Female DM's

[DungeonmasterCal]

In the nearly 20 years I've played D&D, I've only once participated in a game with a woman behind the screen. It was her first time, and frankly, it was an awful game, but being the gentleman I am, played it and did my best to have a good time. I've tried for years to get my wife to DM, but she refuses.

I'm curious as to how many female members of the ENWorld community here DM. Also, what game systems, and how many years?

 

[Tinker Gnome]

WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL WITH GIRL GAMERS AND DMS????

Sorry, I just see all these threads about it and it drives me crazy sometimes.

Seriously though, I do not see why it is such a big deal.

 

[Corporal_Cupcake]

Ladies behind the screen

My sweetie runs any number of gaming systems: Mage, Buffy, 7th Sea, but she won't touch d20 generally or D&D specifically. Too many rules for her, she says. Get rid of the rules lawyers, I say.

 

[mythago]

WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL WITH GIRL GAMERS AND DMS????

I think a sizable number of male gamers simply haven't reached a maturity level where they are aware that females are pretty much members of the same species as they are. They probably are still amazed on some level that women do not have their own separate language.

I will say that the hobby has come a long way from the days when I would go to a con and literally have a crowd gather, not because I was cute but because I was a female DM.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

I think a sizable number of male gamers simply haven't reached a maturity level where they are aware that females are pretty much members of the same species as they are. They probably are still amazed on some level that women do not have their own separate language.

I will say that the hobby has come a long way from the days when I would go to a con and literally have a crowd gather, not because I was cute but because I was a female DM.

Ok...let me just state for the record this post is not being submitted by some immature pud-yankin' mama's boy who is afraid to leave the basement, and I resent any implication to that effect. I have been gaming for nearly 20 years, married for nearly 14, am a father, and have had the great honor to share my campaigns with many female players over the years. I know the hobby is still weighted heavily in the favor of males, and am simply curious to see how far it has come in shedding its stereotypes.

 

[milotha]

In the nearly 25 years that I have played D&D, I've had almost as many female GMS as I've had male GMs. As for the type of games that they've run, I really haven't noticed much difference. Nor, have I really noticed a difference in play styles either. I've met many hack-n-slash women and I've met many story tellers. Perhaps it's just the group of people that I hung out with. But one of my earliest D&D campaigns back in 1979 was half female, and one of them even GMed a few sessions.

I'm just saying that they are out there, and just because the only female GM you've encountered wasn't good doesn't necessarily have anything to do with her being female. She was afterall a newbie GM.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

I'm just saying that they are out there, and just because the only female GM you've encountered wasn't good doesn't necessarily have anything to do with her being female. She was afterall a newbie GM.

Let me say that my comment about her GM'ing skills was not meant to be a reflection on her gender, because it certainly was not. I've played under far more male DM's than female, and quite a few of those stank on ice. A bad GM is a bad GM, no matter the chromosomes. I once had a woman in my games who had DM'd an all female group. I didn't get to play in that group, but did stop by once to watch for a few minutes on my way to another engagement. I'd never seen a more ruthless and bloodthirsty band of adventurers in my life....lol...They were like driver ants on the march in her game.

So again, let me say that my post was meant as a sort of quasi-survey and was in no way an attempt to slam the talents of female DM's.

 

[barsoomcore]

My first DM was a woman.

Darlene. Darlene, if you're out there, I had the HUGEST crush on you.

My buddy and I had discovered D&D (this is 1979, I guess) and we're looking around for people to play with and in the newspaper there's an ad for Dungeons and Dragons players. So call up and talk to this girl on the phone and agree to show up at her place the following Saturday.

Now, I'm ELEVEN years old at this point, as is my friend. So we show up and it's all grown-ups. In their twenties and thirties, I guess, though you know how it is when you're eleven -- grown-ups all look the same.

The game is run by the woman of the house, Darlene, who remains indelibly stamped on my mind in her tight leather pants and husky voice and cheerful slaughter of PCs. She made awesome hand-outs, designed wickedly evil dungeons and we had a huge blast. I was so in love.

I'd love to meet anyone from that gaming group, just to know what they though about this pair of eleven-year-olds who joined their campaign. I know at my age I'd be inclined to be not super-tolerant, but they were great. I felt like a complete member of the group.

Seems funny looking back at it, but at the time it never occurred to us that it was at all strange. It was just so cool to know other D&D players.

Darlene had a huge influence on my DMing. So props, Dar. Wherever you are.

 

[Wombat]

I think the major reason I have dealt with very few female GMs is because I am usually shackled with the job myself

I have played in two games with female GMs -- one was a Traveller game, the other CoC. No D&D at all, but that doesn't surprise me, given how much of my rpg history has been spent with other games. There was also one who was trying to put together an Ars Magica game, but sadly I was the only player willing to commit.

I must admit that I would have no stranger of a time with a female GM than a female gamer. Simply put, a gamer is a gamer -- I am more interested in/worried about gaming skills than gender, race, orientation, or political beliefs.

Or more simply ... what's the big deal?

 

[Eeralai]

I think a sizable number of male gamers simply haven't reached a maturity level where they are aware that females are pretty much members of the same species as they are. They probably are still amazed on some level that women do not have their own separate language.

You should try chess as a hobby. When I was in HS a rival coach was bad mouthing our team for having "the lower race" on its team meaning girls. It was very satisfying when by best friend beat their top player and said in front of his coach, "You got beat by a girl."

As far as being a GM, I have no interest in it because I would want to control the direction of the story too much. My husband is the GM of the game I play in and is very good about letting the players take the lead in the story. I would always be telling them they were doing it wrong. I don't think it is a gender issue; that would be saying all women are control freaks. It's just a difference in personality between my husband and I.