Dungeon Master vs. Game Master: What's the Difference?

One is specific, one is general. They're the same role: to adjudicate the rules, arbitrate between players, and facilitate a great experience at the table! “Dungeon Master” is considered “the original” by some; it is the official Dungeons & Dragons term for the role. But there are lots of different games! Dungeons & Dragons is a great sword-and-sorcery adventure game, and it's great for stories like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, but there are games for all sorts of genres. Games for stories like Star Wars and Firefly; games for stories like Indiana Jones and Lara Croft; games for stories like Stranger Things and The Goonies… There are even other games for stories like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones! For all of these, the term “Game Master” applies nicely.

The term “Game Master” can also apply to someone leading or teaching other games! For many games, learning from the printed instructions is a confusing slog. With the right teacher, the learning process goes from frustrating to fun! Hiring a GM is a great way to find that teacher when you don't already have one nearby.

“Dungeon Master” is just Dungeons & Dragons's term for “Game Master”. At the end of the day, they're the same thing!

Why hire a Freelance Game Master or Dungeon Master?

This is a game played by friends, right? The nerdiest one in the group buys the book and invites everyone into a cozy basement for a few hours a week, right?? Well, yes! That's one of the beautiful things about TTRPGs - friends telling stories together! That's why I'm always happy to help other GMs get their start.

But that's the trouble for newbies; without a coach, it can be exceptionally tough to get started. So much institutional knowledge pervades the hobby that even experienced game writers can find it troublesome to convey all that, without overwhelming the reader. It’s like learning to drive: sure, you could learn how to drive by reading a lot about it and then getting behind the wheel… But the learning process is much smoother with an experienced member at the table. Someone who can give pinpoint instruction when the information is relevant, rather than a deluge at the beginning. 

There are also benefits for experienced groups! I consider it an honor, a privilege, and a professional development to watch other GMs at work. There are so many ways to give a table a great experience, and I’d be a fool to think I know all of them! There’s also the simple matter of fatigue. Some GMs want to play, too! Your home GM deserves to kick back and play their own character sometimes. Trust me, they can get tired. 

Hire a Freelance Game Master/Dungeon Master for a corporate event

Trust falls and guessing games get stale quick. Do you want your team working together on problems, getting to know one another better, and feeling a true rush of adventure? Hire a Game Master. The right GM can work with teams of all sizes; streamlining and subcontracting for larger groups, focusing on precision and personalization with smaller groups. A sense of individual agency plied toward shared purpose is the bread and butter of a freelance GM - and isn't that the mindset you hope to achieve? Hire a freelance GM. Step away from the desk, pick up your sword, and hold the line!

Nerdy Fun in the San Fernando Valley

5/9/26   -   The Universal park has a slew of events, but FanFest is here and nerdy fandoms are happy! Here are a few of my favorite moments, as a professional Game Master who attended last night!

5. Sailor Moon

Full disclosure... I have no affinity for the girls and/or their magicality. I just didn't grow up with it! But I saw it making some beautiful people very happy, so I'm happy to watch people love it.

4. The Mummy

The Mummy lives at the park year-round, but its life is not as I remembered it. Seriously, I remember it being incredibly tame and slow-going in a big dusty room. I don't know if they turned up the speed or there were just too many lights on during my previous runs, but it's a proper roller-coaster now! And all packed neatly into a tiny little box.

3. Jurassic Park

Another persisting feature of the park, Jurassic World (having fully transitioned now from its early 90s Jurassic Park childhood and unspeakable millennium adolescence into a more marketable adulthood) deserves a proper stroll. An unused corner was cleverly transformed into a display space for vehicles and setpieces from the films, and the nitro-charged-log-ride that is "Jurassic World - The [Nitrous Addled Log] Ride" remains an animatronic experience despite some added projection elements. Just be ready to get damp - save this one for later in the day, unless the sun promised to dry you out quickly.

2. D&D Experience

I've set up some beautiful and immersive tables over my years running D&D and other tabletop RPGs, but there's nothing quite like walking into a true villain's horde created by expert propmakers and set-dressers. Mountains of gold coins and what-does-that-crystal-do in every corner of your vision really stays with you - I'm going to be certain to highlight future sessions just how slippery it must be to walk around on a hillock of tiny gold hazards.

The experience splits a room full of parkgoing adventurers into four groups, each group playing one of the D&D classes. The experience is light, humor-heavy, and keeps a big group on rails.

Tabletop RPGs are deep in my heart - deeper than a witch-king's blade in Frodo's shoulder. And I think that's why it only ranked second; the thing I love about D&D, the thing that makes tabletop RPGs special, is getting people around the table. The moments we create together are why I do what I do! I love sharing these games and stories with seasoned adventurers, and I love bringing rookie players into the game even more!

1. The "One Piece" Grand Pirate Show!

Tabletop RPGs may be closest to my heart, but I'm a sucker for a re-skin and I'm a sucker for high-effort fandom. The original stunt show is already impressive, but the IP is exhausted - my companion loved the original stunt show and wasn't even aware it was based on a movie. And then some beautiful soul decided to flip the whole thing and redesign it around One Piece for FanFest! And it was clearly done with adoration for the anime. Even minor moments I recognized from the original stunt show got new vibrant life with details from the anime. Boat chases, multi-story stunt falls, and pants-on-fire martial arts will grab attention, but some dead-simple floating arm puppetry is the thing that's been lingering in my mind all day. Someone who adores One Piece put that in the show, and money-people let them.

God, it's so simple.