LuniasM |
I roll horribly when I'm not the GM. I also love micromanaging, building characters, and coming up with stories. GMing also teaches me more about the game through experience and lets me try out concepts I don't have time to test if I'm just a player. I have folders full of builds and character concepts that I'm just waiting to try out, and I'll never get a chance to use them all unless I'm GM.
My GM thinks I'm crazy for enjoying all that work, and he's probably right.
rando1000 |
Best part of GM-ing for me is having a creative outlet and continuing to be able to create something throughout the campaign, rather than being limited to just one character as an outlet for that creativity.
That, and the fact that as a player I get really frustrated by the dice, but as a GM I'm actually rooting for the players to win anyway, so if my dice suck I don't really care.
Jiggy RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
Bwang |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Sounds like so many of my games!
Damned enjoyable, aren't they! Players pulling severe plot twists save me too much work sometimes, but some of our greatest gaming arcs had SOOOOO little input from me. The worst is being given credit for intricately worked out plots when I was punch drunk and reeling from being overwhelmed by player banter.
Oxylepy |
I was surprised that they wanted to keep going and some would play via skype when they could.
I keep trying to get rid of players because my roommates invited too many people (we had like 10). So I broke them into groups and the little buggers have been trying to get into every other group and are ALWAYS trying to skype in.
Like, seriously, gaming is crack, don't be surprised when they try to keep getting their fix.
Alia Blackburn |
I love planning everything. I'm a pretty new DM but I enjoy sitting down and designing the dungeons, planning out encounters, loot, and major events that need to happen.
For me I find it to be fun and a challenge to try to react to what my players do what I didn't plan for. Because I've learned no matter how much you know the player and their character they will ALWAYS do something you don't plan for.
Aside from that I enjoy being a player and reacting more. I love learning all about what the DM did and the love they poured into NPCs.
SillyString |
I think every GM is a storyteller at heart, and they thrive on bringing worlds to life. That and/or they're control freaks, and they just like dictating how all the glorious beasties and fun things incite terror in the players.
Those two is why I think I like it anyway.
Plus, getting to make lots of unusual character concepts to use as NPCs.
Angry Wiggles RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32 |
I have a pathological need to be useful, and GMing is one of the better ways I have found to fill that need. I picked up my first RPG (GURPS 2e) because a friend missed gaming with his old group. It was assumed, both by myself, and by the rest of those present, that I would GM. This is not a bad thing, it simply was. As that group slowly grew to around nine players, I learned that I was not just filling the role, but actually fairly competent at it. Whenever I moved, something inevitably would happen and I would be asked to join a group again, always a new group, always a new system. GURPS 4e, D&D 3e, D&D3.5, Pathfinder. I was exclusively a game master for well over a decade before I ever sat down at a table as a player, and that was in Pathfinder Society, where my GMed to Played ratio is still staggering.
At this point I GM because the other side of the table feels alien to me. The characters I build are mostly there to help someone else, push the boundaries of my roleplaying so I can fly faster into accents, ideals or headspaces, or test rules I need to understand better so I can more quickly work with a character, monster or NPC. I have a hard time letting go of the mindset of the GM as a service role. How can I enjoy myself if others are clearly not? And how can I ensure that they are enjoying themselves if I do not place myself in a role where I can give them what they need and want from the game?
I'm not saying I don't enjoy it. Far from it. I enjoy every aspect of GMing. It allows me to act as a storyteller, voice actor, artist, creator, arbiter, and servant, within the same role, and within the course of a few hours. It is exhilarating and exhausting all in one. Building and discarding entire worlds, and thousands of characters is worth every moment to me for the look on someone's face when it all comes together and I can tell that they felt happy, purely because of work that I did.
Deadalready |
DMing is somewhat for the selfless, if you're the kind of person who gets joy out of seeing others having fun, then certainly consider DMing.
For myself, DMing is an outlet for a mix of creative skills and an interest in human behaviour.
As a DM I can draw, act, design, create, story tell and test an infinite number of possibilities. It is however the understanding of how people act, the reactions and the scenario playing out that I find most interesting.
I love predicting how my players will act or inserting my players into scenarios and seeing how they act.
Seeing or having my friends say they had fun is the best thing though.
Jaçinto |
What do I enjoy about DMing? Knowing that at any moment, I can snuff out anyone in the game, player or NPC. I just choose not to do so at that moment. Knowing that they live, simply because I allow them to live. It's not that I will extinguish them, it is that I can. I'm generally a harsh but fair DM. Plus I just love planting little seeds of information about sub plots around and the players not noticing, but the mind blow when it comes to fruition and they see how it all adds up, and kicking themselves because it was so obvious. Then again, my friends know me primarily as a Call of Cthulhu and Paranoia DM, but for some reason they wanted me to DM Skulls and Shackles.
Kolokotroni |
I like to host. Whether its parties, board game nights or gming. I like to be the provider of fun for my friends and myself.
First off it feels good to have people having fun around me. Second, I like to feel responsible and connected to what I am doing, and hosting helps with that.
And third it offers me a measure of control of the circumstances. Obviously if I am hosting/running I have a strong say in what we do. So for instance if I feel like some piraty fun, I can run a pirate game, if I want to see nations rise and fall, break out the kingdom building rules. I get to play with whatever rules or mechanics I want to (and I do like tinkering with different mechanics.
I am not much of a story teller and will usually pull that from some outside source, but in terms of playing with the wheels and cogs, I am all for getting creative.
Kahel Stormbender |
For me, it's telling a story. I'll spend long hours lovingly crafting the world setting, populating it with interesting people, and setting up an intriguing tale. Sometimes my overall goal for the game's story is a simple series of adventures. Sometimes I have an overaching story that's being told. Others I'm looking to explore the topics of morality and choice in a meaningful way.
When it works, it's awe inspiring. When it flops (often due to players being as random as they are wont to be) at the very least it was probably an enjoyable romp. But always I have a story in mind when running a homebrew game. Instead of just having a dungeon and populating it so the players have something to do, I ask questions about why this dungeon is there. Why are these specific monsters in it? Why should the players care about it? Is it part of something bigger, or just another adventure they are going on? How will this affect the world if the players stop it? How will it affect the world if the players ignore it?
Maybe it's because I enjoy writing fiction. I have since I was young. But to me GMing is all about telling a story, the player's story in fact. The tale of how the group is affecting their world, for good or ill. or in other words I tend to have living, breathing campaign settings. rescuing a group of slaves in a small hamlet can have far reaching consequences which the players may only tangentially be aware of. They here rumors and news of other great events. And the things they do can eventually affect the political landscape as they unknowingly carve a path (bloody or otherwise) through various factions.
Maybe the various slaver operations the players broke up had been funding a duke's bid for power. Without that income source (and source of cannon fodder his attempt to take over the kingdom is harder, or fails. The players may not even be aware of how they affected the power hungry duke's plans. Or maybe they accidentally kicked off a war by killing an orc warband's envoy of peace when they thought they were just killing orc bandits. I enjoy seeing what the players will do, and planning how their actions affect the world.
thegreenteagamer |
I greatly prefer to be a player, but usually end up a GM. There's three reasons for me, personally:
1.) Having a GM that actually knows the rules. It's infuriating as a player to know your GM is wrong on a call and shut up and take it until the session is over. If I know that I know that I know that they're wrong, it's like nails on a chalkboard to not lawyer up. It's unfortunate to have a nearly eidetic memory when the person in charge gets stuff wrong all the time. Yeah, I can shut up, and I absolutely do unless the GM asks me, but when I'm the GM, I can rest assured that if I correct a player, I'm just doing my job instead of being a rules lawyer. Being stressless on this issue is fun.
2) I come up with way too many character concepts to ever possibly play, but not too many to have the players meet, interact with, befriend, or fight against. NPCs are my bread and butter. Writing NPCs is fun.
3) Actually having a game to play. You can always find players who need a GM, but finding a GM who needs players can be a chore. Actually playing the game instead of just searching the internet and wishing I could play is fun.
Neriathale |
Evil plots, killer deathtraps, deranged megalomania and lunatic NPCs. Plus knowing the plot and laughing inside as the poor hapless heroes wilfully misinterpret it, to their detriment.
But mostly the fact that it's my turn to be the GM at the moment. When this campaign finishes I can hand over the reins to someone else for a few years and play instead.
Captain Kuro |
The oh S#@& moment when both BBEG NPC and players have everything set on the table, and it comes down to one roll. When the players have a come from behind victory or the bad guy finally outwits and outmanuvers them. When the players are driven by personal reasons for success, when their quest becomes as important to them as it is for their characters.
THAT's what makes the hours of research, rehersal, and papercuts worth it. The truely epic moments that players talk about for years.
walter mcwilliams |
I don't GM everything, but I do GM every time I have the chance. I do it, because I enjoy creating an interactive story which emotes feelings of happiness, fear, wonder, surprise, relief, sadness and anger in my players. It's so enjoyable for me, I turn 50 this year an have been doing this since I was in the 9th grade, its the only game I've never given up and never intend to.
Great question by the way. Nice to see something worth discussing on here once in awhile.
Captain Kuro |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Gray wrote:I was surprised that they wanted to keep going and some would play via skype when they could.I keep trying to get rid of players because my roommates invited too many people (we had like 10). So I broke them into groups and the little buggers have been trying to get into every other group and are ALWAYS trying to skype in.
Like, seriously, gaming is crack, don't be surprised when they try to keep getting their fix.
This happendd to me. I still have whole groups of players on waiting lists to get into campaigns. If DMing was a job it'd have the best security in the world.
Aaron Bitman |
One reason I DM is because I like telling stories, particularly about fantasy.
But what's really fun is when the players surprise me. I spend hours preparing for what I think is every possible action the PCs could take, and the players throw me for a loop by doing something that hadn't occurred to me.
(Sometimes, when that happens, I screw up, and soon regret not doing whatever I later realize I SHOULD have done. But other times, it leads to an incredible, unforgettable experience.)
And there's another way players can surprise me that leads to great fun. Sometimes they decide on a certain course of action, and I bluntly tell them "There's no way that's going to work." The PCs do it anyway... and to my amazement, it works! I'm supposed to be RUNNING this whole game, and I know more about what's going on in the game world than anyone else, so how could I be so wrong about it?!?
DungeonmasterCal |
I greatly prefer to be a player, but usually end up a GM. There's three reasons for me, personally:
1.) Having a GM that actually knows the rules. It's infuriating as a player to know your GM is wrong on a call and shut up and take it until the session is over. If I know that I know that I know that they're wrong, it's like nails on a chalkboard to not lawyer up. It's unfortunate to have a nearly eidetic memory when the person in charge gets stuff wrong all the time. Yeah, I can shut up, and I absolutely do unless the GM asks me, but when I'm the GM, I can rest assured that if I correct a player, I'm just doing my job instead of being a rules lawyer. Being stressless on this issue is fun.
I freely and fully admit I don't know every rule. 85%, sure. But I have a player I can ask who'll help out if I'm fuzzy on one, or we just continue on. My group, after nearly 30 years together, just want to have fun.
thegreenteagamer |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
thegreenteagamer wrote:I freely and fully admit I don't know every rule. 85%, sure. But I have a player I can ask who'll help out if I'm fuzzy on one, or we just continue on. My group, after nearly 30 years together, just want to have fun.I greatly prefer to be a player, but usually end up a GM. There's three reasons for me, personally:
1.) Having a GM that actually knows the rules. It's infuriating as a player to know your GM is wrong on a call and shut up and take it until the session is over. If I know that I know that I know that they're wrong, it's like nails on a chalkboard to not lawyer up. It's unfortunate to have a nearly eidetic memory when the person in charge gets stuff wrong all the time. Yeah, I can shut up, and I absolutely do unless the GM asks me, but when I'm the GM, I can rest assured that if I correct a player, I'm just doing my job instead of being a rules lawyer. Being stressless on this issue is fun.
I want to have fun, too. I simply have more fun when people are right. Notice I pointed out that I do shut up unless asked...
Kazuka |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
A few things.
- The joy of telling a story.
- The joy of watching my player's growing horror when they realize the evil prophesy about how to unleash doom describes everything they have done in the campaign so far.
- Watching the players, when discussing their latest self-inflicted TPK, come to the sudden realization it was caused by something innocuous I did.
- Watching one of my players go into a fetal position and have a PTSD flashback every time someone mentions Carrion Crown. I tweaked some of the descriptions a little.
- Hearing the horrified exclamations from my players when they realize two of their goals directly contradict each other... such as the sorceress the king ordered them to kill and the daughter he ordered them to rescue and bring back alive turning out to be the same person.
- The finder's fee I get from a local psychologist.
Chief Cook and Bottlewasher |
The look on my daughter's face when the party including her wizard pc walked into the study in a long abandoned wizards' house and I described the huge (paper) phase wasp nest (we were playing 3.5) and the shreds of torn-up scrolls and books that were left...
The brief panic when the party were burning said wasps' nest and I said "The ceiling's starting to char..."
Jiggy RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
1.) Having a GM that actually knows the rules. It's infuriating as a player to know your GM is wrong on a call and shut up and take it until the session is over. If I know that I know that I know that they're wrong, it's like nails on a chalkboard to not lawyer up. It's unfortunate to have a nearly eidetic memory when the person in charge gets stuff wrong all the time. Yeah, I can shut up, and I absolutely do unless the GM asks me, but when I'm the GM, I can rest assured that if I correct a player, I'm just doing my job instead of being a rules lawyer. Being stressless on this issue is fun.
One nice thing about PbP is that there's a space for out-of-game dialogue (like rules disputes, and plenty else) in the form of a dedicated Discussion thread. So you can pop in there and point something out, and there's no worry about disrupting the game because it's in a whole different thread.
Jandrem |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The things I find the most fun about being a DM is exercising creativity(whether it's good or bad, just getting it out of my head), and seeing the player's smiles and seeing them genuinely enjoy themselves. If the players aren't having a good time, neither am I.
I have a weird way of running games, and it's taken me many years to put together a group of like-minded players who enjoy my style. I finally feel like I've got just the right group, and we're having an absolute blast. I get to create backdrops and scenery for their characters to live in, and in turn they get really into character, and give me lots of inspiration to build off of. It's a cycle of fun and inspiration, and at the end of the session, we feel exuberant and satisfied.