My first regular game of Dungeons & Dragons was a 2E dungeon crawl that took place over several months on Tuesday nights. Our weekly foray into this funhouse came to an abrupt (if not amusing) end one night thanks to a red lager and a blue dragon. Up until then, however, we had a blast mapping and scouring this campaign for traps, trinkets, and treasure. I played a druid named Ashram Ket. He had a celestial panther named Dagon as his animal companion. My fellow party members were Brad, Ken, Eric, and Greg. Our nefarious game master was Aaron.

I have known Aaron since we met in second grade, and our first venture into role-playing was recesses spent pretending to be Transformers. By the time he ran this particular adventure, however, his methods and madness had gained a far more sophisticated air. Aaron is an ardent student of history, military tactics, and medieval weapons & heraldry. To this day, he still may be the smartest person I know. While this is a largely admirable trait in a friend, it is mildly terrifying to find in your DM.

Aaron's attention to detail during our game was flawless. He knew every rule, but usually allowed us to be creative in our use of them. He established his authority, but never lorded over us. He spent hours planning tunnels, puzzles, and chilling dialogue. He gave us options when we were at a loss for action. He as also quite generous in awarding experience and treasure, even designing a certain celestial companion for a certain druid. Brad's paladin received an equally characterful gift in the form of a blessed longsword. He knew our PCs well, perhaps better than we did at times.

It's possible that my favorite part of the night was Aaron's extra-credit quizzes. Some of them are still tucked in my game folders along with my druid's character sheets. Questions ranged from "What is the air speed of an unladen swallow?" to "What was the title given to a Roman standard bearer?" to "What is the base damage dealt by a magic missile?". Each right answer was worth an extra 100 XP, awarded before the start of the session. I never got many right answers- I was busy drawing character sketches- but the prospect of extra experience points was like a game in and of itself.

Many of my early attempts at running role-playing games were influenced by Aaron's meticulous planning and attention to detail. While this style worked well for him, it never proved as successful for me. However, I was able to effectively borrow some lessons from my time in Aaron's campaign.

• Give your players more than they need.
• Be prepared for what comes next.
• Mix it up. Sometimes the hardest challenges are not wandering monsters, but rather
  booby-trapped floor tiles that look suspiciously like Minesweeper.

Want to share a memory about the game master that ran your first campaign? Or a lesson you learned from watching a DM at work? Maybe you can point out other ways to spot an evil genius. Now's your
chance- in the Comments!

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