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Why does the stigma of the "jerk GM" still persist in our hobby?
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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 7567759" data-attributes="member: 4937"><p>I have never personally experienced the jerk DM problem, though I do think that there are people who just don't have the disposition to be a good DM.</p><p></p><p>There is a stereotype frequently encountered in gaming with respect to PCs commonly called 'the powergamer' or in really old school 'the munchkin'. Removed of its pejorative connotations, this is a player who is motivated not only to win but to win in an impressive fashion. They want win, to impress, and to impose their will on the game - desires which if they are kept in moderation are entirely healthy and good for the game. It's a player that is looking through his games to receive self-validation and approval, and the means that they want to employ to achieve that is generally system mastery - often I find combined with a careless disregard of truthfully reporting the results of the rolls of their dice. I typically refer to these players, particularly the ones that seem to be controlled by their impulses rather than in control of them, as 'ego gamers'. Gaming is always about the illusion of success, but for these players that illusion of success is the sweet sweet nectar that keeps them playing and they are as addicted to it as any addict. There is almost always at least one at every table, and as long as the DM doesn't let them bully him, a powergamer can be a good member of the team as a whole.</p><p></p><p>Ego gamers are absolutely and wholly unsuited to being DMs. Fortunately, most power gamers gravitate to the player side of the screen because its from the player side of the screen that you most get the thrill of victory, but the truly dysfunctional of that crowd decides to be GMs and we should pity their players. Most of the jerkish DM habits I think come from the desire to win, to impress, and to impose your will on the game. As the GM you are always the center of attention. You often have half the words said in the session. If you get too addicted to being the center of attention though, you are a jerk DM. All good GMs want their players to have fun, enjoy the game, and hold their GM in a certain degree of respect. There are moments when it is great for the players to be sacred, in awe, or impressed. But if you get too addicted to those moments, then you become a jerk DM. </p><p></p><p>If I were to give a young DM two bits of advice, the second would be do not become addicted to imagining what you want the players to do, or say, or how you want the encounter to play out. Always plan for it to not work the way you want or expect and don't at all be disappointed if an encounter fails. There is always a next one.</p><p></p><p>Other stereotypical traits of jerk DMs are that they drop a system if players start developing system mastery. They tend to have pet NPCs and DM PC's and they tend to want to make these characters the best and most impressive characters in the story, and to give them all the attention. They tend to want to have the PC's always on the run, always in over their heads, and never confident of anything. In short, they want to always be winning, and they are dissatisfied with the game when the PC's start winning or even gain agency because it means that the game is no longer all about them. They cheat at the dice regularly. They are willing to break the rules to get what they want. They routinely railroad the players.</p><p></p><p>This is the mindset of a dysfunctional powergamer, playing the NPCs rather than a PC.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 7567759, member: 4937"] I have never personally experienced the jerk DM problem, though I do think that there are people who just don't have the disposition to be a good DM. There is a stereotype frequently encountered in gaming with respect to PCs commonly called 'the powergamer' or in really old school 'the munchkin'. Removed of its pejorative connotations, this is a player who is motivated not only to win but to win in an impressive fashion. They want win, to impress, and to impose their will on the game - desires which if they are kept in moderation are entirely healthy and good for the game. It's a player that is looking through his games to receive self-validation and approval, and the means that they want to employ to achieve that is generally system mastery - often I find combined with a careless disregard of truthfully reporting the results of the rolls of their dice. I typically refer to these players, particularly the ones that seem to be controlled by their impulses rather than in control of them, as 'ego gamers'. Gaming is always about the illusion of success, but for these players that illusion of success is the sweet sweet nectar that keeps them playing and they are as addicted to it as any addict. There is almost always at least one at every table, and as long as the DM doesn't let them bully him, a powergamer can be a good member of the team as a whole. Ego gamers are absolutely and wholly unsuited to being DMs. Fortunately, most power gamers gravitate to the player side of the screen because its from the player side of the screen that you most get the thrill of victory, but the truly dysfunctional of that crowd decides to be GMs and we should pity their players. Most of the jerkish DM habits I think come from the desire to win, to impress, and to impose your will on the game. As the GM you are always the center of attention. You often have half the words said in the session. If you get too addicted to being the center of attention though, you are a jerk DM. All good GMs want their players to have fun, enjoy the game, and hold their GM in a certain degree of respect. There are moments when it is great for the players to be sacred, in awe, or impressed. But if you get too addicted to those moments, then you become a jerk DM. If I were to give a young DM two bits of advice, the second would be do not become addicted to imagining what you want the players to do, or say, or how you want the encounter to play out. Always plan for it to not work the way you want or expect and don't at all be disappointed if an encounter fails. There is always a next one. Other stereotypical traits of jerk DMs are that they drop a system if players start developing system mastery. They tend to have pet NPCs and DM PC's and they tend to want to make these characters the best and most impressive characters in the story, and to give them all the attention. They tend to want to have the PC's always on the run, always in over their heads, and never confident of anything. In short, they want to always be winning, and they are dissatisfied with the game when the PC's start winning or even gain agency because it means that the game is no longer all about them. They cheat at the dice regularly. They are willing to break the rules to get what they want. They routinely railroad the players. This is the mindset of a dysfunctional powergamer, playing the NPCs rather than a PC. [/QUOTE]
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Why does the stigma of the "jerk GM" still persist in our hobby?
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