Does your group DM?

[Mark Hope]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM?

I have two groups. In the first one everyone has either DMed or expressed a desire to DM when their turn rolls around. In the other group only I DM, because that's why I got that group together - so that I could run my homebrew.

Does everyone take a turn, at some time?

In the first group, yes (well, two haven't so far, but they have both said that they want to). However, given that there are 6 of us with tricky schedules, it means that each DM only gets about 8 sessions behind the screen per year - which drives me completely up the wall (hence the second group, which is all about me, me meee!!!)

Has a Player been banned from DMing in your group?

No. Well, not unless the other members of the group aren't telling me something... :\

Are Players who never DM moochers?

No. What a daft idea. DMing isn't for everyone, just as being a Player isn't for everyone.

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

Dunno about anyone else, but I certainly am .

Does DMing make one a better Player?

Maybe. It's all good experience. In my case, it usually just makes me irritated with other DMs though. See the previous question

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

Here I have to say yes. It's always good to see how the little people live.

 

[Arnwyn]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM? Does everyone take a turn, at some time?

No. "It's too much work" is their rousing call.

 

[Nifft]

We take turns. Mostly it's my D&D game (for the past 3 years), but there have been extended stints of other games -- Midnight, Exalted, Vampire, Mage, Star Wars d20, half a session of Arcana Evolved ( ) -- no-one else runs Core D&D, but plenty of others do run games.

Cheers, -- N

 

[kaomera]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM?

No. I'd say it's about 50/50, although several who have not yet DM'ed will probably try their hand at it at some point.

Does everyone take a turn, at some time?

No. Currently another player is running a different game while I'm unavailable for a few weeks (and I may even be able to get in on this game if it's not done by the time I am available again), but that's the first time we've had someone else DM in this group.

Has a Player been banned from DMing in your group?

Nope.

Are Players who never DM moochers?

Being a player who never DMs whould not make that player a "moocher", IMHO.

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

How would a DM prevent others from DMing?

Does DMing make one a better Player?

Not as such, no.

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

Again, without further qualification, no.

 

[kenobi65]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM? Does everyone take a turn, at some time? Has a Player been banned from DMing in your group?

Nope, few are, actually. Some have the talent, but not the time. Others just aren't interested.

Are Players who never DM moochers?

Sort of, but there are some folks who just probably shouldn't DM, for a variety of reasons.

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

Maybe, but maybe that's just the role they prefer. I know that I sometimes lose my temper as a player (and I hate it when that happens), but that almost never happens as a DM.

Does DMing make one a better Player?

I think it can, but it's not a 100% relationship.

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

I think maybe it's important for all DMs to act as players on occasion, to make sure they remember what it's like on that side of the table.

 

[Lanefan]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM? Does everyone take a turn, at some time? Has a Player been banned from DMing in your group?

Are Players who never DM moochers?

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

Does DMing make one a better Player?

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

No, no, and no. No. No. I hope so. Not always.

Howzat?

Lanefan

 

[bytor4232]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM?

One of my other players likes to give me a break once in a while and take the reigns. He is starting up a major campaign, and we're going to alternate sessions. Should be fun, he's a very good story teller.

Does everyone take a turn, at some time?

No. If they want to DM, great. I started the group almost 2 years ago, I welcome the break!

Has a Player been banned from DMing in your group?

I wouldn't do that, though to admit I've never ran across a reason to ban someone.

Are Players who never DM moochers?

Naa. Some people just don't like to take the reigns.

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

Yes. If a player wants to DM, let them.

Does DMing make one a better Player?

It can. Taking the reigns once in a while could create better character concepts.

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

I think it does. You get a better feel for what its like to be under the thumb, so to speak

 

[Aeric]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM?

Yes.

Does everyone take a turn, at some time?

There are three core players in our group and the rest is fairly fluid. New players come and go. Of the three core players, we do take turns. The last campaign was co-DMed by me and one of the other three core players. He ran for a while, then I ran, etc. Same characters, same world, same storyline (more or less).

Has a Player been banned from DMing in your group?

Not yet....

Are Players who never DM moochers?

Only if you look at DMing as a chore. I DM because I want to DM, not because we need someone to DM. Thankfully, there are plenty of people who are willing to DM, so I can play when I want to play and DM when I want to DM.

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

I've never run into this situation. Most regular DMs are happy to take a break from time to time. If I did game in a group where only one person was allowed to DM...well, I'd have fun playing and find another group to run for.

Does DMing make one a better Player?

Not really. Maybe it gives you some better insight into how DMing works, which can result in more respect for the DM, but it doesn't help you play.

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

I don't think so.

 

[EricNoah]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM? Does everyone take a turn, at some time? Has a Player been banned from DMing in your group?

I am the DM in "my group." However, two of my players are DMs for "their groups." So I have had experience being DM'd by them and vice versa. Other players have DM'd me in one-shots of various stripes. But really, no one but me DMs "my group" per se.

Are Players who never DM moochers?

Nah. If it were a dedicated round-robin group and one never offered, that might be a problem, but not with my regular group.

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

Nah. But I guess I should offer more often!

Does DMing make one a better Player?

I think so, it at least helps you see different parts of the ruleset that you wouldn't otherwise interact with much. And helps you appreciate all that goes into DMing.

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

Yeah, actually -- helps me appreciate that if it's not done right, the player can be expected to regularly endure long stretches of boredom! Helps me see that what might seem simple to the DM can be strange and mysterious and complex to the player.

 

[Kafkonia]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM? Does everyone take a turn, at some time? Has a Player been banned from DMing in your group?

Are Players who never DM moochers?

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

Does DMing make one a better Player?

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

Quasqueton

I haven't asked, so I don't know. Three of us (out of 7) have DM'd for the group at some point, basically spelling one another when a) we wanted a break from the campaign, or b) the closed-ended adventure was over. Three of the remaining four are fairly new to gaming. And nobody has been banned from DMing... Yet, at least. :S

Players who never DM are not moochers. To use a really, really flawed comparison, factory workers aren't moochers just because they aren't foremen. (Hey, I said it was flawed.) You can't DM without players, you can't play without a DM. As for DMs who never let others DM... well, the key there is your choice of words. If someone says, "I'd like to DM" and the DM says, "No!" then the argument could be made. On the other hand, if nobody ever offers to DM and so Bob the DM runs campaign after campaign, well, that's not his fault.

I don't think you can flat-out say DMing makes someone a better player. It will have its benefits and its drawbacks, and those will vary in part from person to person. I think playing makes you a better DM if you think things through, but it will make you a worse DM if you're just interested in getting to do all the kewl things you couldn't do when you were a player.