Okay, so *why* is EN World GM-centric?

[IronWolf]

By the nature of the role, GMs are those more inclined to be invested in the game: with money, time, and thought.

This.

Being a GM implies more time spent thinking about the game, the system used and things associated with gaming. So much so that we tend to hang out on message boards to discuss such things - whether to pass the time, pick up on hints, tips and tricks and more.

Our group has some players that play the game quite well during sessions, but I am not sure how much of the rest of their week is spent thinking about gaming. I would happily have any of these players at my table though, it is just a couple of us that post here on the boards with any regularity.

 

[bouncyhead]

...anyone lazy and apathetic is going to be a player and not a GM...

Speak for yourself! I use capricious, arbitrary SoD effects to keep my players locked in the character creation minigame, giving me time to take naps behind the GM screen. Every now and again I rouse myself for long enough to hand out a bunch of treasure for them to argue over.

 

[Diamond Cross]

Um, GMs rule?

 

[JohnRTroy]

I don't think this is anything new at all.

Back in the early 1980s, Gygax had stated in one of his columns that there were 5 million D&D players, but only about 100,000 who were regular subscribers/purchasers of Dragon. And he suspected most were Dungeon Masters.

Replace Apazines and official Magazines with places like EnWorld and the other communities (including WoTC's own), and I think you've still got the same ratio of die hards.

 

[jonesy]

We get a secret handshake? That's not in the DM's manual!

Well, d'oh. It's in the secret DM's manual. The mauve one. Page 145.

 

[malcolypse]

DragonLancer,

i am shamed by our inexcusable oversight in not sharing with you the super secret dm handshake. please accept this shiny new d20, weighted for maximum pc decimation, as my token of humble apology.

 

[pawsplay]

Speak for yourself! I use capricious, arbitrary SoD effects to keep my players locked in the character creation minigame, giving me time to take naps behind the GM screen. Every now and again I rouse myself for long enough to hand out a bunch of treasure for them to argue over.

Lazy GMing is an art, but simply by volunteering for the job, you have already failed at ultimate laziness.

 

[WhatGravitas]

GMs spend more time with the game and tend to think about the game and look for advice from like-minded individuals more often than players, I find.

Also: GMs have so much more to gain from forums like ENWorld. As a player, you usually work up an initial character concept during the first session of a campaign, then it slowly develops through interaction within the sessions. Not a lot "homework" you can do, even if you want to.

GMs, however, need material to write up NPCs, adventures, scenarios and so on - and messageboards are an excellent place to "harvest" inspiration from!

Cheers, LT.

 

[Lanefan]

Also: GMs have so much more to gain from forums like ENWorld. As a player, you usually work up an initial character concept during the first session of a campaign, then it slowly develops through interaction within the sessions. Not a lot "homework" you can do, even if you want to.

GMs, however, need material to write up NPCs, adventures, scenarios and so on - and messageboards are an excellent place to "harvest" inspiration from!

Pretty much this.

Also, I'd posit that most GMs feel more confident speaking on behalf of their game group than most players do. I know for my own part I didn't bother with public forums until I felt I had enough DMing experience (20+ years on joining here) to perhaps have something worthwhile to say.

Conversely, I'd guess the player/DM ratio on things like CharOps boards ::shudder:: is about the reverse of what it is here.

Lanefan

 

[Umbran]

EN World is an outgrowth of a third edition news site. Among other things, that means a higher level of interest in the OGL, which implies a high level of interesting tinkering, which again skews toward GM.

I think the OGL there is an unnecessary logical step. GMs were tinkering for decades before the OGL, and they'd still have been tinkering if the OGL weren't there, and they'd still want a place to discuss that tinkering.