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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tuft" data-source="post: 5625733" data-attributes="member: 60045">I started GM-ing as a service and on a lark. We were discussing a fun, tongue-in-cheek system ("Maid the RPG"), that I *really* wanted to try out, but at the same time I did not even want to suggest it to my regular GM, as he already had two weekly campaigns at the time. I also had figured out that he just had been bypassed as a player by some old friends , which sucked. So I surprised myself by suggesting: "Ok, let me try GM:ing this"...  I did *not* know that it would result in a 50+ episode still-going-strong campaign. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />RPG-ing to me is a way to expressing fantasies, ideas, and stories. The fact that you have to bounce those off other peoples, make them accept them, formulate them in context of the rules, make things connect logically. To me, that hardens those fantasies, makes them more real, more enjoyable, than just free fantasies where you can hand-wave anything that does not fit. That said, I feel much less in control when GM-ing than when playing. I run a very improvisational style; I go into a session with a few NPC names, a basic stat level I want those NPCs to confirm to, and three-four situations I hope to somehow reach during the evening. Since I let my players do whatever they want, it's like riding a wild beast; I have to invent and improvise the story, NPCs and situations depending on what they decide, and try to stay ten minutes ahead of them, if I am lucky.When I'm a player, I have my characters, their ambitions and goals, all firmly ensconced and framed by the rules - a much stabler platform. When the situation suits my character I can step forward and do my thing, and when it does not I can step back and watch the other players perform (unless I am on edge for this reason or the other - then I sit and fret or mope <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/blush.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":blush:" title="Blush    :blush:" data-shortname=":blush:" /> <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/blush.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":blush:" title="Blush    :blush:" data-shortname=":blush:" /> ) What I do must satisfy myself, be accepted by the GM, and at least tolerated by the other players. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />When I GM, what I do must be accepted by and satisfy my players, a much harder task. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  You have to compromise all the time; not just between myself and the players, but make compromises between the individual players' likes and dislikes. So GM-ing is fun, hard, intense. I love it; It takes hours to get down from the adrenaline buzz after successfully riding the wild story beast. But I still would not do it if it didn't also feel like a service; a gift to my players.  And I cannot hide that there is a hope of reciprocation; If I GM this, perhaps I get to play that. I've played systems I hated, and that did not end good. I can't imagine what would happen if I tried to GM such systems... <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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