GMing Part 1 - Players want to have fun.

I'm going to do some posts about my experience in GMing - NOTE - not advice, how to, or anything like that. Just stuff  I did that worked and did not work.

First, my experience:
Been RPGing (mainly Dungeon and Dragons) since 1979 in varying degrees of fun to not-fun.
DMed 2 long running campaigns in 3ed and 3.5ed. 7 years and 5 years respectively.
Gmed many shorter campaigns in various systems in varying degrees of failure to success.
I am currently not GMing any games, and quite enjoying not having the responsibility.

Gary Gygax

Next some definitions:
GM = Game Master. You are running the game, playing NPCs and opponents, making the world spin.
DM = Dungeon Master. See above but for the specific game Dungeons and Dragons.

My current philosophy in GMing is "it's the player's game". That is key to me. I'm GMing for them, thus in service to them. I aim to pose a challenge but not ruin the fun. This is my "social contract" to them. The group I RP with are all adults with educations, jobs, businesses to run, kids, bills, shit like that. Not a lot of time so making time for gaming is a bit more trying than when we were kids. "It's just a game" loses it's intent and becomes "This is also my social time and a date with my partner." It is paramount to have a social contract and take it seriously.

Know what you are doing and have the right materials.
Focus on gaming.
The key is fun and gaming.
Be on time and follow the schedule.
**At a minutiae level... the players are a team and not chaotic buddy screwing. If there is a mutual goal, that is the group's goal.

I came up in the Old School, GM is against the Players. This was how it just played out all the time. GM was "god" while the Players bowed down to that. Some rule books specifically stated that. The players must play up to the mood of the GM and all that bullshit. It's how I did it for years. "Don't anger me... meh meh meh!".

Long story short that was log-jamming long-term campaigns. It was causing friends to argue. People would get mad.

I let my ego go and decided to work on not being in charge of everything and only in charge of making sure we had fun within the "box" of the campaign being run. A lot of changes had to be made and it was painful due to old habits.

I started making changes in play slowly. I started asking what my players wanted loot-wise and would give it to them in game. I'd make some changes in pre-written adventures or home brew my own that got them those things.

I started to gauge my players. Notice when and how they were happy and having fun. I put them in those situations. When in doubt, go in favor of the players.

I started fudging die rolls in player favor in accordance with the above. Subtly, but fudging none-the-less. If your dice are hot it can crush your players and their characters. You'll notice this when they get quiet or bitchy. Ease up, start missing. Unless killing them fits in with the story don't kill them. The GM is there to further the storyline, not end it. Sometimes the player's roll cold, fail them forward not to death.

Rules questions? Favor the player and figure out RAW later.

It helps to know the rules. You've just got to know them well enough to make decent on the spot decisions. Making up mechanics on the fly will just lead to problems down the road with consistency and balance (important in games such as 3.x D&D or Pathfinder) and fairness. NOT EVERY RULE now, just the basics.

Trust is also a major factor and should be a given in any social contract. It is 2 way there, player trust and GM trust.