I was just wondering what folks views are on this. Most people start off as players then become DM at some stage when they get to know the game. Once you become a DM has it affected your enjoyment as a player in later games?
The reason I ask this is because I started at 1e D&D as a player and absolutely loved it. I became a DM after some time and most of our group took turns at running adventures or campaigns. The knowledge I obtained as a DM about the nuts and bolts of the game meant that I don't think I ever enjoyed playing quite as much afterwards. I knew too much about the monsters/traps etc. It really takes something away from the game when as a player you have to avoid metagaming to exploit a monster's weakness that you current character would not know about. This is just one example. For me one of the big thrills of playing was the mystery of it all but I suppose it's inevitable that it will reduce even if you just play the game quite a lot, let alone DM it.
I had a break for a few years and now play 3.5 with pretty much the same group. 3.5 is such a different game altogether and there are so many new monsters and even old ones are subtly different. The mystery factor has returned for me and I am really enjoying playing at the moment. The only book I own is the PHB and I have not even opened any monster books. I only look at the DMG for PrCs.
We have one guy that nearly always DMs bless him but I know he also likes to play sometimes too. He has hinted that I should run a campaign for the group sometime but I suppose I am a bit worried about learning too much and losing some of the 'magic'. I probably will do it as I am not that selfish to play all the time and I did enjoy my time as DM many times before.
Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.
The reason I ask this is because I started at 1e D&D as a player and absolutely loved it. I became a DM after some time and most of our group took turns at running adventures or campaigns. The knowledge I obtained as a DM about the nuts and bolts of the game meant that I don't think I ever enjoyed playing quite as much afterwards. I knew too much about the monsters/traps etc. It really takes something away from the game when as a player you have to avoid metagaming to exploit a monster's weakness that you current character would not know about. This is just one example. For me one of the big thrills of playing was the mystery of it all but I suppose it's inevitable that it will reduce even if you just play the game quite a lot, let alone DM it.
I had a break for a few years and now play 3.5 with pretty much the same group. 3.5 is such a different game altogether and there are so many new monsters and even old ones are subtly different. The mystery factor has returned for me and I am really enjoying playing at the moment. The only book I own is the PHB and I have not even opened any monster books. I only look at the DMG for PrCs.
We have one guy that nearly always DMs bless him but I know he also likes to play sometimes too. He has hinted that I should run a campaign for the group sometime but I suppose I am a bit worried about learning too much and losing some of the 'magic'. I probably will do it as I am not that selfish to play all the time and I did enjoy my time as DM many times before.
Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.
