Pulido 1

Andrew Pulido

Prof. Constantine

Speech 001

27 September 2024

Game Mastering Culture

Introduction:

Attention statement: “The Universe is made of stories, not atoms.” These words were spoken

by Muriel Rukeyser, an American poet famous for her works on American stories. In the tabletop

roleplaying game, Dungeons and Dragons, these stories are what make the game as compelling

as they are. Earlier/Later during these speeches, Dungeons and Dragons will/was covered in

great detail. While I bring the same culture to you today, it is not of Dungeons and Dragons

itself, but one of the Game Masters, the people who write and typically organize the game for a

group of players. The Game Master writes entries stories based around the players actions,

helping guide them through the rules and painting images that the players will need to play.

Establishing Credibility: I have been writing these stories for the past ten years with a

multitude of groups and people.

Revealing artifacts: Before you are three items; A Game Screen, a rulebook, and some dice.

With as little as these three items, I am able to create a game that could range anywhere from a

Lord of the Rings styled world, to another world similar to Mad Max or perhaps even Avatar.

Today I will discuss how I have approached Dungeons and Dragons as a game master, and how it

has shaped not only who I am today, but also how I have been able to impact others.
 Pulido 2

Thesis and the preview of main points: We shall discuss why this role is important to me, the

history of game masters, and discuss how game masters are able to help inspire creativity.

Transition #1

First, we will begin with my own personal connections to this small subculture, and then later

delve into the deeper history behind it.

Body:

Why I selected this culture: I am a man of many cultures. I am Mexican, and Norwegian, both

of which I am incredibly proud to be. One thing that differs with being a game master is that I

chose to pursue this, rather than having been born into it.

Why I identify with the culture: While it would take many years for me to write my first

campaign, some of my earliest memories regarding tabletop gaming are of the board games I

would play with my father, creating our own stories when I was 4. Later when I was 6 years old,

I saw Lord of the Rings in theaters. I lasted about 5 minutes in the theater, when the orcs

appeared and I cried so hard I had to leave the theater. But when I was 8 I gave that movie

another try and fell in love with fantasy as a setting and genre. Much like many of you I played

pretend with my siblings and friends in elementary school, and these games we played on the

playground focused on grand adventures involving magical artifacts and terrible monsters. This

love for fantasy never died out but I grew out of playing pretend on the blacktop. Eventually I

was 19 with a strong desire to get deeper into writing and sharing these stories with my friends,

Game Mastering was this answer. With TV shows like Stranger Things having caused a new

renaissance for Dungeons and Dragons, it became easier and easier to find people to play with.
 Pulido 3

This helped inspire me to write my own campaigns. These first campaigns were particularly

rough, as I had done it without any guidance or help. I would later turn to help from the internet

and to friends who had Game Mastered before as well. While the Dungeons and Dragons

community was massive, this was a smaller subculture. A group of people dedicated not only to

telling stories, but helping others.

Introducing artifacts: Very little is needed to be a Game Master for a tabletop roleplaying

game. Some dice, a screen, and some rules are all one needs to help get a game started.

Artifact 1: These dice have represented roleplaying games since before its inception. Before

people were killing dragons with these, these were used in wargaming, with people deciding the

fates of famous battles such as the Battle of Waterloo, or Gettysbergs. Gary Gygax, the creator of

DND, used these same tools and adapted it to a fantasy setting.

Artifact 2: While a group of friends are sitting at a table, it can be hard to distinguish who is

leading the game. The game screen acts as both a barrier and a bridge. As a barrier, it helps keep

the roles well defined. There are the players, and there is the game master. But it also acts as a

bridge, helping guide the players into immersion. Many things happen behind the scenes of this

screen. Quick math, rule searching, note taking. Some game screens have additional info that can

be used as a cheat sheet. Lastly, the game screen acts as a symbol of trust. The players trust the

game master to ensure that the game is not only kept fair, but is also entertaining.

Artifact 3: Lastly, while not always needed, what is helpful is a rulebook. We all remember

those moments when playing with a sibling, where one person would say something along the

lines of “well I have a forcefield” and the other would say they have a “forcefield breaking gun”.

The same sort of logic is often applied to tabletop gaming.These rulebooks help give the players
 Pulido 4

the boundaries they need to truly come up with creative solutions. No longer are people having

to come up with stuff on the fly but can refer to this book. While this book is large, the nice thing

about it is that they can be adapted, skimmed, or even rewritten. Sometimes all it takes is a single

person knowing the rules, to help the rest of the table.These rules have changed over the years,

with the newest rule book for dungeons and dragons having just come out this past month.

Values in culture: In those days of old, dungeons and dragons was referred to as a game inspired

by evil, a game full of witchcraft and devilry. A gateway to laziness and escapism. I will say that

that cannot be further from the truth. Tabletop gaming inspires self esteem, confidence. It

improves social skills as people are able to express themselves as freely as they choose. It

inspires self esteem as players take on qualities not normally expressed in everyday life. How

often do you get to feel like a hero in day-to-day life? As players make their choices within the

game, they also develop a better sense of empathy, not only at the table itself, but with those they

meet. As a game master, we can choose to pick on a specific theme or issue that we would like

our players to cover. Be it something as simple as helping the poor and downtrodden, to helping

build a better country. There is unlimited potential when it comes to self growth for Dungeons

and Dragons.

Transition #2:

I will briefly recap what I have covered here today.

Conclusion:

Restating central idea: Game masters are not just people who enjoy the game of Dungeons and

Dragons and similar tabletop games, the people engaged in this subculture are people who thrive
 Pulido 5

for creativity not only among themselves, but in their friends. This role has shaped me to who I

am today, and has given me the chance not only to connect with my friends, but with complete

strangers.

Closure: Being a game master is about teaching empathy, and fostering imagination. Thank you

for listening.