Is the DM the most important person at the table

[generic]

I bet if you told your group - next campaign I want to play instead of DM - I bet someone would step up and volunteer.

The great illusion is that the DM has something magical which the players do not have access to. Will I continue to DM for my group instead of playing? Yes, I will. But, this is because I like DMing, and, in this situation, no one else is interested in running the game.

 

[FrogReaver]

The great illusion is that the DM has something magical which the players do not have access to. Will I continue to DM for my group instead of playing? Yes, I will. But, this is because I like DMing, and, in this situation, no one else is interested in running the game.

How do you know if you've never given them the opportunity?

 

[generic]

How do you know if you've never given them the opportunity?

Oh, I have, in fact, I've asked them if they would like to DM. I've even encouraged them to do so. Everyone just said that they'd rather not, which is something I'm fine with.

 

[Fanaelialae]

I agree about enjoying being a player. I find that playing helps me be a better DM. It's important enough to me that I've stuck with a campaign that is really not to my tastes for more than a year, just because I feel the need for balance.

I agree. In my case being a player fuels my desire to DM. I struggle to find the creativity and drive to DM when I'm not also playing in a campaign. I need to play to recharge my DM batteries. Fortunately, my group typically runs two campaigns on alternating weeks, which is ideal. Although I do really enjoy when both campaigns are being run by other DMs and I just get to play (at least for a while, until I start to get the itch to run again).

 

[FrogReaver]

Oh, I have, in fact, I've asked them if they would like to DM. I've even encouraged them to do so. Everyone just said that they'd rather not, which is something I'm fine with.

Curious if you asked them why.

 

[macd21]

How do you know if you've never given them the opportunity?

That’s a huge assumption you’re jumping to. I’ve spoken to people about GMing. Some have done it, but don’t want to do it again - they found it difficult, time consuming, and not as fun as playing. Others have never done it, and refuse to do it. Others have done it, and found they’re bad at it, to the extent that other players are reluctant to be in their games.

GMing is a skill, and not one everyone has. It’s not magic, and you get better with practice, but not everyone wants to. It would appear you’re fortunate enough to have numerous GMs in your local group, but as has been pointed out, that’s not the norm.

 

[FrogReaver]

That’s a huge assumption you’re jumping to.

Yes, I did. I intentionally jumped to an assumption to drive discussion so that I could see what kind of opportunities were given.

I’ve spoken to people about GMing. Some have done it, but don’t want to do it again - they found it difficult, time consuming, and not as fun as playing.

Playing the first time was difficult as well.

Dm'ing doesn't have to be a huge time sink. For some reason those that sink a huge amount of time into it are idolized but that's not necessary and doesn't necessarily make for more fun adventures.

It's more fun to do something you are comfortable doing.

Others have never done it, and refuse to do it.

Why?

Others have done it, and found they’re bad at it, to the extent that other players are reluctant to be in their games.

Or they haven't had enough practice to develop their DM skills. And players refusing to join their games points to the community being "mean" to new DM's that I previously spoke about.

GMing is a skill, and not one everyone has. It’s not magic, and you get better with practice, but not everyone wants to. It would appear you’re fortunate enough to have numerous GMs in your local group, but as has been pointed out, that’s not the norm.

But the question always comes back to why they don't want to. I think you are dismissing the social pressures that can be mitigated by proper community behavior.

 

[generic]

Curious if you asked them why.

"Too much work for me at the moment", which is a myth I'm trying to dispell.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I have to disagree with that. Running a game is much more difficult than just showing up as a player. And there are all the shades in between from a very poor DM to a masterful DM.

I don’t know if that’s the case. Also, there’s a huge gulf between being poor and masterful. Getting better at a skill requires practice. If no one practices because they’re convinced the job is too hard or that the game will suck since they aren’t great at DMing....then yeah, no one’s going to try it.

Since we’re talking about DMs, I’ve been sticking to D&D, but I’ve played plenty of other games where there is no prep needed. So the GM and the players all show up having given whatever amount of thought to the game beforehand that they’d like to give.

I’ve very much adapted my DMing style with the GMing techniques that fit those other games. I don’t feel the pressure of massive amounts of prep, or of knowing every rule, or of creating an entire world for the PCs.

To me, those are the more difficult and certainly time consuming elements typically connected with DMing. And there are definitely ways to mitigate them.

That’s a huge assumption you’re jumping to. I’ve spoken to people about GMing. Some have done it, but don’t want to do it again - they found it difficult, time consuming, and not as fun as playing. Others have never done it, and refuse to do it. Others have done it, and found they’re bad at it, to the extent that other players are reluctant to be in their games.

GMing is a skill, and not one everyone has. It’s not magic, and you get better with practice, but not everyone wants to. It would appear you’re fortunate enough to have numerous GMs in your local group, but as has been pointed out, that’s not the norm.

So, if someone approached you and said “I’m thinking of GMing a game”, what would you tell them? That it’s really hard and their game will suck until they get better?

 

[Nagol]

I bet if you told your group - next campaign I want to play instead of DM - I bet someone would step up and volunteer.

Name any amount you like. I'll take that bet. When I was last burnt out (a couple of year stretch) no one GMed at all. We played board games, chatted, etc.