A DM's main priority is...

[mirzabah]

I'm interested in what DMs consider their main priority when running a D&D campaign, at a more specific level than "make sure the players and I are having fun", which I'm sure most campaigns have as a default goal...

I'll vote in your poll as soon as you can tell me how long a piece of string is

Also it's difficult to vote sensibly because my answer is some or all of the above. Though I probably wouldn't tick "non-linear" game play. Personally, I think it's a crock. Some of the most fun games I've played in have been heavily linear (eg: A1-4 Slavers series) and I've seen some really good ideas reduced to mush because the author was paranoid about the plot becoming "too linear" (eg: Harn's Dead of Winter).

Perhaps you should have turned the question on it's head: which of this things is least important while DMing. It'd be a hell of a lot easier to answer

 

[Nightfall]

*agrees with some of the posters here* Having fun, cause if you're not having fun and I'M not having fun, then what's the fricking point?

 

[mzsylver]

npc & pc relationship (first choice)

my first priority: fun.

the players should be laughing, crying, roleplaying with npcs, on the edge of their seats chanting "CRIT CRIT CRIT!!!" and just enjoying themselves.

that to me is a good game.

 

[Dahak]

Other.

Priority one is to entertain the players. If you don't do that, the rest won't matter.

 

[rounser]

Some of the most fun games I've played in have been heavily linear (eg: A1-4 Slavers series) and I've seen some really good ideas reduced to mush because the author was paranoid about the plot becoming "too linear" (eg: Harn's Dead of Winter).

I see what you're getting at, and can see how too much non-linear kow-towing can result in mush. My own experience is that usually the pendulum is swung in the other direction, and I am no exception to that.

Perhaps one of the better approaches with regard to this when running D&D is to go for a hybrid approach such as the one which Baldurs Gate II takes, with lots of little branching scenarios to choose from or stumble across, but with an underlying main story arc railroad in place to give the campaign an overall direction, tie up the loose ends and - eventually - provide a climax. In theory, that reaps some of the benefits of both approaches.

 

[LostSoul]

Having fun.

Too many choices in the poll!

 

[Victim]

Having fun is the most important. If the players and the DM have fun with dungeon crawls and don't want to do anything else, then that's fine. A clash of styles can a problem though.

 

[Omegium]

A DM's main priority is... Kicking in doors, slaying monsters and taking treasure.

No, that's my players main priority

The thing I like most when I am a player is thinking of creative solutions and puzzles. So I think presenting challenges for the intellect of the players is a very important thing. But I have dmmed, and I know that is not easy

 

[rounser]

No, that's my players main priority

Heh, I noticed the literal meaning of that one a bit too late. Hopefully the inferred meaning (i.e. catering for that style of play) is obvious!

The thing I like most when I am a player is thinking of creative solutions and puzzles.

Same here, that's what I usually answer when a DM asks, "What do you want to see in my next campaign?"

Not all intellectual challenges are puzzles or riddles, but I think that puzzle content is somewhat opposed to verisimilitude in that it often requires some thought to justify setting up a puzzle-for-puzzle's-sake type encounter. This is why I suspect that you don't often see them in adventures where the designer is worrying about verisimilitude factors such as dungeon ecology.

In fact, I suspect that this isn't the only instance of a case where concentrating on certain DMing priorities can require compromising other areas...

 

[Bagpuss]

Other.

Priority one is to entertain the players. If you don't do that, the rest won't matter.

I second that, keeping the game fun by whatever means suits the players and his own style of play.