Referee vs. Judge vs. Dungeonmaster vs....

I normally use referee because it's what's in the OD&D boxed set, it's what Traveller has always used, and "dungeonmaster" and "gamemaster" are both just lame and silly (that said, I'll often use the abbreviated versions, DM and GM). Judge is cool because it's (apparently) the term they used in Lake Geneva, and of course Judges Guild, but I can't recall ever using it.

An intriguing (to me) old-school-name-for-guy-who-runs-the-game is "ghod" -- I've seen it listed in synonyms for ref/judge/DM/GM/whatever, but never knew anybody or any game that actually used it. Was this something from 70s amateur-press culture or what?

I’ve been trying to call myself the “Referee,” but as a sports reference it just sounds way out of place to me. Also, being three syllables, it doesn’t slip off the tongue easily. “Ref” seems even more out of place—like, yeah right, we’re a bunch of nerds pretending we’re just like football players.

“Judge” is authentic, it’s one simple syllable, it’s appropriate. It seems a tad pretentious, but more so than a title with the word “Master” in it? No. I think I’ll try for this one.

The title “Dungeon Master” has always been open to ridicule and embarrassment. The acronym “DM” is just fine, and is probably what I’ll be known as forever. That’s okay, too. Regards.

I also think there's a regional and time component to all of this; I noticed awhile ago that "referee" and "judge" are terms used by gamers who started quite some time ago, while GM and DM came later. "Judge" also seems to have a regional side to it; I rarely heard it used in the Twin Cities, but it seemed more common further east, e.g. "Judges Guild". It's probably more complex than this, but I've used what term gamers use as a rough rule of thumb for when they started gaming.

This a question for the original players of the Blackmoor campaign.

I'm going to go with DM, myself. I finally ran OD&D today, and that's what my players called me.

Newfangled? The practice of giving alternate names to the GM dates back at least to 1980.

Top Secret from that year called the GM the "Administrator".


Also, I totally agree. Administrator isn't so bad, but some of them are downright ludicrous.

I wish there was some way to make this into a poll without having to make a new thread. This would be a great poll question!

Darn, I guess the Proboards forum software doesn't allow the editing of the original post to add a poll, like you can in phpBB software?

We normally just referred to him as David. No titles were necessary or desired on his part.

Good thing we don't have a poll, then. I'm pretty sure that "Grandpa" wouldn't have been one of the choices.

Interestingly, the "Dungeons & Dragons" pamphlets/history articles by Steve Jackson of GW published in 1976 in Games & Puzzles used the terms umpire and gamemaster:



Is "Gamesmaster" a UK regionalism too? I don't recall the plural being used in WD, but I also haven't actively read WD for years. Anyone else recall that variant?

If you're curious about further info on this article, see the Acaeum @
www.acaeum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4298&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60 (about 3/4 down the page).

===

And, relatedly to Trent's "ghods" observation, the section of the article that talks about the GM's responsibilities is entitled "The Dungeon-God" (though sans additional "h").