
Over the last few years I've collected the wide array of the "interesting" names rpgs give to the person running the show. Recently on Twitter Jamila R. Nedjadi of Sword Queen Games asked about everyone's preferred title for the person running the game. They even had one I hadn't had on my list. So I've gone back to to my list and updated it for 2019.
GM is my preferred term; to me a DM or Dungeon Master, is someone actually running Dungeons & Dragons. That's a matter of taste and experience I suppose (or I'm just plain wrong). If I had to change, I suspect I'd shift over to MC since many of the games I run use that term.
For each of these names, I've listed just one example system, though many of these appears in several games (Storyteller, Narrator, Director). Feel free to suggest any I may have missed!!!
With GM as #1 and DM as #2, here are many others...
Absolute Judge (Mechanical Dream)
Action Guide (World Action and Adventure)
Admin (White Lies)
Administrator (Top Secret/SI)
Adventure Master (Dragonraid)
Airedale (Knights of the Road, Knights of the Rail)
Al-Rawi (Capharnaüm)
Animator (Toon)
Antagonist (ΑΓΩΝ)
Ape Master (Terra Primate)
Arbiter (Archetype)
Author (Age of Empire)
Authority (Misspent Youth)
Bartender (Tales from the Floating Vagabond)
The Big Cheese (Rat Pack)
Big Mac Daddy (StuperPowers!)
Booker (Kayfabe)
The Boss (Low Life)
Campaign Master (Star Ace)
Cannibal-in-Charge (Cannibal Contagion)
Caretaker (Small Things)
Castle Keeper (Castles & Crusades)
Cat Herder (Call of Catthulhu)
Cavemaster (Cavemaster)
Chill Master (Chill)
Chronicler (WitchCraft)
City Planner (Nightlife)
Commanding Officer aka CO (MASHED)
Consul (Super Dungeon Explore)
Continuum Master (TIMEMASTER)
Control (Agents of S.W.I.N.G.)
Corporation (Merc)
Corpse Master (Rotworld)
Creative (World Wide Wrestling)
Creek Master (Creeks & Crawdads)
Croupier (Fastlane)
Cryptkeeper (The World of Tales from the Crypt)
Dawg Master (Dawg the RPG)
Dealer (Dust Devils)
Dean (East Texas University)
Demiurgo (Lex Arcana)
Director (Night’s Black Agents)
Dispatcher (Ninja Burger)
DJ (Spirit of '77)
Dolphin Master (Everything is Dolphins)
Dorn Keeper (Dorn)
Editor (Pandemonium)
Editor-in-Chief (Rotted Capes)
Engineer (Steamfortress Victory)
Everyone Else (Everyone is John)
Evil Mastermind (Scared Stiff)
Excursion Master (Excursions into the Bizarre)
Fairy Godmother (I’m a Pretty Princess)
Fairytale Teller (Wiedzmin- trans. from the Polish)
Fate (The World of Synnibarr)
Fatemaster (Through the Breach)
Fixer (Leverage)
Frontier Master (Strange Frontiers)
Galaxy Master (Starfaring)
Game Control (Spycraft)
Game Guide (Pip System)
Game Moderator (Wild Talents)
Game Operations Designate aka GOD (The Legend of Yore)
Game Operator (Legacy)
Game Organizer (Dystopia Rising)
Game Organizer and Decision-maker (Now What?)
Game Shepherd (Spiritual Warfare)
Game Sheriff (Dzikie Pola- trans. from the Polish)
Gamekeeper (Tales from the Wood)
Gamesmaster (Victoriana)
GeekMod (Way of the Geeky)
General Management (Time & Temp)
Genteel Magistrate (Victorious)
Ghostmaster (Ghostbusters)
Gore Master (Dead Meat)
Grand Master (Witch Hunter: The Invisible World)
Grey Eminence (in French "Eminence Grise" Agone)
Groundskeeper (Bluebeard's Bride)
Guide (Don’t Look Back)
Hand of Fate (The Secret of Zir’An)
Hazard Master (Perilous)
Hollyhock God (Nobilis)
HoLmeister (HoL)
Host (Ironclaw)
Interrogator (InTERRORgation)
Journey Master (Dangerous Journeys)
Judge (Marvel Super Heroes)
Jump Master (Jumpers)
Karma Fate Destiny Master (Refuge in Audacity)
Keeper aka Keeper of Arcane Lore (Call of Cthulhu)
Kennel Master (Woof Meow)
Labyrinth Lord (Labyrinth Lord)
Lead Narrator (Valiant Universe)
Leader (Shadows of Esteren)
Lejend Master (Lejendary Adventure)
Loremaster (The One Ring)
Maelstrom (Maelstrom Dreamers)
Magister/Magistra (Kata Kumbas)
Maim Master (F.A.T.A.L.)
The Man (Starchildren)
Marakame (Nahual)
Market (Red Markets)
Marshall (Deadlands)
Master Creator (The Secret Fire)
Master of Ceremonies (Apocalypse World)
Master of Tales (Cursed Empire)
Mastercyb (CYB: Gioco di ruolo in un lontano futuro)
Mayor (Kobolds Ate My Baby)
Meister (Das Schwarze Auge)
Mission Director (Recon)
Moderator (Blue Planet)
Mutant Lord (Mutant Future)
Mythguide (Aria: Canticle of the Monomyth)
Mythmaster (Mythender)
Narrator (Houses of the Blooded)
Navigator (Mermaid Adventures)
Negotiator (Magicians)
Neighborhood Watch Captain (Dead Scare)
Netmaster (Project Darklight)
Ninja Master (Night of the Ninja)
Operations (Wilderness of Mirrors)
Operator (Qi: Living Energy)
Overlord (Descent)
Overseer (Catacombs)
Owner of Arcane Rules (Pokéthulhu Adventure Game)
Parser (Parsely)
Playwright (The Play's the Thing)
Pocket Master (Pocket Fantasy)
Producer (Primetime Adventures)
Programmer (Engine Heart)
Project Director (Morrow Project)
Prophet (The Seventh Seal)
Puppet Master (Puppetland)
Q (Star Trek: Alpha Quadrant)
Quest Master (QuestCore)
Rattenmeister (Ratten!)
Realm Controller (Realms of the Unknown)
Referee (Traveller)
Regent (Salem World)
Runner (Rune)
Scenemaster (Non-Essential Personnel)
Seneschal (The Riddle of Steel)
Sensei (Chi-Chian RPG)
Sherpa Guide (Sherpa)
Sholari (Skyrealms of Jorune)
SIEGE Engineer (StarSIEGE)
Skeptic (Dude, Run!)
Space Master (Impulse Drive)
StarMaster (Space Opera)
Story Master (Dungeons the Dragoning 7th Edition)
Storyguide (CthulhuTech)
StoryHost (Enter the Shadowside)
Storyteller (Vampire: the Requiem)
Superintendent (Panty Exposion)
Superuser (Freemarket)
Talespinner (Crazy 8s)
Troublemaker (Flatpack)
Umpire (Lace & Steel)
War Master (Weird Wars)
Watcher (Marvel Heroic Roleplaying)
Watchtower (Smallville)
Weaver (Tribe 8)
Winter (Wolfspell)
WorldMaster (Adventure Maximum)
Wulin Sage (Weapons of the Gods)*
Zargon aka Morcar (UK) (HeroQuest)
Zombie Master (All Flesh Must Be Eaten)
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*If I were to run Weapons of the Gods, I would require that the players address me as the Wulin Sage at all times.
For the full backlog of Age of Ravens posts on Blogger see here.