Why Do You DM?

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Thrommel	Why Do You DM?	Lead	[-]
Posts: 6210 (09/22/07 07:43:52) Runechild (admin) Council of Magisters Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None I've been thinking about this lately. A DM carries a staggering amount of responsibility for game preparation, rules knowledge, storytelling and social interaction -- especially when compared to the players, who often just have to show up and roll the dice. It's a lot of work, far more than playing. So why do you do it? -Thrommel, who has a tough time remembering the last time he played.
Wiz of Ice	Re: Why Do You DM?	#1	[-]
Posts: 5969 (09/22/07 08:38:44) Moderator Iron Liege Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Originally, I was sort of pushed into it after everyone else who has the time to DM at all had given it a whirl. The group decided they wanted to try someone different in the driver's seat. I did not think I would enjoy it as much as a I am, but mostly it's my players who get credit for that, always surprising and entertaining me. So that might be why I continue to do it after this campaign is over. Finally, there's also the theatre itch, which DMing helps to scratch.
Ampherion	Re: Why Do You DM?	#2	[-]
Posts: 1999 (09/22/07 09:34:18) Shadowy Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	In 1st edition, I did it because it was necessary to get a game going. We shared responsibilities some, but it was mostly me. I didn't mind it. With 3e its because noone else was willing to do it. We had a group of 4 guys who were going to share, and it started that way, but one moved, another just blew it off, a third did a few sessions, and then they all just wanted to play. I was the stuckee. Honestly, I don't enjoy it all that much with my current group. 1A1S-060412-060806-N-W-523/1000-MX
Kadh2000	Re: Why Do You DM?	#3	[-]
Posts: 3672 (09/22/07 09:47:31) Smarter than your average Klingon Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I find it less 'scary' than playing. Perhaps less intense I should say. So it's nice to be relaxed and in control. Of course, right now I'm the only one in the group with an idea. Kadh, who also DMs because he doesn't know what else to do with his good ideas that he can't do as a player. The best weapon against an enemy is another enemy.
DerekDyer	Re: Why Do You DM?	#4	[-]
Posts: 7335 (09/22/07 10:14:57) Just showed up Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I would rather play in a good game than run one, but I would rather run a game, than play in a bad one. game preparation, rules knowledge, storytelling and social interaction Larger than any other aspect of gaming, I like to design. This requires a large amount of rules knowledge. So I will have this covered whether I play or DM. Storytelling is opinion, and technically not even required at all to play D&D. I like to think that I adjust to players desires and how much story they want to have... but it takes some time, especially with my style. When I DM I like to run the world, and let the players find their way in it. I try to keep things moving realistically with people interacting with you appropriately. Having an aptitude for psychology... that is what's fun for me. So basically what it comes down to in difference of being a player or a DM is game preparation. While it can cut some of the time I have to write/design material... the two also go hand in hand to some extent. What it boils down to is it's not much difference to me whether I play or DM.
Cthon	Re: Why Do You DM?	#5	[-]
Posts: 7152 (09/22/07 10:42:46) No need for labels, right? Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Control. _______________________ bored with changing signatures
Eldric IV	Re: Why Do You DM?	#6	[-]
Posts: 10347 (09/22/07 10:56:47) Resident Paladin Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	As much as I suck at DMing, I am the most experienced and capable in my two gaming groups (because all the players with one exception just started playing D&D within the past year or so). Final Words, before the battle with Demogorgon: My life does not matter. It was given to me to better the lives of my people. Please give the Pureblade to my son so that he may finish what I start here today.
Dragon Snack	Re: Why Do You DM?	#7	[-]
Posts: 138 (09/22/07 12:10:33) Minimum 1 pt, right? Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	My players make me DM. Seriously, I'm the only one my group trusts to DM, since I am pretty even handed and stick close to RAW (and boy do they like to point out if I ever get a rule wrong - or if they just think I did). *Quote:* ...I would rather run a game, than play in a bad one. Sadly, I quit games being run by 2 of my current players. I couldn't stand their games, I was actually going to take a break from gaming. It turned out that everybody else was having issues as well, but just hadn't brought it up. *Quote:* Honestly, I don't enjoy it all that much with my current group. I have 3 red circles on a whiteboard next to my DM chair, when they get filled in I will no longer run a game for my players. One is already filled in... I'm getting a taste of playing in my Savage Worlds and Star Wars games, but they aren't D&D. I'm trying the online thing again, but it just started and I've had "issues" with the other 2 online games I tried - so I don't know how it's going to work out.
Xhyll	Re: Why Do You DM?	#8	[-]
Posts: 426 (09/22/07 12:25:57) Minimum 1 pt, right? Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	As much as I don't think I am that great of a DM, my players seem to like me DMing. Out of our entire group (that I know of), I am the only DM who has kept personal interest, and maintained player interest for an extended period of time in a single campaign (even completing one). Some of the basic reasons I like to DM is because I like to do story creation and adventure/campaign design. I like to see players solving problems and learning stuff I already know. I also have the most free time out of all of us. I just have college to deal with. Everyone has a job and/or has a girlfriend/wife (one of them has both and goes to school). Another reason, however, is that I tend to prefer the style of game I DM more than I typically enjoy the styles of the other DMs. I have one player who seems to have a Players Vs. DM mentality (to the point where he dislikes the DM having ready access to his character sheet), and that is kind of the opposite of my play style (Cooperative Gaming). Plus, he really doesn't seem to like the idea of DMing anyway. He also hasn't actually DMed for us yet, so I could easily be wrong, this is just based on interpretation. Another player tends to prefer DMing one-shot style games where he just makes stuff up on the spot. He is going to be our next DM, though he is going to try a campaign that has a little planning maybe, though he said he will likely make most of it up on the spot (two part, one Play by Post as an experiment, and the other in person). One of the best things about him is that he is good at improvisational DMing and also playing a part (my biggest weaknesses). We want to actually work on a game where we will Co-DM at some point (to get the best part of both DM styles). The other DM does like to plan things out and run/play campaigns, but likes 'gritty' storytelling. And for him, sometimes 'gritty' means random. In my experience, he really likes things such as the Deck of Many Things, Wishes (for him to corrupt), and random mutations. I think in the first session of our last mini-campaign he infected all of the players with Warp Disease or something similar. The three others are relatively new to D&D and/or more casual gamers than is really necessary for DMing (aka. have a life ). I hope that all comes across right, it seems like it could sound bad... I feel like I might have strayed off topic somewhere in all of that. My Ptolus Log -- Ptolus Characters
Zaraky	Re: Why Do You DM?	#9	[-]
Posts: 1397 (09/22/07 12:39:12) Spending some time Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I like to DM. I like to create and tell stories, and no one in my group besides me is that willing to DM. I really like DMing when I can tell that I'm getting better at it though. I'd probably prefer playing, but I enjoy DMing as well.
Ugly is the new black	Re: Why Do You DM?	#10	[-]
Posts: 21 (09/22/07 18:55:29) Minimum 1 pt, right? Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	A lot of my friends have trouble motivating themselves to create. Now I'm not sure if it's because they're uncertain of their writing skills and are afraid of running something sub-par, or if they underestimate the work involved and get overwhelmed when they have to draw up maps and generate NPCs and that, but they just can't seem to get anything written up. Every single time one of them takes the driver's seat, we're always really excited to hear their adventure ideas, but when it comes time to play, nothing's written up so we have to play whatever comes off the tops of their heads. At the end of the day, I'm the only one who takes the job seriously, doesn't mind the work involved, and has enough confidence in my skills as a writer and a storyteller to be the DM. love, nathan.
mahogani	Re: Why Do You DM?	#11	[-]
Posts: 822 (09/22/07 19:27:34) Shadowy Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* Honestly, I don't enjoy it all that much with my current group. If only you didn't live 3 hours away from me... I've DM'd since the early 80's and like it because I like to tell stories. I like to play as well, but I think of stories and want to share them with others but I don't have the discipline to write a novel. My last campaign failed because none of us liked the rules system (Classic Traveller), I converted the campaign to Traveller 4, but we didn't like those rules either, so instead of converting again, I just quit the campaign. The story was left unfinished, so I wrote up what was really going on in the game and what was to happen and posted it on my blog so my players wouldn't feel dissatisfied with the game, and I got to tell my story.
Ampherion	Re: Why Do You DM?	#12	[-]
Posts: 1999 (09/22/07 21:02:35) Shadowy Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	In Colorado Mohagani? 1A1S-060412-060806-N-W-523/1000-MX
mahogani	Re: Why Do You DM?	#13	[-]
Posts: 822 (09/23/07 00:41:20) Shadowy Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Yeah, I live in Centennial (South Metro Denver). I saw you live in Pueblo on that website where we put our location (I forget where it was)
Gregor LeBlaque	Re: Why Do You DM?	#14	[-]
Posts: 555 (09/23/07 05:17:16) Shadowy Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I've given this topic some thought myself. The main reason, I think, is that I have too many character ideas and get bored with running just one. As DM I still don't get to use all the whacked-out character ideas I come across or come up with, but I can run through a lot more of them (and they die or exit stage right before I get bored with them). An HTML/javascript Initiative Tracker, HTML/javascript Stat Point Buy Calculator, and the Virtual Dice Tray Windows application. Check out my Tools Page
PaladinTodd	Re: Why Do You DM?	#15	[-]
Posts: 868 (09/23/07 06:20:52) Just showed up Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Creative aspects: I enjoy the storytelling and the DM can gets a lot more control in that area. I don't stay satisfied as a player for very long - just not enough things available to do with one character. Mental Aspect: I enjoy the mental challenge of being the DM - running the game, adjusting on the fly, command of the ruleset, tactical battles with multiple varied opponents under my control, etc. And, if I had to be honest, I probably like the control.
Xhyll	Re: Why Do You DM?	#16	[-]
Posts: 426 (09/23/07 09:55:12) Minimum 1 pt, right? Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I forgot to mention this as part of the reason why I'm taking a break from DMing the next campaign. As much as a DM gets to play multiple characters, I don't get to flesh them out and roleplay them as well as I could if I played as only one PC (likely different from other people). This is why the list of characters I want to play is so long (more than the 14 I originally posted). As a DM, I may get to try out several character builds, but I don't really get to play very different characters (I do better with a single personality at a time). Heh... I still need to pick which character I should use for that game... My Ptolus Log -- Ptolus Characters
DerekDyer	Re: Why Do You DM?	#17	[-]
Posts: 7335 (09/23/07 11:58:50) Just showed up Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I'd like to say that not only am I fond of the rules for retraining, but I'm also a firm believer in reimagining. In fact it's strongly incorporated into the model for my fixed level campaign. Such that a player can retrain their character in substantial ways... or can bring an entirely new character. As long as the character is balanced and equal, I don't see a reason to limit such things. Even if the character changes radically the player gets to choose their own flavor text (within reason). Whether they choose to call them a new person, or the same is up to them. It may seem weird to change a single classed Wizard to a single classed Paladin... but if the player is happy with the flavor they come up with to facilitate the change, then I'm happy for them. Edit: The reason I say this is because several people seem to be saying the same thing. That as a player, and being stuck in a single character may not be completely satisfying, so they DM. Since D&D is a game and should be played to enjoy oneself, I hate to see people limited because of metagame "rules" that don't have to exist.
manifold2	Re: Why Do You DM?	#18	[-]
Posts: 3617 (09/23/07 18:40:18) Savage Thread Killer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	If I want to play with the people I want to play with, I have to GM. I don't know that many gamers, so I have to make them. And newbies certainly aren't going to GM. So, it's me. I love it and hate it. I really, really hate it when I do all of that work, and they come over and don't really want to play or have to leave early or whatever. I fell like a producer with lazy actors. And that is how I approach Gming: more as a producer than as a director or writer. At the end of the day, I like it because it's everything I'm good at or want to be good at, and because I like stories and I want to see how everything turns out. Manifold2 Geoff Nelson Illustration
madfox	Re: Why Do You DM?	#19	[-]
Posts: 7021 (09/24/07 00:35:10) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Like PaladinTodd there are two aspects of the game that I really like: telling a fun story and the mental challenge inherent in being the DM. There is also an aspect of control since I always have the urge to correct other DMs, and I have a somewhat dissappointed feeling if the story around my PC doesn't develop too much. Although with a good DM I never felt dissapointed even when the DM takes away a bit of control by filling in some of the blanks in a character's background.
varianor	Re: Why Do You DM?	#20	[-]
Posts: 12242 (09/24/07 16:03:24) Moderator Supreme Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	To hear the laughter of a jest well played, to hear the screams of anger when a bad die roll falls, to taunt in a hundred voices, and to sit at the center of an unfolding song of battle. That and control issues, yeah. I can't stop imagining things that I could do, so DMing helps bring others into the idea. My latest works: Faces of Serran: Radinemus and Dark Houses

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