DM Related Topics

So, I am a new player here and not a DM yet.   I confess the structure of this organization is ... confusing to me.  There is a ton of organization, almost too much, and yet some fairly basic stuff is missing and that of course is just my opinion.  The only issue discussed here is the idea of becoming a DM. This particular issue concerns becoming a DM as in what is the procedure and what are the requirements, if any, beyond the Attention DMs thread, which I did read.  I suspect there are DM requirements not mentioned there, but assumed in some way.   As is, it would seem that one could merely declare oneself a DM and start validating sheets and macros to fulfill the requirements.   I am most often a DM, but I am skeptical of running for this group for a few reasons.  Guild validated charactesr would not work for my campaign.  I have my own homebrew rules that apply on top of normal 4e, but I use 4e as the frame for my rules-set.  There does seem to be a lot of interest here in 4e and I have no idea if that would translate to my homebrew rules well.  There does seem to be a lot of interest here as well for weekday night time sessions and that is ideal for myself as well.   I think it is probably not a good idea for me to run a campaign for this group until I see how the procedures for starting and running a game are handled by other DMs.   But if there is interest, and if an when it is allowed, I would like to become a DM if my homebrew requirements are allowed within this frame.

Basically the rules for becoming a DM are as follows: Play in games with the guild.  Typically that means several although there are no exact numbers.  We want to make sure you are a good fit with the group. Be active in chat.  Talk to people on discord, let people get to know you.  Similar to the way we are looking for people who are good fits for the community. Have knowledge of 4e basic mechanics and the principles of the guild.  Basically you will be expected to know enough about rules of the game and the guild to welcome newcomers and help new players. Be prepared to run games.  You can run your games or you can run games designed by others (many of my adventures for example are designed and written so other DMs can run them).  These games also need to fit within the framework of the guild (which by the time you get to this stage, you should know from steps 1 -3). Ask Matt for permission to be given a temporary DM status in order to make a trial adventure.  When you do this, he will ask in GM chat if we believe you have done steps 1-3 and give an OK for a trial based on this). Run a trial session with at least 1 GM present, preferably more than 1.  That trial will be evaluated.  Typically its not very hard to pass the trial and much of it is how you take feedback from players, your general style, and how well you will work out in the guild if given the tag longer term. Become a DM.  Join DM chat and run games. As far as your specialized rules, it depends on how drastically you want to change the game and whether the Minor Rulings that dictate rules discussions in games are going to bother you or not.  We all play by a shared ruleset and even if you dislike a particular ruling, it is what we agree to play by (you are by all means welcome to challenge rules as a DM and try to get them changed, more power to ya). There are many DMs who have subsystems in place for playing in their adventures.  Story Awards that only work in their setting, unique rules and handouts for a particular set of adventures or even a completely separate system which tracks your progress with its own ups and downs using forums.  Feel free to use it as long as the basics remain the same. TLDR: Play in games, meet people, talk in chat.  After we get to know you, then look towards DMing.