DMing: from fun to work

[Bullgrit]

In your experiences, what changes the effort of DMing from being a fun activity to being grueling work? How often does it become grueling work? Or has it never become grueling work for you?

Edit after seeing first response: It would be better if folks didn't answer this question with references to edition.

Bullgrit

 

[ggroy]

In your experiences, what changes the effort of DMing from being a fun activity to being grueling work? How often does it become grueling work? Or has it never become grueling work for you?

It became grueling work when preparation took hours. This happened in the 3E/3.5E era, when I was attempting to put together encounters at higher levels. It took work to put together encounters which were not too easy, but not too overly difficult either.

These days I won't DM 3E/3.5E/Pathfinder type games anymore, but I'll still play as a player.

 

[Shemeska]

It became grueling work when preparation took hours.

*shrug* I run 3.x, and while I might spend hours toying with NPC and setting fluff, I spent -maybe- 10% of the time on the stats that became a grind for you. The time needed to prepare for a game hasn't ever been a big factor in when it feels like a chore versus fun.

For me at least, it has always been a case of creative burnout after a few years rather than anything else. And some campaigns risk burnout, and others totally don't. It's not something I can really anticipate.

 

[cmrscorpio]

I only becomes work when my players don't give a damn about the story and only want a series of fights.

Or when the players start making "decisions" that make no sense. "That carnie was running a rigged game. I saw him cheating. That is why I leaped into the booth and killed him in plain view in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded festival with dozens of witnesses and little children watching." (yes, I am venting frustration about something that happened last week)

 

[ggroy]

*shrug* I run 3.x, and while I might spend hours toying with NPC and setting fluff, I spent -maybe- 10% of the time on the stats that became a grind for you. The time needed to prepare for a game hasn't ever been a big factor in when it feels like a chore versus fun.

Back then I was playing the encounters out myself for preparation, to see how they could possibly turn out. (ie. Essentially playing solo D&D). I suppose if I skipped it, preparation would have been significantly shorter.

 

[Festivus]

Post above reported

 

[Nagol]

It becomes gruelling work for me when I burn out on the activity.

When I was younger and running multiple games a week, I would burn out in a couple of years and need to take some time off to recover and rebuild interest.

At my current rate of running 1 game every two weeks, I burn out about once per 5/6 years -- I am beginning to feel the burn now for a game that's been running six years.

 

[Doug McCrae]

As soon as I commit to anything, it becomes work. So if I agreed to run a session next weekend, any prep I subsequently did on it would be work, because it's something I have to do.

Last campaign I ran, creating the history of the world was fun, because it was unnecessary. Plot and stats for each session? Work.

 

[Festivus]

I know you said edition neutral. I have gripes with both 3.5 and 4e but I'll try to be generic.

What makes it work is when I get stuck in the tedium. Things like statblock conversion, adjusting difficulties based upon what I know the players are capable of, or trying to fix hopelessly broken plot lines that they continue to follow.

During games never feels like work, but prepping does at times.

 

[steenan]

GMing is fun for me when players appreciate my creation. It really does not matter how much time I had to put in preparing a game. When, during a session, I see my players enjoining it, and they thank me for running a game when it is finished, I know it was worth it.

It becomes work when what I do is wasted. When I have a next session of a campaign ready, but players can't find time for a game because of other hobbies. When they ignore my hooks, don't push the story in another interesting direction and just perform random acts of violence or have hours of meaningless (IG or OOG) smalltalk. When they, in a gamist game, feel entitled to win and protest on being faced with challenges. In general - when our initial social contract is violated.
Fortunately, most of these problems come up in long campaigns. By running mostly one-shots and short story arcs, both me and my players are having a lot of fun with a minimal dose of frustration.