As a DM which do you like best?

[the Jester]

I chose "adventures", with "setting" a very close 2nd choice for me.

 

[Raven Crowking]

I was torn between "setting" and "adventure", but I chose "setting". They are very, very close for me.

RC

 

[Grymar]

Adventures, for me.

The Setting is something I let someone else do for me. I know I'm no good at it and I'd rather have someone do one that rocks rather than my lame attempt.

The campaign is interesting, but I sometimes fail to give a strong, cohesive plot.

NPCs are also fun, but the mechanics can be too time consuming for me.

What I do best is adventures. I see a moment in my head and then expand it out into a larger scene, adding details until it makes for a full adventure. Now these aren't publishable, but they are playable and usually quite fun.

 

[Woas]

Setting is the most voted. I'm wondering, for those of you out there who like working on setting and not say, NPCs and/or adventures, do you guys tend to buy adventure modules?

 

[Stormborn]

Setting is the most voted. I'm wondering, for those of you out there who like working on setting and not say, NPCs and/or adventures, do you guys tend to buy adventure modules?

No. Just that I like working on setting stuff better than I like working on other preperation for running a game.

Which, I have to say, was the point of the question. You can like something better than other things and not dislike those other aspects. Just because my favorite thing to do is work on setting material that doesn't mean that I don't do the rest. Setting elements are simply what captures my attention the best. Some people who have responded seem to feel that if you express a preference for "A" you must hate "B,C, and D" or that it is impossible to seperate steps in a process. I disagree, all processes can be broken down into individual components and each can have different values without negating the value of each step or the process as a whole. Other posters seem to think that question was "What do you like best about DMing?" when the question is "Which of these choices do you like best?"

And, for the sake of clarity, statting or deciding on rules is part of the process of creating.

 

[Jolly Giant]

I love all four of them, although all of them can be a drag and a hassle occasionally. However, what I like best of all is actually running the game. Since that wasn't an option, I voted 'campaigns'. Adventures and NPCs will have to share second place.

Actually, the more I think about it the more I feel that campaigns, adventures and NPCs are tied for first place, with the setting coming a very close second.

 

[boerngrim]

I don't really like any of that stuff. What I like best as a DM is sitting at one end of the table administering the setting/campaign/adventures/NPCs for a group of players and seeing them come to life through the interactive process of actual play -- whether those elements were created by me or someone else is largely immaterial; I'd just as soon use pregenerated stuff and only bother to create my own (which I consider to be a hassle and not much fun) when I can't find something pre-existing that suits my needs or desires.

I voted creating NPC's because I love to build characters, but I tend to agree with T.Foster on this. My past experiences with worldbuilding and story arcs have tended to disappoint me. The players rarely get how much effort goes into that they just wanna play.

 

[Wombat]

Setting is the most voted. I'm wondering, for those of you out there who like working on setting and not say, NPCs and/or adventures, do you guys tend to buy adventure modules?

Nope. I make my own adventures and NPCs -- have since the beginning. Once in a while I find a module I can use, but usually it is so much hassle to get it to fit into my setting that is simply isn't worth it. I gleefully admit that I am not above stealing bits and pieces out of modules (an encounter here, a trap there, an NPC another time), but I don't use them wholesale.

I have rarely had disappointed players.

 

[bowbe]

To crush the PCs, drive their miniatures before them, and hear the lamentation of torn character sheets.

Case

 

[Treebore]

I'm kind of fickle, to the point where what I like doing changes almost day to day. Of the options given I don't like world creation so much as I like taking an existing world and make it fit my desires. I do like doing everything else, though.