DMs: How do your players show their appreciation for what you do?

[Arnwyn]

My players show their appreciation by whining "why can't we take Miniatures Handbook classes? Why can't we take AU classes?", etc etc ad nauseum.

Seriously, though, at the end of sessions they say things like "that was killer" and "awesome", and they still sometimes ask to play once a week even though we all agreed that once every 2 weeks is perfect.

 

[Kalendraf]

Besides getting quite a few verbal compliments, and lots of food & beverage related goodies, I've had a couple of players reward me with other items over the years. These include:

Some figurines - Made by Ral Partha, I think. This was back in the late 80's/early 90's.

Books - A couple years ago, someone bought me the Epic Level Handbook. Another player bought me a d20 sourcebook.

CD's - I've received some cool game-related and even some non-game-related stuff on burned CD's. (Nothing copyrighted, so it was all on the up and up.)

 

[SurfMonkey01]

Depends on they player with me...

Player 1 (my fiance) - rewards me with sexual favors
Player 2 - "rewards" me by having the attention span of a newt and always trying to recruit my other players for a whim idea he'd just had, even though the other players in the group can ONLY play on the one day we normally play my game...
Player 3 & 4 - they mock me incessantly during gameplay They also tell me that screw Player 2, they only want to play in my games.

That's my group in a nutshell.

 

[DM_Jeff]

One of my players married me. Does that count?

Hey, same here, how great is that? It IS good to be the DM!

Overall, I've been lucky enough to have a few chipped-in holiday gifts over the years, a remote control dragon, game books, and painted miniatures are all nice.

What really strikes the best is enthusiasm: saying thanks, showing up on time to every game, putting the game first (or at least not dead last) on your priority list, taking notes and being active int he campaign away from the table are all forms of apreciation that count to me.

-DM Jeff

"And now let's enjoy a game of D&D and cleaning up after yourselves." Paraphrasing Principal Skinner.

 

[Psikonetic]

Anytime the players talk about the game when we're not playing, mentioning how they would have tackled a scenario differently or start trying to figure out where the game's going next, that's thanks to me. If I've hooked them enough they keep coming back or are thinking about the game when the game isn't being played, then that's a good sign of thanks.
Though the occasional book or trip to GenCon wouldn't hurt... just in case any of my players are reading this, Sean? Sean, I'm looking at you buddy!

 

[4everdm]

4everdm ___ Where are you in Florida. We have a group meeting every other Saturday in East / Central Florida and are looking to add an "experienced Player" Almost 75 years of both playing and DMing between our group of 5. Email me if you're interested or are close enough to consider.

I am interested, but I think I may be a bit out of reach, MIA. Had a bit of trouble with the email so posting here.

 

[S'mon]

Books - A couple years ago, someone bought me the Epic Level Handbook.

Heh. That's hilarious. No ulterior motive, I'm sure...

 

[Lord Judas]

Usually I just get "thanks!" or "great game" at the end of the session. The person who is often our DM gives me mucho props between games on Instant Messenger.

The big "reward" for me though, is when the players discuss the game in Email (like planning) or my absolute fav: their eyes light up mid-game and I get a "You ba$tard..." when they put together one of my more labrynthine plot elements. Another high I got was when the two players that are most often DM's once looked at each other as one said "Show off!" in reference to me (I think I had drawn some maps or something and photocopied them for the game)

It doesnt take much though. I often equate the job to being a chef whos prepared a great meal and praise goes a long way.

 

[Lord Judas]

Usually I just get "thanks!" or "great game" at the end of the session. The person who is often our DM gives me mucho props between games on Instant Messenger.

The big "reward" for me though, is when the players discuss the game in Email (like planning) or my absolute fav: their eyes light up mid-game and I get a "You ba$tard..." when they put together one of my more labrynthine plot elements. Another high I got was when the two players that are most often DM's once looked at each other as one said "Show off!" in reference to me (I think I had drawn some maps or something and photocopied them for the game)

It doesnt take much though. I often equate the job to being a chef whos prepared a great meal and praise goes a long way.

 

[ichabod]

When I ended my last campaign, my players got me a $250 gift certificate at Best Buy, which I used to get an mp3 player and an ethernet card.