deciper it anyway.