DMs: How do your players show their appreciation for what you do?

[DungeonmasterCal]

Most of us know that DMing is a lot of work for little reward. We concoct the adventure, roll up encounters, perform impromptu characterizations, and usually end up cleaning up after the players. But sometimes they'll surprise us. For instance, Christmas 2001 my players pitched in and bought a wonderful drop-leaf table (hardwood with chairs!) that I've used every session since. This year, they pitched in and purchased a 4 day trip to GenCon Indy, all expenses (except food) paid for my birthday.

Has anyone else out there had a similar experience?

 

[Talmun]

Uh, they don't point and laugh as much as they used to...

EDIT: But seriously, they keep coming back every week for 4 years now. They choose me to DM when they have a choice. Really, what other payment do I need? (Although, paying for my Gen-Con registration would be nice...)

 

[frankthedm]

by expecting me to run games.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Well, I have three "regular members" at the moment, and as thus...

The first (who's game is PBEM because I'm not in Chicago anymore) shows his appreciation by sending me emails gripping about how long it takes me to reply.

The second (who's also in Chicago but hates PBEM) flies down here 4x a year for two-week stretches, during which we have an average of 7 sessions.

The third is my wife and that's none of your business.

 

[Crothian]

showing enthusiasm

 

[tauton_ikhnos]

I charge $25 per hour. There are five players, so it is very affordable.

Seriously, we don't do that sort of thing. We also split a lot of duties, however - the GM is not expected to provide place to game, food, drink, etc. We make sure we have characters in order, dice on hand, pizza on the table.

I started GMing for us a few months ago, and it is remarkable how nice it is to not be the one who worries about that stuff anymore. I just show up, adventure in hand, and everything's ready to go.

 

[Hjorimir]

It is often hard for me to determine just how much they enjoy my campaign. Our group is quite large and we have many games going (sometimes to the point where the games almost seem blurred by one another).

I have had one player buy me a few books here and there over the years (thank you, ForceUser), but generally they just show up and play.

We (my wife and I) have been converting my garage into a game room. Some of the guys have come over and pitched in (some of them very often) to help get it done. We had A/C and heating installed (along with insulation and drywall) to make sure everybody would be comfortable. So, I can say I really appreciate them!

 

[Haloq Jakar]

My group pays off with goodies. I don't have to supply my own munchies and they have even gone so far as to make real meals to share as well. We almost always have a cook-out gaming session each summer where we play outside and grill steaks burgers etc. Ah its good to be the dm

 

[Silver Moon]

....they keep coming back every week....what other payment do I need?

Exactly! We're coming up on our 22nd Anniversary, and their continued interest in our weekly campaign is thanks enough.

 

[Samothdm]

Usually through compliments. "I really enjoyed the last session" or "I like the world that you've developed for our game". Stuff like that goes a long way.

Another form of appreciation they show is by participating in the game outside of the actual sessions, such as reading the stuff that I post on our campaign message board, posting suggestions on our game's message boards, and e-mailing me with questions. Some of the best moments I get as a DM are from reading the player's comments on the message boards as they theorize about what's going on and try to make plans for the upcoming sessions. It means that they're so into the game that they're thinking about it aside from the 5 or 6 hours of our sessions.