Rate Your GM

As RPG'ers, we love to quantify things, don't we? Slap numbers on stuff, express life all around us in gaming terms. I remember when Fate Core first hit the scene. Everything was an Aspect!

Anyways, for whatever reason, I was thinking about my "stats" as a GM while I was on my way home from work last night. I tried to be as honest as I can, though I'm certain ego has probably skewed my stats at least a little bit. I rated myself in six stats, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. Here are the six stats:

Creativity: A GM's ability to come up with interesting, compelling new ideas, be they for adventures, characters, or whole campaign settings;

Improvisation: The ability to "roll with it," responding to player's crazy ideas, making things up on the spot, and house ruling through odd situations;

Mechanics: A GM's ability to understand and implement the rules of any given RPG, from the smallest technical details to the bigger-picture, design philosophy ideas;

Prep: A GM's preparedness...having all the materials he or she needs ready to go before the game starts. This also encompasses a GM's logistical/planning abilties;

Consistency: The ability to deliver adventures on a set schedule. GM's with high consistency seem to always have an adventure ready, and could run a game weekly, or, if their score is high enough, nightly. This stat is important for running campaigns;

Leadership: This is a GM's ability to socialize with others. This includes being able to share the spotlight, address problem players with maturity and empathy, and to invite and incorporate new players into a game.

So here's how I rated myself:

Creativity: 9. Personally, I think Creativity is my strongest suit. I've come up with some truly bizarre ideas for adventures and campaigns over the years. Throwing my ideas at players and seeing how they respond to them is one of my favorite joys of GMing.

Improvisation: 8. Over the years, I've learned alot about how to roll with the players' plans and ideas. I could probably improv an entire adventure, if I needed to and I was comfortable enough with the game.

Mechanics: 7. I make a big effort to get the rules of my RPGs down cold. That being said, I do tend to throw rules out the window the second I feel like they're bogging me down, and I've noticed if I play a game a lot, I have a tendency to "drift" away from the mechanics of the game. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's not a good thing, either.

Prep: 7. Though I do have a tendency to bumble and forget things from time to time, overall I've worked hard to be completely ready to roll before the players even show up on game day. I often communicate with players over what I'm bringing, what I'd like them to bring, when the start will be, etc.

Consistency: 4. This is my biggest weakness. My gaming ADD has me dancing from one game to the next. Usually the moment a game really clicks with me is the moment I give it up and move onto something else. This is something I'm definitely trying to work on. I would have given myself a 3, but I think my success with the Firefly RPG campaign bumps me up to a 4.

Leadership: 8. I worked hard to build up the role-playing group I have today. I hosted meetups to the public, I incorporated new players on short notice, and I'm always looking out for whomever seems to be having the least fun and doing whatever it takes to bring them into the fold.

So that's how I rate myself. How do you rate your GM? Or, if you are a GM, how do you rate yourself, as objectively as you can?

(And, for my players who are reading this, would you agree with my ratings or not? Be honest!)