DMing: where's the fun?

[pogre]

I much prefer DMing. World creation and PC driven story-making are my main motivations. I have fun as a DM because I am playing all the time. I'm never waiting for my turn.

 

[Kzach]

BAscially I must enjoy hanging out with the people with whom I game.

This multiplied by infinity.

Which I think has been the main problem for me and the groups I've put together. Putting random people together (from adverts) is a recipe for disaster. But on the flip-side, it's quite hard to find people that share your interests and don't drive you bat-poop crazy.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Are the comment replies done anonymously and privately?

That right there is the biggest reason for the forms - aside from the fact that I am addicted to forms, that is.

Anonymous... not so much, but private - the players only see another's comments if they are willing to share. Some are, some aren't.

Basically I ask questions like: 'What Did You Enjoy?'
'What Did You Not Enjoy?'
'Where Do You Think The Game Needs Work?'
'Did Your Character Learn/Figure Out Something, If So, What?'
'What Did You Do That You Thought Was Cool?'
'What Did Someone Else Do That You Thought Was Cool?'
(These last two are the closest to mandatory that I have.)

I have the forms, but most often the answers get e-mailed to me.

Players sharing feedback has helped me - I have had a player that was causing problems about Subplots (Spycraft 2.0), and on hearing the other players decided to give them another try. One result has been that he has started using Subplots in his own campaign.... (His was the game I most recently got to play in, for that matter - a mystery of a stolen Zamboni, and some Canadian hockey players who had been kidnapped by the Winter Court of fey.)

After realizing that the other players were really enjoying them he relaxed enough to give them a try. Previously he felt that taking a Subplot was like 'painting a big target on his chest.'

Other things that can help shape the game are Action Dice and Karma Dice - a mechanic that I stole from 7th Sea. One advantage is that they provide instant feedback from the GM, in mostly positive fashions.

Action Dice are dice, most often D6s, except in games like Spycraft that already has the mechanic, that the GM hands out for trying to do things that he thinks are cool. The player can spend one, and add it to any one roll.

So, if he got a 10 on a d20, and decided to add an action die, rolling a 3 then the die roll would be 13. You can't get a 'Natural 20' this way, but it helps.) It is important to hand them out for attempting, not succeeding - that way they can be spent on whatever cool thing the PC is attempting.

This means that the players learn what the GM thinks is cool, and is more likely to act accordingly. I aim at handing out about six a session - I want the PCs to act like heroes.

Karma Dice are a bit different - a small bowl of Good Karma dice in the middle of the table that the players can use - one die at a time per player, to boost someone else's roll, adding a description of what gave the bonus (or penalty - I allow them to be used to penalize an NPC's die roll as well.)

A Bad Karma die is a black token that the GM gives to a problem player, one who is disruptive, argumentative, or just plain rude to everybody. At any time the GM can take back the token and tell the player 'You fail' - no matter what the die roll that he might have gotten. (Nothing like taking away that Natural 20 to teach a lesson.)

In theory the Bad Karma die can be taken from whatever PC earned it, then used on any other PC, but I eventually just went with it happening to the idjet who earned it. For what it is worth, I have only twice given Bad Karma dice, and this is over a goodly number of years. While I warned the players that the die could be used against anybody I only ever used it on the two idjets who earned them.

Time for bed, my typing skills are going bye bye.... Coherence evaporating.... Spelling dimbinished...fthsn.....

The Auld Grump

 

[yesnomu]

Also, I kind of mentioned this before, but you have every right as DM to pack your game full of as much Author Appeal as your players will stand. Here's my list of Stuff I Like I made before my campaign, it all ended up in there:

-Towers
-Spherical crystals
-Gnolls
-player choices
-moral ambiguity
-light puzzles!
-giant serpents

 

[maddman75]

I GM for my own amusement.

I tend to run PC-driven games. I don't do plots, or more world-building than needed. I set up situations with no simple out and see what the players do with it. That's the fun for me, seeing what kind of monkey wrenches they throw at me. I just put things in front of them that make them dance like monkeys while I sit back and enjoy the show.

 

[Bedrockgames]

For me half the fun is in preparation for the session. As a GM you write, invent characters, research, design locations, etc. You also mentally go over the possible reactions players might have at the next session. I do think some people would find this boring, but after GMing for a bit, it becomes fun.

The other half of the fun, in my view, is running the game. To me this feels like a science experiment. You've prepared your NPCs, your hooks, your twists turns and locales, but ultimately the players decide what to do. You never really know how they will react, and this often leads to exciting, and unexpected, events.

 

[IvanDragonov]

It is widely touted that part of a good DM's job is to make sure everyone is having fun, and much has been written about how to make sure players have fun.

What I want to know is, where is the fun in being a DM? They spend a lot of time both during and between games working to ensure their players have a good time. If the players do have a good time, is that reward enough for the DM, or is it important to eke out one's own enjoyment behind the screen?

If/when you DM, what part of DMing is most fun for you? Should DM duty be rotated so no one has to shoulder the burden alone? Let's hear your thoughts on how to make DMing (more) fun.

As someone whose been DMing the same homebrew for ten years (at the demand of my PCs) I find DMing fun as hell. One because I enjoy writing and telling stories so DMing is just a different venue for me to weave an unique and entertaining stores. I often use real world scenerios in game. One of my friends was sooooo against the war in Iraq and insisted we should stay out of it. So, in game I had a major war occur, and the PCs went to the Elven nation (who were born warriors) and seek their aid in the war. The Elves refused and said they had nothing to do with it and were going to stay out of it. He was so F'ing mad, and kinda realized the correlation. Suffice to say he changed his mind about Iraq and thought we should definately be over there. That was not my sole intention, just to show a different veiw. That's the type of thing I love about DMing. Another scenerio was a PC of mine in real world hated Gypsies (which is a slur for the Roma people) so in game I had romani, whom aided the PCs so much and were so helpful, he was like 'ok now I like gypsies'. Those are the two major real world things in my campaign.

 

[Romtos]

As someone whose been DMing the same homebrew for ten years (at the demand of my PCs) I find DMing fun as hell. One because I enjoy writing and telling stories so DMing is just a different venue for me to weave an unique and entertaining stores. I often use real world scenerios in game. One of my friends was sooooo against the war in Iraq and insisted we should stay out of it. So, in game I had a major war occur, and the PCs went to the Elven nation (who were born warriors) and seek their aid in the war. The Elves refused and said they had nothing to do with it and were going to stay out of it. He was so F'ing mad, and kinda realized the correlation. Suffice to say he changed his mind about Iraq and thought we should definately be over there. That was not my sole intention, just to show a different veiw. That's the type of thing I love about DMing. Another scenerio was a PC of mine in real world hated Gypsies (which is a slur for the Roma people) so in game I had romani, whom aided the PCs so much and were so helpful, he was like 'ok now I like gypsies'. Those are the two major real world things in my campaign.

You realise that with the limited scope of a D&D game you can put anything in a positive perspective?

 

[ExploderWizard]

I DM for the same reasons that I play- it is fun for me. If a certain game stops being fun to either play or DM then I find something else to do.

 

[jbear]

The puzzled looks on my players face as they try to discover in vain why their rooms in the inn are so unnaturally cold.

The light that switches on in their eyes as a piece of the puzzle comes together and they begin talking excitedly about the bigger picture. The smile I enjoy to myself knowing that they are only half right and they have allied themselves with a force equally as dangerous and destructive as the one they have taken arms against.

The inter-group debate as the players decide whether or not to allow the poor orphan street urchin Ol' Nick to tag along with them on their adventures, assured that he is a trustworthy ally and a source of valuable information. I quietly enjoy keeping a straight face, noone having even asked for an Insight role to check the boys intentions. Ol' Nick the Gnome Trickster who has been waiting for their arrival at Loudwater since his band of slavers lost their trail. I enjoy knowing with their trust so easily won that the set up for the ambush is going to go very smoothly.

I could name a hundred different moments of pure delight that I enjoy at the gaming table. The same way an actor takes delight in orchestrating the emotions of his audience, mastering pace and mood, tension, mystery and emotion that I see reflected in their faces and expressed in their murmurings, their cursing and laughter.

I guess I find my enjoyment the same way.