It's subjective.
/thread
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I love to build worlds/ campaigns/ encounters, but I would much rather play them. If I could DM a game where I play 3-5 PCs as well without knowing what each of my selves were thinking/ planning/ DMing/ whatever, then I would have alot of fun... But I would probly get into a heated rules/ call argument with one of my selves and hold a grudge and not want to play with that bastard ever again... But hey, I have issues.
Well jeez fine nobody respects the /thread anymore. *Huff*
Yeah anyway I'm thinking I like to GM more than play. I still enjoy both, but GM-ing gives me a chance to put that never-ending pile of random character build ideas and rule change stuff into play (that last if it sounds good to the players, of course).
So, Ooga, what about you?
What does /thread mean?
What does /thread mean?
"/" is for an end tag, just like the BBCode used on the site. "i" and then "/i" for italics (with the brackets of course).
So, "end thread".
I laugh much more when I DM. I also get to build all sorts of weird builds or less than optimal builds that are fun and quirky to play.
So my vote is with DM.
What does /thread mean?"/" is for an end tag, just like the BBCode used on the site. "i" and then "/i" for italics (with the brackets of course).
So, "end thread".
My bad, I am still learning.
I like to DM, I think I like to play more though. Some games I've both played and DMed and had a lot of fun, but you really can't do this when you have too many players. I like to roleplay strange characters, and I feel I can get into them better as a player than as the DM.
I GM far more than I get to play (most of my playing is here on PbPs), so I tend to find playing more fun, as I can just relax and concentrate on bringing one dude to life.
If I GMed infrequently, or never at all I'd miss it like hell though.
They're both just as fun to me, but for very different reasons.
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I find playing more fun, but DMing more rewarding.
I'm inclined to say I prefer playing more than GM'ing, as I can just relax, be the character, and not need to worry much about all the other stuff going on.
GM'ing, by contrast, often feels stressful and complicated. You need to keep track not only of what NPC's are doing, but what the players are doing, make sure everyone's participating, come up with the outcomes of what the players do (and they never seem to go with what you'd expect), and resolve any kind of rules disputes that come up.
Yeah... I think I like playing better in most cases.
That said, I'm kind of working on putting a big storyline together for a campaign which has at least been fun to theorize about and, hopefully, will be even more fun to run some players through. So, it does have its up sides.
I find myself in socially awkward situations all the time. It goes like this:
"What's your favorite color?"
"Favorite color? How can anyone have a favorite color? What does that even mean?"
"Seriously, you must have a favorite color!"
"I don't even understand the concept. That's like asking 'what's your favorite song?'!"
"What IS your favorite song?"
"What? No, that's the point, how can anyone have a favorite song?"
"Man, next you'll be telling me you don't have a favorite pet."
Which is more fun, DM or player?
Sorry, question does not compute. There is no answer. That's like asking "what's more fun, hunting or fishing?". It's like "both, man."
They're both just as fun to me, but for very different reasons.
This.
As a player, you really develop a sense of being a character. You get into a single person's head, and understand why they do what they do. It provides a certain, for lack of a better word, ownership over the character's actions.
As a game master, I play for The Moment(tm).
That is the instant that the players figure out who the Big Bad Evil is, what they've been up to the whole time, and how everything that has happened relates to the story. Priceless, especially if they have ended up helping the Big Bad Evil's plan along the way.
I find myself in socially awkward situations all the time. It goes like this:
"What's your favorite color?"
"Favorite color? How can anyone have a favorite color? What does that even mean?"
"Seriously, you must have a favorite color!"
"I don't even understand the concept. That's like asking 'what's your favorite song?'!"
"What IS your favorite song?"
"What? No, that's the point, how can anyone have a favorite song?"
"Man, next you'll be telling me you don't have a favorite pet."Which is more fun, DM or player?
Sorry, question does not compute. There is no answer. That's like asking "what's more fun, hunting or fishing?". It's like "both, man."
Um, so what is your favorite song?
Um, so what is your favorite song?
When it comes to things like music, movies, songs, books, food, video games, TV shows, etc... I don't even think in terms of "favorites". I tend to have this concept of "thresholds" and when something crosses the threshold where I consider it to be worth savoring, then it all becomes a matter of mood, circumstance, social situation and/or recent history.
I might really love a particular song, but if I've heard it in the last 24 hours, I'd generally much prefer hearing another song I love than listening to the first one again. I love well-cooked salmon, but I wouldn't want to eat it every day. Especially when I can chow down on a nice filet mignon the next day.
I feel pretty much the same way about gaming.
I guess in most cases my "favorite" anything is variety.
The one absolute certain "favorite" I do have is my wife. ;-)
When it comes to things like music, movies, songs, books, food, video games, TV shows, etc... I don't even think in terms of "favorites". I tend to have this concept of "thresholds" and when something crosses the threshold where I consider it to be worth savoring, then it all becomes a matter of mood, circumstance, social situation and/or recent history.I might really love a particular song, but if I've heard it in the last 24 hours, I'd generally much prefer hearing another song I love than listening to the first one again. I love well-cooked salmon, but I wouldn't want to eat it every day. Especially when I can chow down on a nice filet mignon the next day.
I feel pretty much the same way about gaming.
I guess in most cases my "favorite" anything is variety.
The one absolute certain "favorite" I do have is my wife. ;-)
Good answer. I feel kind of the same way, except I can (and will) listen to the same album 2 or 3 times in a day (right now it's Liege and Lief by Fairport Convention). I'm more attracted to genre than specific medias.
And I feel about my roommate how you do about your wife (not that he's watching me type this).
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Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
brown paper packages tied up with strings,
these are a few of my favorite things.
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels,
door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles.
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings.
these are a few of my favorite things.
Girls in a white dresses with a blue satin sashes,
snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,
silver white winters that melt into springs,
these are a few of my favorite things.
That's like asking "what's more fun, hunting or fishing?". It's like "both, man."
I'll say this about that: I've never gone hunting without at least shooting SOMETHING.
Meanwhile as you're sitting out in the middle of the creek on a hot Florida summer's day and haven't caught anything in 4 hours while the mosquitoes and gnats are flying around saying "Sucks to be you, a#@**+*!", all you can think about is "Why haven't I just gotten in the water yet?"
But YMMV.
The answer seems to be whichever one I am not currently doing.
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what is that?I like the DM's co-conspirator position.
I end up there most of the time anyways.
Mostly, it means the DM trusts me to tell me things without metagaming.
It usually involves researching things like rules or lore, occasionally building NPCs, informing him of player morale, recent FAQ/Errata, and warning him of weak/overpowered builds, or player concerns.
Being a player is more "fun" in the simplest, most basic sense. You don't have a lot to worry about. Your mind can be in the action, and there is little actual work involved. It's a much purer form of "play."
Being a GM is addictive. It drives you. It takes over and begins informing your life. For a creative, driven, obsessive mind, it is by far the greater of the two, because it satisfies those deeper, more primeval urges.
I think i'll always prefer gming. Its both more challenging and a bigger toolbox.
When i'm inspired GM rocks.
Making a new world, making encounters that will challange the players. And I can try 3 diffent builds in a session...
But being a GM can feel like work... When you'r not really inspired and just have to find something the players can do... Spending time making a funny build only to see them smashed by the players in 1 round...
I'm about to take over a AP. With a group of overpowered players. It feels like work - but then it's gonna be the first AP i don't design myself perhaps that's easier...
Then i can just buff up an encounter here an there... Maybe think of clever ways to use monsters special abilities...
But for the most parts. playing a char seeing him evolve, getting new abilities are better...
It's hard for me to say, because the first Pathfinder game I was ever in, I GMed, and the first time I was a player, long-story short the GM was a jerk away from the table, so the group fell apart. I'm still GMing, and I have yet to play a significant amount.
It never really feels like work for me because I pretty much always come up with things on the fly. I'll prepare some ideas in advanced, but most of the time I just picked pre-generated monsters/characters from the books and tweak them enough in my head to make them work for the setting.
So put me in the GM camp.
For now, I have to say both are fun in their own way. GMing is more rewarding, but playing is more relaxing. Right now I'm GMing one campaign on even Sundays and playing in a second one on odd Sundays - it's perfect.
The problem with being a player is that a good GM can make or break a game. The same is true as a GM, but it's easier to find a new player or two if you have problems than it is to find a new GM for a group if that guy's a jerk.
In the end, I think I will enjoy DMing more, as I love the immersion in the story that only the GM can get and then trying my hardest to reveal as many aspects of that to the players. I also enjoy the fact that I'm still learning a lot about the system (my players just hit level 12, first time I've been this high level), but it's also a lot of work. I think once I've been through a complete AP or two, I'll feel more relaxed about DMing.
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What's more fun? As someone who's Gamemastered dozens of gamesystems over the past 30+ years, I can honestly tell you being a player is significantly more fun, because you are playing. Being a GM is work, plain and simple.
But being a GM is more rewarding. There's nothing like having a player put together the clues you been seeding in the campaign, and figuring out who the real bad guy is. Or watching your players lose track of real world time because they are so into the game you are running. Or surprising you with their raw emotion at the death of their favorite NPC.
Some days, it is all worth it.
I have more fun as a player. Similarly, I have more fun reading books than writing books.
by MC Rob Base and DJ E-Z RockUm, so what is your favorite song?I find myself in socially awkward situations all the time. It goes like this:
"What's your favorite color?"
"Favorite color? How can anyone have a favorite color? What does that even mean?"
"Seriously, you must have a favorite color!"
"I don't even understand the concept. That's like asking 'what's your favorite song?'!"
"What IS your favorite song?"
"What? No, that's the point, how can anyone have a favorite song?"
"Man, next you'll be telling me you don't have a favorite pet."Which is more fun, DM or player?
Sorry, question does not compute. There is no answer. That's like asking "what's more fun, hunting or fishing?". It's like "both, man."
That's like asking "what's more fun, hunting or fishing?". It's like "both, man."I'll say this about that: I've never gone hunting without at least shooting SOMETHING.
Meanwhile as you're sitting out in the middle of the creek on a hot Florida summer's day and haven't caught anything in 4 hours while the mosquitoes and gnats are flying around saying "Sucks to be you, a!&@~~$!", all you can think about is "Why haven't I just gotten in the water yet?"
But YMMV.
That's why it's called "fishing" Rynjin, not "catching."
To me getting out on the lake, or hiking into a remote mountain stream, or just sitting alongside a slow moving river is enough to make it a good day. Catching actual fish is just a bonus.
And I've done plenty of hunting where I've not fired a shot. Deer hunting or elk hunting, even if I get a shot at a target, if it's not what I'm looking for, I won't take the shot. I don't want to fill my tags with a deer or elk on day 1 and then see a bigger one the next day.
okay now that I have established that I have a favorite song I will answer the actual question:
GM'ing
I started to recognizing that as a player, I really enjoyed helping new players to get comfortable with the game even more than I enjoyed playing it, which is already a lot
Whether it was having a conversation with a Mom about what the heck this "PFS" thing she was dropping her son off at was all about, or helping a father/son pair roll up and play their first characters, allowing them to share a fun hobby they had never tried, or just answering questions from the 13 year old rogue player who is hella smart but hella inexperienced, I realized that I loved helping people enjoy pathfinder and introducing it to them.
This prompted me to start GM'ing. I am new to it, but I can honestly say I have had more fun and joy from bringing pathfinder to people, than simply playing in it myself
and don't get me wrong, I love me some pathfinder play as a PC
But GM'ing gets you moments that are just pure joy, when that plan comes together, your PCs do something incredible, or you see that switch click on behind a new player's eyes when you know they just went, 'oh hells yes, this is sickkkkk bro' or whatever you say in place of that
ugh long post
Liege and Lief is such a great album.
As for the DM vs. player debate, I'd side with DM. Why craft a single person when you can craft entire worlds!
IF I had more time, GM is more fun and rewarding when you have a really good and appreciative group.
But with how much time I can really devote to hobby type stuff. GM sometimes almost seems like something I have to do because I made a commitment to run a campaign.
Whereas player takes very little out of game time after the initial concept is done. Just a little finagling when I level up. So I can relax and let loose a lot more.
However, I realize the other guy doesn't want to be GM all the time either so we take turns.
Meanwhile as you're sitting out in the middle of the creek on a hot Florida summer's day and haven't caught anything in 4 hours while the mosquitoes and gnats are flying around saying "Sucks to be you, a$$$~+@!", all you can think about is "Why haven't I just gotten in the water yet?"
Wisdom...
...and crocodiles.
I'm GMing two games and playing in one. I love being the GM despite all of the work involved. This can turn quickly if the players start acting out or trying to disrupt the game rather than play in it.
I also love to play but find that this inspires me to GM all the more. Mostly it is "That isn't how I would have done it" or "This would be way more fun for the players if we could..." When playing a game gets me down, being the GM can turn that around.
That's why it's called "fishing" Rynjin, not "catching."
To me getting out on the lake, or hiking into a remote mountain stream, or just sitting alongside a slow moving river is enough to make it a good day. Catching actual fish is just a bonus.
In which case, IMO, you might as well just go hiking or sit beside a nice river with your toes in the water for a while. If you don't intend to catch anything, what's the point?
And I've done plenty of hunting where I've not fired a shot. Deer hunting or elk hunting, even if I get a shot at a target, if it's not what I'm looking for, I won't take the shot. I don't want to fill my tags with a deer or elk on day 1 and then see a bigger one the next day.
But you always have the OPPORTUNITY.
That and maybe it's because I've never hunted for sport. I've always gone out with the intention of having SOMETHING to fry or grill up, be it a brim or deer. Don't have enough space to hang a head and I've always thought it looked silly in most houses anyway.
Still, I've always enjoyed tromping through the woods or sitting in a stand on a nice chill day much more than I have sitting out in the sun and bitey bugs in the heat, regardless of if I decide to shoot anything or not.
Wisdom...
...and crocodiles.
1.) Alligators, not crocodiles.
2.) Alligators don't show up in the spring a few miles up creek. Or if they do the water's so damn clear anyway it's not like they're gonna sneak up on you.
As a friend and fellow Pathfinder Society GM likes to say...
Players only get to play for a few hours. GMs get to play all week.
I love playing but I LOVE GMing. Seeing the smiles on my players' faces and knowing they are having fun makes all the prep more than worth it.
Rynjin, you are so good at reconstructing a statement into something you can debate that I wonder sometimes if you are even aware that you are doing it.
I didn't say I didn't TRY to catch fish, I said that catching fish isn't REQUIRED for me to have fun. I'm a pretty good fisherman. I rarely get skunked. It happens, but maybe once a year or so. And I fish in some pretty difficult places, lots of gold medal trout streams with "highly educated trout". Colorado is such a great place to live. :)
But I enjoy just being out there and I might take an hour long "break" just to lay in the grass and watch the clouds. If I catch something that's just the icing on the cake. In fact I get quite a bit of enjoyment just from the physical act of casting a fly rod and placing the fly where I want it to land without a splash. One perfect cast is enough to make me happy for a good long time, even if it doesn't catch a fish.
The same is true for hunting. I don't relish the idea of hauling an elk carcass half a mile up a hill to my truck either. :) It better dang well be an elk worth hauling.
When I was a kid and we depended on what my brothers and I hunted for dinner, that was a little different, but in that case I wasn't nearly as picky so ended up with a lot more game in my bag, or in my truck. But these days it's not like that. If I don't get an elk, I can afford a burger from the diner outside of town. :)
Who was it that said a bad day of fishing beats a good day at the office? Whoever it was, as far as I'm concerned, they were totally right.