D&D General The DM Shortage

[Paul Farquhar]

If that's true, and you're not just spewing hyperbole for the sake of hyperbole, what it indicates that you value extremely peculiar and specific things about DMing - particularly the hyper-detailed prep and so on.

It's what I'm good at.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I never found 4E easier to run

Neither did I, apologies if I misspoke. I found it easier to prep.

That's the distinction I'm trying to make. I'd say 4E was, at the table, slightly easier than 3.XE, but more demanding than 5E to run/adjudicate.

I feel you re: players lol. They did get it eventually I'll give them that!

 

[Ruin Explorer]

It does take some time. Especially when compared to low prep games like Spire.

However, my GMing has been influenced quite a bit by Blades and Spire, in particular. Even when running D&D. I design a loose scenario much like I would for Spire. I don’t stat up all the participants, but i stead use existing stat blocks (except for truly rare NPC villains). I don’t map ahead of time. If we’re playing with a battle map and minis, I draw the map while my players determine initiative.

So all in all, while the prep is a bit more than a game like Spire, I think it’s much closer to that end than to the kinds of expectations many have cited in this thread.

Yeah, and I've actually taken that approach to D&D for years on and off (most of my 2E days ran a lot like that) - I remember posting about how I "wrote scenarios not adventures" in the mid-90s and people thinking I was nuts lol. The problem is that I don't find it produces particularly satisfactory results with 5E (and was a car crash with 3.XE), when contrasted against a higher level of prep for D&D, or an even lower level of prep for Spire. I think both of them come out ahead. YMMV and all that though (with 4E's DDI and encounter design rules I could create a banger of an encounter in literally 10 minutes reliably so that was a bit different).

Further, I note for me at least this kind of thing was enough to influence which game I'm running, so I do think it matters.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I think part of the problem is that the culture of D&D is that people think they have to include the kitchen sink. Every class, race, feat, optional book must be included or you're being a no-goodnick DM.

This is a big part, I think. How many times have we heard on these very forums that the DM should include all these things that players want, even if it runs counter to the DM's world? I don't think it's rules complexity because 5e is simpler than 1e.

The entire social contract that's existed for decades is being ignored. That being, the DM puts the most work into the game by far. More than the players combined. With that extra work comes the benefit that you can run the world how you want to run it. No dragonborn? OK. DM's prerogative. I'm not saying the DM shouldn't try to facilitate fun for everyone, but the DM shouldn't have to give up their boundaries because players demand it. Communicating up front is important.

As a primary DM for the past 40+ years, I can tell you that I would be less willing to DM for people who wanted to force me to play with classes/races/powers that don't exist in my game world. If you want those things? DM yourself or find a DM who will. No one is holding a gun up to your head to play in my games. So what's the result? Shortage of DMs.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

It's what I'm good at.

That's cool and I respect it, but it's worth noting you're probably a highly unusual individual, and you have a particular set of skills but most people I would offer do not, nor can easily acquire such.

 

[J-H]

Locally, the problem isn't a shortage of DMs... it's a shortage of available time slots that work for everybody on a consistent basis.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

So what's the result? Shortage of DMs.

I'm not sure I would call it a "result". There was already a shortage of DMs, long before we had players who felt they had that the right to make those sorts of demands.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Locally, the problem isn't a shortage of DMs... it's a shortage of available time slots that work for everybody on a consistent basis.

Oooooh now we're talking a really intractable problem, one that only gets worse as you get into your 30s/40s (though I pay may improve in my 50s).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That's cool and I respect it, but it's worth noting you're probably a highly unusual individual, and you have a particular set of skills but most people I would offer do not, nor can easily acquire such.

Well, it's more a case of lacking certain skills. Like not getting flustered when under pressure.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Setting up a VTT game is a pain. I used Roll20 and Beyond20 and actually got pretty good at making maps. It was interesting how the game changed when you really limited line of sight and enforced vision. Putting people in an area of darkness and then "pinging" the general direction of sounds was quite fun. But it took a significant effort to learn the tools to do it right and I'm not fond of having to prep every map I could possibly need. I regularly sketch out multiple encounters I may or may not use. For an in person game that just means a couple of lines of notes and setting aside the proper minis. Lots more work for VTT.

As far as prepping mods I've never found any, whether produced by WOTC or anyone else, that made my life easier. Maybe I've just gotten too used to the "make s**t up as you go along" DMing.

In fairness, you don't need to go that far with it. While I have done maps and such in the past, recently when we play online (because players are sick) I just run things ToM and use the VTT primarily for dice rolling and automation. It might not be quite as cool as when I had maps, but it's almost as good and a ton less work for me.