DMs: Do you have performance anxiety?

[4everdm]

I too have been DMing for over 20 years and without a doubt I still get nervous right before a game. Once the game starts and all the "preliminary" stuff is out of the way and the adventure gets underfoot all that nevousness turns into a huge quantity of energy which I channel into the session and all turns out fine. After all, we're all there to have a good time. I would like to think it's that anxiety which makes us good DMs - we're always concerned about the game and our players

 

[HellHound]

I've had some EXTREME performance anxiety cases over the years. Even ruined a few game sessions for me and the players.

I ran a Vampire Chronicle that was wildly successfull with the theme of Ancilla Empowerment. Ran it for three years. It rocked. It also got shelved after a while.

When we decided as a group to start a new chronicle in the same city, basically 4 years after the end of the prior chronicle, I set it all up, prepped it, and aimed for the same level of immersive roleplaying and storytelling (and of course, some good old combat - World of Darkness is still all about the Kewl Powerz). But my fear that the game wouldn't be as good as the prior chronicle sabotaged the whole thing, and it ran flat as heck.

I've since fixed it, and am running a new chronicle in the same city once again, and it has proven to be amazing, once again.

---

I've also had some D&D games that have fallen really flat, especially when we tried our hands at Epic play. The expectations are higher than the results.

 

[Ranes]

The night before the game, I like to quickly check my notes and make sure I've got all the major bases (which are belong to us) covered. They usually are, so I enter the land of nod with nothing but enthusiasm for the next day's game. But in the hour or two before everyone arrives, I sometimes have to put down little anxiety rebellions over some aspect of the notes, be it their order, clarity or completeness, or over my familiarity with rules I expect to come into play (one of the best things about 3.x D&D is that there are aspects of the game I have yet to experience in play).

However, once we're all ready, I don my +6 mantle of self-confidence and get stuck in. In my experience, being able to purvey an air of self-confidence helps to keep a game moving and improving. I always do a session post-mortem the next day, to see where I went wrong and to examine what I might have done better. But if - no, when - I share a self-critical observation with one of the players (between games), the response is usually supportively dismissive of my perceived failing. That's nice, bearing in mind that my adventure design and DMing are frequently described in complimentary but nevertheless somewhat harsh terms.

 

[EricNoah]

The expectations are higher than the results.

I think this is an extremely common experience among gamers. Hmmm ... that might be a fun poll: How often does the actual game meet your expectations?

As many have noted, once the game starts the fears vanish and it's all fun and laughter and skipping around in sunny meadows. And for me it's not the public-speaking part; it's the general-preparedness part that sometimes get the butterflies a-churning.

 

[Scotley]

How often does the actual game meet your expectations?

I can't say that I have any worries at game time. I have been DM'ing since I was 11 and have had many of the same players for more than 20 years. I don't have any problems with public speaking and in part I attibute that to my years behind the screens.

I can say that I have very high expectations for a game I'm currently planning. I've been working on it for a looooooong time. So after that much effort my expectation will almost certainly exceed the reality. In that sense I so have some concern. I am trying to channel that into something productive.

Scotley

 

[BlackMoria]

Never. And I mean never. Not even the first time I DMed some 30 years ago.

But then, I am the oddball type that can be given a topic and a minute to think about it - and then stand before a audience of people and speak on the topic.

 

[Psion]

Once in a while, but then I put the Barry White on and it all works out, baby!

Oh, ahem, not THAT kind of performance anxiety.

I don't know if you would call it anxiety, but it takes me about an hour of sort of stilted gaming to get the wheels rolling, see where the game is going, and pull everything together so it starts humming along at a nice pace.

 

[WizarDru]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. For a mid-story session, usually not. But at the beginning of a new story, where things could go awry, or the conclusion of a very big story, sometimes yes. The pressure and anxiety are always self-imposed: "Will this work? Is this too obvious/obscure? Why oh Why did I play Metroid:Zero Mission instead of finishing the NPCs stats? Is this idea developed enough?!?"

It rarely causes any problems, other than taking a little while to get in the flow once the game begins. I'm pretty sure my players think I'm a spaz about it. After all, it's been three years, and they keep coming back.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Oh yes. I get it bad a few hours before the game starts, but assuming things go well, I usually get over it and just enjoy myself.

 

[Arnwyn]

Anyone else?

Nope, never. But, based on my professional training for my career, and who I game with, this isn't really surprising.