D&D General The DM is Not a Player; and Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock

[Bayushi_seikuro]

I feel like these kind of discussions are brought around by people who don't get that Andy isn't the protagonist of the Shawshank Redemption.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I feel like these kind of discussions are brought around by people who don't get that Andy isn't the protagonist of the Shawshank Redemption.

If it makes you feel better, I rooted for the shark in Jaws.

 

[DemoMonkey]

Simple litmus test:

You are the regular DM of a D&D group.

A nerd acquaintance at a party asks you offhandedly "Hey, do you play D and D?"

Do you answer "Yes"? , or "No"?

If yes, then you agree DMs are players.

If no, you do not agree DMs are players.

If you feel compelled to volunteer an unasked for third option, you are an internet forum poster and the acquaintance will excuse themselves shortly to do a thing, over there.

 

[Mannahnin]

Ok, there is a line in there...

"One player, however, takes on the role of the Dungeon Master (DM), the game's lead storyteller and referee. "

The player takes on a role - that role being the DM. Doesn't that mean the DM is still a player? But whatever.

Exactly. The DM is a player. Everyone playing D&D is a player. Not all players are DMs. As the rulebook tells us in the quoted section.

Everyone playing football is a football player. Not all of them are Quarterbacks.

All Collies are dogs. Not all dogs are Collies.

The DM is a player. He plays D&D. During a given session his responsibilities and form of play are different from the other players, but he's still playing D&D. He should expect to have fun and to have the other players play with an eye to him having fun as much as anyone else, as it's a shared collaborative play experience.

The DM-as-player aspect is one reason I'm fond of employing random tables in my games. To increase the amount of improvisation, dealing with the unexpected, and joy of discovery I experience. I use randomness as a tool to make my experience more akin to that of the rest of the players in those regards.

 

[Mannahnin]

Paul of Wandering DMs had a good post about this last year, I now recall:

The DM’s Role: Player vs. Performer

My good friend and fellow gamer David send me this link to a show called “How to be a Great Gamemaster”, at a specific point where the host is talking about adapting your game to the pl…

www.paulsgameblog.com

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

True that.

Let's continue this conversation.

Someone: "So, what class did you play?"

Taran: "Oh, I played a bunch of classes, because I was running a lot of NPCs."

Someone: "Got it, so you were the DM?"

Taran: "No, I was a player."

Someone: "Wait ... okay, that's an interesting way to play D&D. What did the DM do if you were running all the NPCs?"

Taran: "You mean me?"

Someone: "Wait, so you were the DM?"

Taran: "Ha ha! NO! I was a player."


It's like Who's on First, but so very much more stupid.

Exactly. Which is why that conversation would never take place.

If someone wanted more details, I'd say, I DM'd.

I played the part of the DM.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Exactly. Which is why that conversation would never take place.

If someone wanted more details, I'd say, I DM'd.

I played the part of the DM.

Next time, don't play the part.

Just be the DM.

 

[zarionofarabel]

DMs and Players have different responsibilities. As others have said, the rules state this, so how could it be otherwise. As for the muddying of the waters that many like to do to highlight their own personal opinions on things like, who is responsible for world building, or who has authoritative power over others and such, well, that's group dynamics. Some groups will give the DM total control over all aspects of world building, others will insist that world building be a collaborative affair. Muddying the waters doesn't change the fact that Players and DMs have different responsibilities.

Perhaps if Players were called something else, like Character Runners, or Personal Character Narrators, it would make it much harder to muddy the waters to make arguments about how they both "play" the game so they must absolutely all have an equal say in every aspect of the game. Simply put, they don't.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Next time, don't play the part.

Just be the DM.

so clever.

I was simply telling you how I answer the question of 'what did you do last night' when I was the dm. It was an observation. Then you made up a fictional conversation for some odd reason. I'm not sure if it was to insult the observation I was making? I didn't understand the point you were trying to make.

Anyways,

Everyone plays roles in a game. Without the DM there is no game and without the Heroic Characters, there is no game. If there's no game, there's no players.

So, to me, the DM is playing the game. Unless they are running the game as a job or dislike doing it and/or find it a huge chore. Then they're not playing, they're working.

 

[prabe]

Statement: Last night I DM'd.

Someone asks me, "what did you do last night?"
I say, "I played D&D"

I don't ever say, I participated in a game. Or, I refereed a game of D&D. I do, sometimes, say, "I ran a game of D&D last night", though. So, I sometimes, make that distinction. I should keep track to see if it coincides with whether or not I enjoyed the session....

Or whether you're talking to another gamer.