Bonding between DM and Player

[Arnwyn]

I've read comments like this many times on this forum. It seems that some people here (especially DMs) have no personal friendship with the Players in their game. They can say hello and goodbye to the Players like dealing with strangers on the street.

I can't imagine regularly playing with a DM who was so socially disconnected from his fellow players that he would/could casually "show them the door" and bring in someone else that easily. I can't imagine a DM who would not form some kind of friendly bond with the Players. This almost sounds anti-social.

Sure... but then, I can't imagine a friend would "hand in a character sheet after a campaign twist", either. Just as you couldn't imagine a DM who was so socially disconnected from his fellow players that he would/could casually "show them the door" and bring in someone else that easily, I can't imagine a player who would "hand in their character sheet". So, your "especially DMs" comment, and further related comments, seem a bit misleading.

But otherwise, yeah. My vote was #3. I only game with friends.

 

[Ktulu]

Out of my five players:

One has been my friend since grade school.

One has been a friend since sharing an office space with him almost ten years ago.

The other three were met at differing times through a community message board for gaming, but have all become close friends.


They've taken part in my wedding, and I'll take part in one of theirs (later this summer). We've been there to see the children born, and exchanged gifts at christmas. Stood in line for movies and had backyard barbeques..

To make a long post short, while I have no reservations about gaming with people I barely know, my preference is to get together with some good friends and have some fun.

 

[Wombat]

Of my current five players, two were friends prior to gaming, one is a friend of a friend, and the other two I met through gaming. And now, overall, I hang out with four out of the five in non-gaming situations.

Gaming, for me, has led to a lot of good friendships and friends have become good gamers, but it is not 100% in either direction. Still, I try to have a lot of interaction with my gamers -- it is more fun that way.