Does being a DM make you a better Player? Does being a player make you a better DM?

[Creamsteak]

Does being a DM make you a better player?

Does being a Player make you a better DM?

I ask this because, in my experience, the more I DM, the better my player skills get. I don't get to be a player often enough, but I suspect that my DM skills would increase by being a player for a few sessions, and watching others DM.

The reason I suspect this works, is because you can only learn some aspects from watching. And watching yourself on tape just doesn't cut it.

Also, there is the simple question of: Does being the only DM prevent you from seeing the game from the players eyes? Does being a Player 100% of the time prevent you from seeing the game from the DM's eyes?

 

[DerianCypher]

Yes

 

[Winterthorn]

Good questions!

Generally speaking, I believe one learns best by "walking a mile in someone else's shoes".

Thus, I find my past player experience helps me run as a DM. I know these days could use a bit of polish from playing on the other side of the screen--I feel I DM too much and play too little lately.

That said, I've discovered, as an infrequent player, I creep into "DM mode" in other ppl's games. Not as a rules lawyer, but as a control freak (I want to know everything or I make grandiose assumptions about the DM's plans etc.) I'm thinking like a DM when I know I should just relax, play and trust the real DM. If it's a game system I don't GM, this is less of a problem it seems; the more I know the system the more I'm inclined to "metaplay". So, I guess I need therapy...

In summary: from my recent experiences, being a player has helped me referee RPGs, but my frequent refereeing has spoiled some of the fun of being a player. (Certainly something for me to think about! )

-W.

 

[jollyninja]

yup, only by experiencing the joy of having your insignifigant human fighter slay the dragon can you understand just how good it can feel to accomplish that goal. those who never dm (this is just in my experience) do not understand how much work it is and therefore give the dm and his effort little respect. those who only dm tend to get obsessed with telling their story and do not let the player develop his character in the direction that he had in mind, forcing him down an alternate path. only by doing both can one truly see things from the other perspective.

alot of dm's do not look at how they would feel if someone did the thing they just did to their character. things like amputating limbs and polymorphing characters change the fundamental essence of a character. those who just dm tend to see the pc's as plot devices and try to control what they do within the larger story. those who do both tend to form the story around the pc's actions and make sure that the pc's are the focus of the story, they let characters achieve their goals as a part of the larger plot not in spite of it.

 

[Archibald Theocliste]

Originally posted by jollyninja
those who never dm (this is just in my experience) do not understand how much work it is and therefore give the dm and his effort little respect. those who only dm tend to get obsessed with telling their story and do not let the player develop his character in the direction that he had in mind, forcing him down an alternate path. only by doing both can one truly see things from the other perspective

Speaking only from my own experience I have to agree. I started playing 3rd Ed. with players who were obsessed by Shadowrun and Earthdawn, and the only way to play DD was for me to DM (I was the only one buying the rulebooks...). I admit I tried to let them develop their characters with maximum freedom but OTOH I always tried to make them stick to the way I see the Campaign Setting. On their side they had a hard time figuring out how much difficult it was to master a fresh new game and make it work softly.

But thanks to a lot of work and a good setting (Special thanks to the Iron Kingdoms ) they started to appreciate the game enough to shift roles and act as alternate DMs. It did all of us a lot of good, we now try not to strangle the players when we DM and we have acquired a better understanding of the rules (even the obscure ones...) and we have far less rants about each other DMing when we are players (basically, it kills the Troll in you ) and we tend to make the teams work with more efficiency.

Shifting between DM and Player tend to increase the speed and the fun of the game, at least for us (He he, sunday was the first game one of my friend DMed, guess it did him a lot of good, I suppose he'll be far more quiet than usual today ) . If you stay at your place and your players never take the role of a DM I suppose they'll never understand your work and why they feel a gap between your view of the game and their.

 

[Maldur]

Yes.

But I noticed that in the first few sessions as a player I have to stop myself Co-DMing.

 

[Altin]

Well, to my mind every Gm should play now and again simply because it is so easy to forget what it is like on the other side of the table if you are what I call a 'career Gm' (meaning most of your roleplaying experience is and always has been as a Gm).

However, I find -- as a frequent Gm -- that I have some trouble adapting to and am a fairly intolerant of people who Gm in a style too different from my own. I would even go out on a limb and say that Gms as players tend to have higher expectations and are more likely to get fed up with games they are not 100% happy with.

Yours,
Altin

 

[brak1]

Absolutely.

Our group has just begun a revolving game set, so that each of us will get an opportunity to run a different game. That way none of us has too much info on the game being run, cutting down on the "co-DMing" urge. Once each of us has had a shot, we'll return to a campaign game - hopefully a little wiser and more understanding.

 

[Umbran]

I don't find that DMing really helps my "playing skills". Other than perhaps my sense of when another DM needs rules looked up and when they don't.

Being DM may give a person a little perspective on how much work the DM does, But that's not what I'd call a "playing skill". I've yet to play with anyone who, lacking that perspective, actually lacked respect for their DM, anyway.

I do find, though, that playing helps my DMing. Gives me a far better sense of dramatic timing, perspective on what PCs can do, both and combat and with information. Lots of good stuff.

 

[Wicht]

Other DMs get to be players?!?

Its been so long, I can't remember if it helped my DM skills or not