Does anybody else experience "DM's High"?

[Jmarso]

Oh, that's interesting. I've never felt anything remotely like that after playing a character in D&D — only after I DM.

Maybe that's part of why I enjoy being a forever!DM and kind of dislike just playing.

Actually, the way I'm that way may because I've DM'd far more than I've played, and even when playing I sort of have one mental 'foot in the door' on the other side of the screen.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I've also had trouble falling asleep after a really good gaming session. Sometimes when I'm the player, but yeah, mostly as a DM. It's no surprise after spending hours with your brain working overtime that it doesn't stop racing immediately, or that your brain just wants to luxuriate in that happiness a while longer.

However, I also have bouts of insomnia regardless. I am very diligent about not playing videogames an hour before bed, drinking my chamomile tea, no caffeine in the PM, so on and so on. But sometimes I just can't fall asleep because I can't.

 

[General_Tangent]

You're not the only one. I find it hard to wind down after a good session and if its been a really good night the following day I'm feeling all sorts of drained.

 

[MarkB]

I have indeed experienced the DM's high after a good game session, and it's awesome.

However, I've also experienced the DM's crushing self-doubt before a session, as I panic that I might have missed preparing something, or not put together a compelling enough encounter or NPCs. On a few occasions it was bad enough for me to cancel a session claiming illness.

That's one reason I tend to run published adventures these days - less prep means less panic.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

I absolutely get it. I'm always anxious before a session. But once it starts, I get in the flow, I feel in control, I feel competent. When the session ends and it went well I get this rush. It's both energy (I get reenergized) and a creative rush. I immediately feel the need to go prepare some stuff because I have a million ideas.

DMing is by far one of my most fulfilling creative outlets.

 

[loverdrive]

Well, I succesfully substituted high-stakes gambling with GMing and I guess that says something.

 

[amethal]

It was about an hour ago that I finished running my weekly Sunday-afternoon OD&D campaign, and I'm still riding the endorphin rush. It's not quite the same feeling as runner's high, because I'm not physically exhausted, but it's the same sort of neurochemical euphoria. And the same sort of addictive.

I get a great feeling after running a successful session. Not all sessions are successful, however.

I initially read your post as meaning you got a rush after finishing a campaign, but on re-reading it I don't think that's what you meant. Anyway, I mostly run Pathfinder, so when I finish a campaign (typically at levels 16 - 20) my primary feeling is relief, that the high level grind is over with and we can start again at a much more manageable first level.

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

My gaming time is very constrained by adult responsibilities so I can't afford to unwind from a high after running a game these days. That said, sometimes I enjoy those moments at the height or tail end of a session, since I try to pace games so that each session is relatively self-contained, when I enjoy seeing the players really getting into a good game.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I've not experienced the crushing self-doubt before a session, but I have after. Sometimes it's too easy to remember the puzzle that I misjudged the difficulty on and they spent an hour on, or the ornery encounter with an NPC that was supposed to be an ally, and not the other hours of enjoyment everyone had.

For dealing with this, I try to look at my mistakes as a learning opportunity. Nobody ever gets better by succeeding all the time. And also, it's important to remember that the game looks very different on the other side of the screen. I might be beating myself up over something that the players never even noticed or cared about, as long as they had fun.

However, I've also experienced the DM's crushing self-doubt before a session, as I panic that I might have missed preparing something, or not put together a compelling enough encounter or NPCs. On a few occasions it was bad enough for me to cancel a session claiming illness.

That's one reason I tend to run published adventures these days - less prep means less panic.

 

[aramis erak]

It was about an hour ago that I finished running my weekly Sunday-afternoon OD&D campaign, and I'm still riding the endorphin rush. It's not quite the same feeling as runner's high, because I'm not physically exhausted, but it's the same sort of neurochemical euphoria. And the same sort of addictive.

Yes. I get a lesser form of it from a really good session as a player, more profound and longer lasting as a GM. Makes monday mornings hard after the 1900-2400 VOIP game on sundays...

Is this common? Is this normal? Surely I can't be the only one to have experienced this phenomenon (that I'm sorely tempted to nickname "riding the color-coded dragon")?

It's happened for me since the beginning, but I'm not a good measure... My daughter has implied feeling it.
Occasionally, I need 20 minutes to come down before the drive home.

After one session in the last quarter, one of the players said, "Holy sh**! That was EPIC!!!" after session. She was clearly in that endorphin rush, as much as I was. (Mind you, it was the session where the Xenomorph she allowed her character to let aboard ate her PC.) Others in the group seem to have similar as players.