This is highly dependent on the group and the game. Some DMs are as casual as many players, don't spend very much effort on game prep, and just run published material. It is quite easy for a player to be just as, if not more invested in the game than the DM.
OTOH, a DM who creates a setting, custom adventures, and commits a boatload of time to the campaign is probably much more invested than the players.
I feel so bad for the DM's here who feel that players are only casual. You must have to do so much work to make your campaigns run.
As a DM, I expect the players to assist creating setting, filling NPC's (at least the ideas for NPC's, if not the actual mechanics), supply plot hooks for personal quests and get buy in from the rest of the table to undergo said personal quests, plus numerous other elements. My players create wikis, start role playing threads on our forums outside of the game to continue in game conversations, and a host of other things.
The idea that the players just show up when the game starts and finish when the game ends is just not what I want as a player or a DM. Maybe it's because my entire group DM's as well. It's been so many years since I've been in a group where you had one DM. And, since we're all DM's, we all supply a great deal of input into the campaign that's going on.
Sorry, the whole, "Well, I do most of the work, so, I'm wearing the big daddy pants and you have to do what I say" is the complete opposite of the group I want to play in. I want to play in a game where the entire group is invested in the game to the point where everyone is participating in the game (not just their personal characters) in and out of actual game time. Which is exactly what I have now and I'm very, very happy.
BryonD said:
If you are forced to settle for DMs who don't expect to be more invested than players, then that is a shame and it absolutely makes sense for you to have your preference. You experiences sound liek they pretty well mandate your perspective.
I mean, I laughed some time ago when I saw your current signature. It is almost a paraphrase of a statement I have made numerous times, but it twists it in a way that loses out on some of the punch. (Though it is noteworthy that your sig *does* state that the authority ends up with the DM.)
My version is: The DM has all the authority at the table. The players have all the authority over whether or not there is a table. It is the DM's obligation to make the players beg that DM to run a game. If a DM thinks a ruling on something is different then I do ok. If I am unhappy about a different ruling from a DM, then that doesn't mean the ruling is bad, it means the DM is bad. If the DM is awesome, I'll play with whatever set of house rules/ interpretations that they want. I can't imagine a difference in how I would personally rule on something trumping the fun of a great DM.
Read more:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=6396665#ixzz3EwU6uDZe
Whereas I simply play in a group of excellent DM's and players and the bar is just that much higher. I never, ever let my ego pretend that my rulings are somehow automatically better than anyone else's at the table just because I'm sitting behind the screen. Again, a group that is invested in the game enough to honestly and earnestly try to make the game better for everyone at the table is the best group to be in and for me, trumps any DM led group any day of the week.
Note, my sig does state that authority rests with the DM, but, since it comes from the players, that authority is still subject to the players. If the players don't challenge a ruling by the DM, then no problem. But, if the players do challenge the DM on a ruling, then they are perfectly within their authority at my table to do so. Again, the idea that a player who challenges the DM's rulings is somehow a bad player, or the idea that the only way a player can be as invested in the campaign is if the DM is bad is ludicrous IMO. It's simply indicative of top down DMing styles that I do not enjoy.