Nice things players have done for DM's/GM's

[Wild Gazebo]

I remember sitting at a friends place one day just hanging out and another friend dropped by and handed me the Planescape boxed set. He said 'this is yours...you just have to promise to DM it.'

A couple of other random gifts...which contingent ultimatums.

But one of the best...was 't really a GM gift...it was a gift from the GM to the players. A buddy of mine spent a lot of time drawing out 'childrens' drawings of our PCs rescuing the children from the bad guys. They are really quite good. I still have mine hanging on the wall...after a long stint on the fridge.

 

[Shiv]

A few years ago, my players chipped in to buy me an entire case of Desert of Desolation D&D miniatures for my birthday. It was a nice birthday surprise.

One of my players has also crafted a number of models for use in my games. A large, 3D sailing ship model. A truck model for use in a Gamma World game. A plethora of tree/bush/etc. terrain models that can be used in any game. He's effing awesome.

 

[jedavis]

Hmmm... we're poor college students, and we tend to change DMs at least one a semester, but probably the best feeling was when I went "I might run a game next semester..." and one of my previous players went "Oh no! I don't have time for three games, but I also wouldn't want to miss yours, because you run a badass game." That was pretty awesome. Ended up not running a game that cycle... maybe next semester .

 

[jcayer]

My players have been awesome. We all alternate bringing dinner, so that's nothing, but I rarely have to contribute to the beer pool. So they step it up more, usually around Christmas.

Our first year together, they gave me a Bag of Holding: ThinkGeek :: The Bag of Holding Messenger Bag
I still use it.

The next year, they all chipped in $50 so we could purchase a projector for a touch table I've been building.

This year, a couple expansions for Settlers of Catan and a couple smaller items.

They are very appreciative of the effort I put into the game. And I'm just happy they appreciate me.

 

[Dordledum]

My gaming group consists for 80% of out-of-game friends as well. We also alternated in GM-ing over the years. What we've done for respective GMs but also for co-players:

* birthday gifts
* helping with moving
* beer, soda, snacks, food, other munchies on gamenight
* providing minis, source books & other gaming tools if the current GM has none
* compliments for good games
* out of game advice for GM-dillema's
* more

We're all pretty good friends actually.

 

[Stumblewyk]

My players are good people. Honestly.

About 6 years ago, life dictated that my wife and I move back to her hometown. Our son had just died, and my wife *needed* to be near to her mother and sister. As we sat down to our next session after my wife and I had decided on the move, I sadly explained the situation to the group (they were all *really* great during our son's ordeal, but none of them were aware we considering moving). We had played monthly, rotating homes, for just a little over a 2 years at this point, and had all gotten to know and like each other quite a bit over that time. Even so, I was sure it meant the end of our regular game.

Without skipping a beat, they all just kind of looked at each other and almost as a group said, "Okay. We'll drive out to your place to game every other month. On the other months, you drive here. Fair?" Yeah guys, definitely fair. I still get kinda misty just thinking about it. It was such a simple gesture, but it meant a lot at the time for me, and I'm so happy to still get to game with those guys.

Then, a few months ago, I decided I was kinda burnt out GMing. I'm generally in the "write your own adventure" camp, but decided that I just didn't have the energy to do that, at least for the time being. I announced I'd still run the game, but I was going to start running pre-written modules. When I decided which modules I was going to run, one of my players bought me a Paizo.com gift certificate, covering the price of all 3 modules. He told me he just wanted to thank me for running my game for the last 7 years, that was all. He knew I worked hard to provide him and the rest of our group with a regular game, and he wanted to let me know it was appreciated.