D&D General A Rant: DMing is not hard.

[Cadence]

We need to compare this to a thread where people complain about terrible DMs.

I wonder if a lot of terrible is that way because they aren't trying to get better.

 

[Reynard]

That plus this

sums it up. Yes, fundamentally, it's actually easy to do. That's what D&D marketed to the 11-year-old me with a reprint of the Red Box and a preface by Frank Mentzer:

"And it’s not hard. It takes a little reading and a little thinking, but most of all, it’s fun. It’s fun when you discover that nobody loses, and everybody wins! It’s fun when you get good at the game...for example, knowing what to expect in a kobold cave, and which dragons are on your side...You already have everything you need to start: this package, and your imagination. That will do it. Ah, yes; it does cost one more thing, which you also have right now — a bit of time. It takes a few minutes to learn the basic rules, and another hour or two to play a full game. You will probably want to spend more time, and might even make it a hobby; millions of people have."

It was also marketed that way.

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No Experience Needed! 15 minutes and you're underway! (And, see how your peers are enjoying this game?)

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But, to be sure, the game has gotten a lot more advanced. The Rule Book is more than 63 pages. Characters take more than 5 minutes to "roll up." We've added podcasts and professional voice actors and an entire 24-hour D&D network on my smart TV's free streaming stations where you can see the pros doing it. And then there's the anxiety as @el-remmen noted of being an adult and you don't have that free time to "learn as you go" and blunder along and drive off a player or two with your mistakes.

That's wherein I think the fallacy lies. Mistakes and blundering must go with the territory whether you think you have the time or not. You must be willing to abandon, as a group, a number of hours until someone gets into a DM groove. But, I'll confess it looked a whole lot less intimidating with the Red Box set and its solo adventure that everyone played and a mere 120 pages, half of that the DM booklet + adventure.

There are at least 4 starter sets.

 

[HatWearingFool]

Wow I’m really surprised there aren’t more people here (speaking up anyways) who have experienced some really bad sessions. Maybe I’ve just had more than my share of bad luck but I’ve sat through some real stinkers.

Lots of good as well over the years (thankfully) but enough bad sessions to think running games isn’t that simple.

Like anything else I think it takes real effort to improve. And before the internet it was much harder to be exposed to good advice or seeing good game masters at work.

 

[prabe]

I wonder if a lot of terrible is that way because they aren't trying to get better.

I think a lot of it is "not what I want in a GM," but that's not a strident disagreement.

 

[Hussar]

People are less tolerant these days. It used to be that our geek culture bridged the divide but that has waned.

I am lucky to have a huge circle of people but that happened because of the game and shared geek culture.

But, how many tried gaming and then bounced off/quit after a fairly short time?

IME, LOTS. Of the gamers I played with into high school, I'm the only one who stayed in the hobby. I don't know anyone in person that I gamed with who is still gaming. None of my friend/acquaintances from back in the day are still in the hobby.

There seems to be this idea that if people just tried it, they'd like it. That's very much not my experience. The overwhelming majority of people try it, play for a bit, then move on. Which means the number who try it, like it enough to try running it, and then stick with running it, is a very, very small minority.

 

[prabe]

Wow I’m really surprised there aren’t more people here (speaking up anyways) who have experienced some really bad sessions. Maybe I’ve just had more than my share of bad luck but I’ve sat through some real stinkers.

Lots of good as well over the years (thankfully) but enough bad sessions to think running games isn’t that simple.

Like anything else I think it takes real effort to improve. And before the internet it was much harder to be exposed to good advice or seeing good game masters at work.

The fact people have bad sessions--as players or as GMs--doesn't mean GMing isn't easier than a lot of people say it is. As someone said upthread, the process of getting better at doing a thing often entails doing it badly at points and/or for a while.

 

[TheSword]

Obviously I'm not the person you're responding to, but the existence of the GM-Advice Industrial Complex doesn't seem to relate much to the existence of professional GMs. I mean, the existence of pop-psych self-help books don't diminish the value of actual therapy even a little. (To make a kinda crude analogy, no offense intended toward anyone in actual therapy or anything.)

Yes. I was just responding the suggestion that getting paid as a DM contributes to it.

 

[The Attic]

I enjoyed DMing Basic and AD&D, it didn’t feel too taxing.

Call of Cthulhu campaigns on the other hand could be a nightmare.

 

[HatWearingFool]

The fact people have bad sessions--as players or as GMs--doesn't mean GMing isn't easier than a lot of people say it is. As someone said upthread, the process of getting better at doing a thing often entails doing it badly at points and/or for a while.

Yes I see it a lot like public speaking. Most people can become reasonably competent at it with work, but many people require work and determined practice.

 

[Belen]

But, how many tried gaming and then bounced off/quit after a fairly short time?

IME, LOTS. Of the gamers I played with into high school, I'm the only one who stayed in the hobby. I don't know anyone in person that I gamed with who is still gaming. None of my friend/acquaintances from back in the day are still in the hobby.

There seems to be this idea that if people just tried it, they'd like it. That's very much not my experience. The overwhelming majority of people try it, play for a bit, then move on. Which means the number who try it, like it enough to try running it, and then stick with running it, is a very, very small minority.

Weird. Most of my college group is still playing. The HS GM that introduced me to TTRPGs also still plays.

I am still in touch with three quarters of my old groups from late 90s and they all still play although it is mostly virtual now.