As a DM, are you ever worried players will get upset at you?

[Terwox]

Nah. I've killed players before, etc...
I have had players get upset during games before -- but it usually because of other players. I made a bad mistake of putting two groups of people together and trying to DM for them when they both wanted very different styles -- somewhat whimsical storytelling non-combat stuff vs emotionally intensive stories with grand combats. Two great styles of playing, I enjoy DMing both of them... but you can't play together and play both without running into difficulty.
So I split the groups up, gamed with each of them seperately, and had a grand time.
But, I don't have to worry about upsetting players -- most of my players have played with "that" dm. You know "that" DM... the one your players talk about being so awful and bad at running things, the guy with the uber-npcs, the guy who killed your character over and over if you weren't his current favorite player... "That" DM.
If your players don't talk about "That" DM to you, well, perhaps you should think about that.
Or you're lucky, and have less players with bad roleplaying experiences than I do.

 

[shilsen]

Nah. I've killed players before, etc...

Wow! I know of tough DMs, but that's a bit much. The most I do is kill PCs. Haven't even wounded any of the players physically (emotional scarring notwithstanding).

 

[takyris]

Actually, as a DM, I worry about this all the time.

I think of DMing like producing a weekly TV show (uh, because I watch a lot of TV), except that I only write the script for the guest stars and supporting cast, I have to create a show that five fairly different people want to watch, and I have to make things challenging enough to be fun but not so challenging that people are unhappy. For me, that's a pretty big balancing act.

I'm also fairly sensitive to people's emotional states. That's not just random whining -- when my wife and I took personality indicator thingies as part of pre-marital counseling, we were both off the charts with regards to Sensitivity (ability to sense other people's emotions) and Empathy (degree to which we begin to feel the way people around us feel). It makes my wife and I very good communicators and helps us in social circles, but if she has a bad day, I have a bad day as soon as I talk with her.

Anyway, as a DM, this means that I am really really good at telling how people are feeling, whether they're enjoying things or bored, whether they're keyed into a challenge or doing something to advance the plot toward something that interests them.

Sometimes I feel like the players don't want to really be challenged, like they want pushover fights and perceive any kind of tough encounter as a railroad. For all that they want the drama of the shows they all like (I've got a bunch of Babylon-5 junkies, and most of them watched Angel and/or Farscape, so those are the feelings I'm trying to go for), they seem unwilling to make choices that they the players know are unwise -- never admitting that much of the drama in all those shows lies in a character making a mistake or bad choice and then having to claw his way out of the hole he's dug himself into.

In fact, sometimes it's like they're trying to actively defuse as much tension as possible. They're generally very reasonable and logical people in real life, and they seem to think that if they simply explain their position to the political adversaries they've encountered, the adversaries will go, "Oh, well, I guess I can see your point of view," and drop the charges that implicate them or something. This has happened in just about every game I've run -- I have to make the bad guys o'erweening in their evilness and plans for domination, because if I give them even quasireasonable motives, the players will try to turn the swashbuckling adventure into a therapeutic counseling session: "Okay, Juliet, I know you don't feel like your father is going to support your love for Romeo, but can't you at least talk to him? Romeo, why don't you talk to her father as well? Do it through notes or something, so there's no way for anyone to start a fight, and really, is there any reason for your families to be fighting? None of us wants bloodshed, and if you'll just slow down and be reasonable, we can work this all out so that nobody gets hurt." And if I don't have my NPCs, who I've played as hotheaded and impetuous and driven by their passions, listen and agree with the PCs, I'm sometimes accused of railroading.

Sorry, this meandered a bit. Basically, yes, I do think about my players being angry, because being angry means they're not enjoying the game, which means that I'm doing something wrong. Or that we've got radically different concepts of how the game should go. What's frustrating for me is that it seems like my players never want to have a fight start, never want to be knocked unconscious only to wake up tied to a nuclear missile and ready to listen to the bad guy explain his plan, and never want anyone to actually disagree with them unless they can be firmly lumped into the "Villain I should be allowed to kill" category.

 

[Sejs]

Wow! I know of tough DMs, but that's a bit much. The most I do is kill PCs. Haven't even wounded any of the players physically (emotional scarring notwithstanding).

Well... sometimes they're really asking for it.


Just a word to the wise, though - put down a few tarps beforehand. Don't make the same mistake I did.

 

[Templetroll]

*Side note: I have a very hard time coming up with any situation in which it's appropriate for a rust monster to be there. Like maybe on mechanus or something, but otherwise..eeh. ^_^

Smart wizard that can cast Wall of Iron thinks rust monster is great protection from crazy guys who wear and wield way too much metal.



Oh, one of my players told me, "Paranoia is a survival trait in your world." I would most likely have an illusion of a rust monster and make it look like it just ate through a metal door to make the crazy guys in metal suits run away. Would that work better for you? try it and let us know how it goes!