3 Wise DMs Reveal the 7 DM Styles To Make You Run The Best D&D Game Ever

3 Wise DMs Reveal the 7 DM Styles To Make You Run The Best D&D Game Ever

From 3 Wise DMs by The 3 Wise DMs

May 3, 2026 · 49 min · Episode 187

About this episode

The episode discusses the concept of DM Style and its implications for running a better D&D game.

Recently, Matt Colville of the Running the Game YouTube series and author of the new Draw Steel TTRPG, discussed the concept of “DM Style.” With someone who has been involved in all things tabletop for over 40 years, you would think that he would believe in developing a DM Style. However, his hot take was that he wasn’t sure there even was such a thing. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss DM Style: Is it a thing and, if so, what are the things that make it up. Along the way, we discuss how to take all these lists and types of DM Styles and make them work for you in putting together a better game. 2:55 The flip side of the coin to Episode 7: The Eight Player Types. 3:22 The first issue with DM Style: It probably changes with the group you’re running for. 4:30 Lists can be helpful if they are prescriptive – not just descriptive. 6:15 DM Style is a lot like Personality Tests: you’re a mixture of all the different metrics that keeps changing. 9:55 DM Tony takes some inspiration from his MBA Program “Back in the Day…” 15:00 Management “styles” read more like DM Style metrics: Autocrat, Laissez-Faire, Democratic, Collaborative, Inspirational, Strategic…

People in this episode

Hosts: Tony, Chris, Dave

Topics covered

  • DM Style
  • Tabletop RPG
  • Game Mastering
  • Player Types
  • Game Improvement

Keywords

  • DM Style
  • Tabletop RPG
  • Game Master
  • Player Types
  • Game Improvement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Running the Game

Products: Draw Steel TTRPG

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