Why do you like to GM?
I've done it before, and in one of two situations, i really didn't like it, and in the other, it's still kinda new, so I'm not sure about that one.
Now, i don't mean to make this into a debate form, but i would like to know-
What do you find fun about being a GM? For me, i found it to be too much work, but i was having to deal with whiny players. (No, they weren't whining about me. They were whining at each other.)
Also, it feels like your interactions don't have much meaning as a GM, every charecter being short lived, with little development.
NOW-
I don't mean to turn this into an argument!
These were my experiences.
I'm just asking for yours.
I love setting up the world the most. Even if the players never really notice al the little things I just find it fun to make them. Oh and I really enjoy putting together potentional interactions and plots.
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Because storytelling is a fundamental human pastime that has lost none of its power or joy.
The rewards of being a GM can be immediate or very long term. I'm most satisfied with my work when I hear people tell stories about a game I ran years ago. Knowing that it stuck with them all this time justifies the hard work I put into it.
In this way it's a lot like being a teacher.
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I was raised in a family that loved to host. My family has an easter party every year that approaches 100 friends and family. We have a thanksgiving gathering that hovers around 40 people. Its just sort of what we do.
Gming is much like hosting a party, and I get alot of the same enjoyment out of it. I am fascilitating fun and joy amongst my friends. Its a nice feeling when everyone is walking out of my place at the end of the night with smiles on their faces talking excitedly about what happened and what they think will happen in the next session.
I also like the story telling aspect and getting to put my own twist on someone elses work (I generally run published material). Its a creative space I work well in, where as creating from scratch isnt something I am particularly good at. In addition, I love getting to try out all sorts of neat Ideas. As a Gm i could create 20 different characters and use them all in a single session. Cant do that as a player. If I just picked up a new 3rd party class I really like and cant wait to try out, chances are its showing up in the game I run, just to give it a try.
It also leaves me with a space to tinker with the rules. I have a number of house rules I am tinkering with that I think could improve the game. One can try to talk to other GMs, but usually your house rules stay in your house, meaning you have to run to use them. So that is my oppurtunity to test and refine those ideas as well.
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I GM because I enjoy the creative process, and being able to make different characters, plots, and subplots that resolve either with or without PC interaction.
A few thoughts:
1. Players, and their characters, are always a wild card. They may have a good day, they may have a bad day, but no matter what, they will always, always, *always* do the unexpected.
2. NPCs can be as developed as you want them to be. Each person has a web of connections, and every strand of that web can tie back in at some point.
3. To me, the joy of DMing comes when the players really latch on to something and immerse themselves in it. That may take a while, and it's not always the fault of the DM. Sometimes they just need time to grasp the picture you're trying to paint.
I love roleplaying, I love the system, I love building characters and places, I love storytelling(even though story skills need some improving), and I want to do all of that some more.
And I didn't have a GM that wanted to play the style of games I want, so I decided to get into GM'ing. And I hope to get better at it :)
Lately I have also read a few guides on how to reduce prep-work, because setting all that up and having players completely ignore it was a B****!
But now we're rebooting the game focusing on some other aspect of play, namely players making deeper characters and setting the plots they want.
Also: the world needs more GMs.
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Mr. Fishy enjoys the howls of the broken, the screams of the tortured and the moans of the hopeless...We talking about gaming right?
Mr. Fishy knows he's run a good game when a player slams his fist on the table, points at Mr. Fishy and screams "You're a Bastard."
Mr. Fishy isn't the hangman he just sells rope.
I like the storytelling, I like the NPC/Monster creation, and I like entertaining.
It also means I get to be more of an observer to the group, instead of participating in it. And, you can create lots of flavourful NPCs and monsters without being expected to optimize, because the players will never complain about a non-optimized villain :P
Mr. Fishy knows he's run a good game when a player slams his fist on the table, points at Mr. Fishy and screams "You're a Bastard."
Um... That's a little debatable. I know i was trying to actively not annoy the hell out of my players. But if your players come back, and had fun... Whatever?
(Note, not that i didn't threaten them in charecter, mind you. I threw thing 3 or 4 cr above them.... But the way the group was designed, they had almost every base covered. It was a good group of pc's, but two of the players became too annoying and stressful (out of 4) and i had to close it down.)
I like to DM because no one else will do it.
I like to DM because my friends let loose their inner fantasies.
I like to DM because it makes me think. Dear lord does it make me think.
I like to DM because to see how the AP designer's vision plays out.
I like to DM because I have over a dozen bestiaries and I'm not afraid to use them!
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Why do you like to GM?
Because I know everything, rather than only seeing what my PC sees.
Play ALL the characters!
And most importantly, I get to to see the shine in my players eyes when they meet someone that delights them, accomplishes something grand, or finds themselves in a grand locale. I get to see the dread when they realize where their adventure is about to take them, the horror when they know what the slavering beast approaching the party is and can do, and grim resolve when they decide that no one else but them can stand in the way of perilous evil set upon the campaign setting.
Once upon a time, I fell into the category of "I'm the only one who can put up with it, so I'm the only one who can." But that was back in the days of 3rd edition..
Now there is only glory on the horizon, as Pathfinder has easily become our favorite tabletop pastime. Great storyline hooks, colorful character creation, and challenging (as well as baffling) monsters to do battle with. All of it is at my fingertips, and I don't have to dig too terribly deep to get an amazing adventure rolling. It's made GMing much easier on my shoulders, whereas it felt like a chore to do beforehand.
My players enjoy it even more. A tear may have come to my eye when I heard "Wait, I can -do- that? Whoa.." as a player became aware of his abilities upon leveling up. What does that have to do with GMing part of it? Well if the players aren't having fun, then ... what is the point?
Pathfinder provides plenty of inspiration to draw upon, in case you ever hit a brick wall of writer's block (I'm looking at you, Ultimate Campaign). The well of adventure will never go dry.
It's nice to hear others have found it more fun then i did.
Though i did see my reason a few times-
"I was the only one willing"
One of the things I like is the opportunity to try other character builds to see how they work. Sometimes the party is attacked by a build or two that I have been thinking about playing. This gives me the chance to see if it works as well as I'd hope or if it was more of a meh.
I like to tell stories. With a participating audience that actually involves and gives input into the story - what could be better?
PS. Yes, I game with good people.
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Because it's worth it.
It's worth it to see a complete stranger exclaim 'dude, we have to talk to the crazy old ship captain!' and enjoy you ham it up.
It's worth it to see your best friend put his head in his hand with an 'Oh crap' as he realizes the NPC they are trying to rescue has been sent to Hell and the party has to go there next.
It's worth it to reveal the fighters teacher has been turned into a vampire by the enemy and now stands in his way.
It's worth it to see your friend say 'Now I have to bring him back' because his ex-communicated cleric is suddenly wearing his old holy symbol after having died rescuing others.
It's worth it to be the one making these memories possible for friends and strangers alike.
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Because I'm a control freak and only want other players to do my goodrightfun way of gaming.
Within the first 10 minutes of playing my first PC in my first D&D campaign back in the mid 70s, I had already decided that I wanted to be a GM. Within a week I was running my first campaign. And I've been GMing ever since.
I love to play PCs in a campaign, but I love to GM too. Why? (Not in any particular order.)
1. Because I love a challenge.
2. Because I enjoy leading groups of people in activities.
3. Because I get to create whatever I want.
4. Because I get to provide an opportunity for my friends to have fun.
5. Because I get a chance to explore a vast range of important (and marketable) skills.
6. Because it's fun.
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On the contrary I love playing different personalities. Getting to run NPCs let me play all sorts of characters and never get bored of it. Part of the reason I GM is so I don't have to play the same character for very long. Also, NPCs can make the game meaningful it the best ways. BBEG that the players talk about defeating for years. The possessed town simpleton that was colorsprayed in town square by the wizard (long story). The professors daughter that had to be saved from the BBEG. All of these make the game and are anything but lacking for meaning.
I like storytelling. I like writing. I cant help but think of how I would do things if I was on the GM side of the screen while playing. I think I have met maybe 2 GMs in my time gaming that I can just let go and enjoy the game they provide. Not to say all others were bad, I respect the amount of work that goes into GMing, but a lot of folks don't sell the game. I have no problems with a one shot or rotating with anyone though. A long term campaign though I will think long and hard about.
So, first, I enjoy GMing because I really like discovering what happens to the worlds I set up. Mostly though, I like it because I'm good at it, and I'm not nearly as good at PCing.
i found it to be too much work
This is an issue with the style of GMing you tried. When I GM, it's practically no work. I don't plan anything--planning is a bad idea, in my experience, because the PCs will inevitably deviate anyway and having a plan will just make you want to push them into it.
, but i was having to deal with whiny players. (No, they weren't whining about me. They were whining at each other.)
Table control is one of the most underrated skills required to GM--you have to keep the flow of the game in tact and keep people away from out of game chatter when necessary.
Also, it feels like your interactions don't have much meaning as a GM, every charecter being short lived, with little development.
I don't see why that's the case--were your PCs in super kill everything mode? Or did you just only create bad guy NPCs? There's no reason why your NPCs have to be short lived--I always have a cast of recurring characters to deal with.
So, first, I enjoy GMing because I really like discovering what happens to the worlds I set up. Mostly though, I like it because I'm good at it, and I'm not nearly as good at PCing.i found it to be too much workThis is an issue with the style of GMing you tried. When I GM, it's practically no work. I don't plan anything--planning is a bad idea, in my experience, because the PCs will inevitably deviate anyway and having a plan will just make you want to push them into it.
, but i was having to deal with whiny players. (No, they weren't whining about me. They were whining at each other.)Table control is one of the most underrated skills required to GM--you have to keep the flow of the game in tact and keep people away from out of game chatter when necessary.
Also, it feels like your interactions don't have much meaning as a GM, every charecter being short lived, with little development.I don't see why that's the case--were your PCs in super kill everything mode? Or did you just only create bad guy NPCs? There's no reason why your NPCs have to be short lived--I always have a cast of recurring characters to deal with.
1- dealing with the players whining was the too much work part.
2- when one person at your table is your little brother, who is terrible at roleplay, and blames everyone else for that fact, it hardly matters how skilled you are. (And because of a long story, i couldn't really get rid of him.)
3- the setting was a cold, desolate, northern town, founded off of mining. The antagonist was nearly omnipresent, prepared for them at every turn. (I didn't make too many plans)
Lastly, the setting took place in only one town. One of the pc's was a bar owner.
How do you make an important good guy npc without stealing the show in a place like this, where it is almost a week to any other civilization?
Why do you like to GM?
I enjoy the world-building. I like creating secrets about the world and/or city and its history that the PCs will slowly be able to figure out.
I enjoy coming up with combat scenarios that are fun and interesting, visually and mechanically.
And most of all, I love RPing the jeebus out of the NPCs. I once had the group meet a small family of traveling tinkers, a man and his two young daughters. When the group approached the older daughter (maybe 12) had a mounted crossbow trained on them, while the other two were safely inside. she'd question the group harshly, then yell down to her father inside. Was a load of fun and all my players were smiling through the entire encounter.
In another game with another group, the PCs had to transport a chest of gold through the city, so they hired a mercenary to help them. They got a noble moonlighting who thought it was all a game and said everything in a highly melodramatic voice. Plus he constantly slung passive-aggressive insults at the party gnome. Tons of fun!
Yes, DMing can require work outside the game. But during the game itself, if you've done your homework, it's all play and so fun!
For me, it's all about the storytelling. I love crafting the tale, trying to anticipate the actions of my players so I can involve them in the story without railroading. I like encouraging my players to create interesting characters and to have an idea about their past so that I, as the GM, can weave elements of those back stories into the main arcs of the campaign. Basically, it's an excuse for me to write, to plot, and to create interesting, engaging stories and then share them with others.
Oh, and I also get to kill/maim/strength drain/etc my friends. What's not to love???
How do you make an important good guy npc without stealing the show in a place like this, where it is almost a week to my other civilization?
Uh, by having any other NPCs in the town? I don't really understand the question. Just don't have them steal the show--there's no reason they can't be well developed.
^_^
I love the stories, i just wish that i could have done better/ wasn't in such a bad spot for my first game.
How do you make an important good guy npc without stealing the show in a place like this, where it is almost a week to my other civilization?Uh, by having any other NPCs in the town? I don't really understand the question. Just don't have them steal the show--there's no reason they can't be well developed.
When the pc's fail to interact with anyone who isn't a villan, a pc, really powerful, or In immediate danger, (and they leave them alone after the danger is resolved) there isn't much point.
Basically, they treated the dm as the giver of problems rather then someone who actually has things they want to do in the game too.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
How do you make an important good guy npc without stealing the show in a place like this, where it is almost a week to my other civilization?Uh, by having any other NPCs in the town? I don't really understand the question. Just don't have them steal the show--there's no reason they can't be well developed.When the pc's fail to interact with anyone who isn't a villan, a pc, really powerful, or In immediate danger, (and they leave them alone after the danger is resolved) there isn't much point.
Basically, they treated the dm as the giver of problems rather then someone who actually has things they want to do in the game too.
I have been the primary DM for our group for a long (long) time. I enjoy the storytelling, making up worlds to interact in and making up fun NPCs. Pretty much what others have said above.
That bums me out that your players are treating you like you are the computer in their computer game. Just give me the quest, no talky-talky! Load me into the instance and send the mobs at us. That would not be fun to DM.
Maybe find another group, if possible, just to be a PC in. See how other DM's are doing it? The Internets has video of RPG groups. Just a thought.
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That's why you need an NPC with a spine. It's a mining town, there wasn't a tough old miner that was too old to fight, but had plenty of gumption to harangue some younger folk into getting things done? Some inn matron with no fear to speak her mind? If the PCs don't interact with the town, the town needs to interact with them!
Why do you like to GM?
Fewer TPKs that way?
I jest. There's a joy in bringing the "wow" out of an encounter that is rewarding for a DM. Knowing who the bad guy is, teasing it, hinting at it, letting the PCs explore it, then the reveal. Watching the reactions. If the players are happy it's because you enabled them to be.
Oh. And fewer TPKs.
Because building my own adventures and running them is cathartic. With a high stress job, it's nice to wind down by rolling up a dragon's hoard, generating a random dungeon crawl, and developing the right traits to create memorable NPCs.
It's just as rewarding to see my adventurers react to the people in the world I've made. People like the master weaponsmith who blanched the fighter's blade at Chuck's Armory, the halfling bar owner with a permanent enlarge person cast on himself, the vile yet philanthropic Lady Helmsby and her annoying lackey Doug Beach.
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I love to GM for so many reasons, some are listed above.
When players love the NPCs you craft and ham up those bit parts, at the intersection of need/planning and improvisation become real. Hollow Graves (B.Nec) Esq, Mogo the cowardly goblin, Jenny Lightfoot (urchin pickpocket), Centripedes (Grippli Knight) are more than names, they are people with voices and needs of their own.
That moment when all seems lost, every dice comes up 1, every plan seems to slip through the players fingers, every challenge has been insurmountable and every monster too tough and then someone stops and says: "Guys, I know what to do. It's crazy but it just might work!"
Suddenly I'm scrambling to adjudicate the player's mad plans and lateral moves, the momentum shifts and the players become an unstoppable force, and I'm just as excited to find out what happens next as they are.
I love design, when mechanic and narrative intersect perfectly.
I love the excitement of a new game, the joy of the unknown. I love the sense of accomplishment of a long campaign.
I actually don't like to DM, because I have short attention span, and that's not very good for a DM. I also am a bit lazy when it comes to preparation. I DM because I love rule-tinkering and world building, and nobody else can realize my ideas.
Some of my friends are much better DMs than me, but nobody wants to run by my rules or in my worlds, so I have to.
Also, I DM because nobody else has the time.
Why do you like to GM?
I like to GM because I know there will be a time when someone else does it and I can play once more.
That bums me out that your players are treating you like you are the computer in their computer game. Just give me the quest, no talky-talky! Load me into the instance and send the mobs at us. That would not be fun to DM.Maybe find another group, if possible, just to be a PC in. See how other DM's are doing it? The Internets has video of RPG groups. Just a thought.
I'm in a online one, but there is no available games near me, witchis why i ran a group. I was the onto one willing.
They all kept telling me i was a great dm, and that i made intresting and cool things to do.But overall, dispite this, i was boredom because they were treating me more like a computer, and ignoring most of my non-villan npc's.
I mean, one time, i managed to make a villan of a chaotic good charecter, in a group where 3/4 charecters were chaotic good.
I can (according to them) make an immersive world, but the players seemed rather self-contained, and often didn't stop to interact with with it, so i can't see how it was immersive if they never actually immersed themselves in it.
(Note, with the two games I've run, they are anything but modules. It was my own world, even with characters of unique classes, abilities, and one time, (really complicated) the equivalent of a positive energy litch.)
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I prefer to DM over playing because in general I can't get enough role playing and story telling done as a player. Each player is a part of a group, and unless you're in a solo story, you can't monopolize the RP time. If you're the DM, the players are always interacting with someone or something, and that involves you.
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It all started because I got sick of everyone shirking the responsibility. We had rotating GM duty for decades. I got sick of games breaking down. I wanted closure. I wanted a clear narrative vision.
Then, something clicked. When you GM, you don't just control NPCs or place monsters in the path of the PCs. For a real GM, the campaign is their player-character. A good campaign inspires the same pride and fondness (perhaps even more) that a cherished PC does.
These days, I prefer to GM, and I would gladly launch yet another campaign if there were any time left over to do so.
Telling the fantastical stories, deciding what's in my world; the guilds, factions, rulers, everything from the village idiot to the almighty Phoenix! Being able to play any character, and tell the story from their point of view, simply glorious. Sure it's overwhelming occasionally, but nothing quite compares to the feeling of hearing the PCs talk about how much they liked your world and the people in it after the game.
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This has been cooking in my skull since yesterday and I finally realized that it is my biggest creative 'out'. I used to write, but it was very amateurish and when I got into running, the players provided the sounding boards for me. By relaxing and giving them their run, I became a good GM. Some of the most memorable runs have been player driven in toto. And they always come up things I never thought of. A player explained why a Medusa runs one city's thieves' guild, another solved the 'why' of so many defunct portals in my world and a trio set down serious Elven customs from a bit of fluff background.
Ultimately, it is their jobs to keep me entertained.
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My first attempt at DM was a horrid failure and i didnt go back to trying again for from the 90's until '07.
Now though.. I just wrapped up a mini campaign from the winter and were merging into the new adventure path coming out.
I love the PF rule system, most the broken stuff from 3.x is fixed. Not the bs 4th ed version. Of my party of 10 players, 1 will run another PF game, but he just ran two paths for two different tables and wants to play. So that leave me, or we go back to playing 2nd ed cuz thats what they others are willing to DM.
I have written and created worlds upon worlds, fill reams of paper and boxes of notebooks of worlds to burn away time. some crap, some amazing. But they were hollow, dead worlds. In the past 7 years roughly that ive been DMing.. I have told a couple amazing tales that the players still talk about, even though the one ended in 09.
I really like watching as the stoned as heck guy solves the riddles that the sober people cant.
I like it when i spend days creating an uber challange and the party defeats it rather handily.
I like it when after a battle is over, the mage that had grabbed a tower shield to protect the archer asks the cleric for a heal. cleric say how much life do you have left. Mage says none and collapses bleeding out. Turns out he had gone to -HP and made a fort save to keep fighting and didnt want to tell me so i didnt fudge the combat.
I DM because i am good at it. Mostly though because my players prefer me to the others DMing because well i balance things so its not easy or hard. I do still struggle with giving out too much loot in my homebrew worlds. I spend a good hour every day or two making magic items, ill never use in a campaign.
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Fun Reason : Because I enjoy it when people get into the worlds I create. I enjoy getting all the cogs and wheels of a world to fit in my head and all rotate at the same time without exploding. I enjoy working multiple plots and throwing out a dozen fishooks and seeing which ones my players bite on and which ones they don't for subplots.
Practical Reason : It helps me pretend to be an extrovert when I'm at work, rather than an introvert. And I'm 100% serious about this. I'm naturally an introvert (INTJ personality profile). But I have people who are shocked to hear that, even my players. And extroverts always find it easier to get promotions, to get second chances, and basically have an easier time in real life.
I get a euphoric high after I run a good game. As a player I tend to get a little frustrated with the other players and I'm constantly thinking how I would handle things as the GM. I do enjoy playing, but only in small groups and where I know the GM has a well crafted story. I'm a wanna-be script writer and movie director and I think of players as actors in a movie that has multiple paths and ending.
I DM to give my DM time off from DMing!
to share a game i love with people whom i care about so they can love it too
also funny thing about tabletop games they don't need power to be played and depending what i doing at the time that could me no power for long periods of time
For a real GM,Ugh.
Snow, this is contrasted with Players who are forced into GMing because of a vacuum.
This isn't a "true scotsman" statement. What delineates a "real" GM is the decision to GM even if you have the option to be a player.
I completely understand your response, I could have worded it better.