Does your group DM?

[Hussar]

Well, the players in my group DM other games, but, I have a particular block that is always mine for my World's Largest Dungeon game. Of my six players, 5 DM in their own games and one is willing to give it a shot. I've done round robin DM'ing and I've done all the work myself. Depends on the campaign really. For the WLD, it wouldn't make much sense to do round robin, but, for other, more open ended games, it's not a problem.

Then again, since I'm using the WLD, the idea of burnout becomes much less of a problem. I finished 99% of my prep work in August of last year and have finally (this week) caught up to where I had prepared. Not exactly straining myself to keep up.

 

[Blackrat]

Oh I'd love to let the others DM so I could just play once in a while. But since none of my group are interested in DMing it has been my part in the game for the last four years.

 

[S'mon]

We have 2 DMs in our group of 5; 2 of the other players GM for their own groups as well, so 4/5 of us GM at some point.

 

[Li Shenron]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM?

Not all but quite many: 3 of us are regular DMs, and at least another has DMed his own games (but with others, not us). The others haven't extressed any interests so far.

Does everyone take a turn, at some time?

No, each of us runs separate campaign(s) whenever we feel like, we don't take turns. Also those campaigns are parallel, and we do have sometimes all 3 going on at the same time.

Has a Player been banned from DMing in your group?

No...

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

None of us would oppose someone else being the DM.

Does DMing make one a better Player?

Sure, particularly social-wise, but also in-game-wise.

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

Just the same. Perhaps it's a bit like student-teacher: a teacher who hasn't been a student for 40 years may have problems understanding why her students aren't learning properly, and students who never tried to teach may sometimes be pretentious.

 

[DragonLancer]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM?

Yes, but they have their own lives and I'm more than happy to be the DM for the group. The others have had turns but for some reason they always come back to me.

Does everyone take a turn, at some time?

Yes, at some point, though its mostly myself for the majority of the time.

Has a Player been banned from DMing in your group?

Sort of. One of my players had a go last year, but he couldn't get out of the me-vs-them style of DMing. He's very much the player who wants to just wade in and smack monsters, so that attitude got carried over into his DMing. So after a while he gave up.

Are Players who never DM moochers?

No. Not at all.

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

No. Sometimes you make a better DM than a player.

Does DMing make one a better Player?

It can do.

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

It can do.

 

[diaglo]

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?

yes. not normally. no.

Are Players who never DM moochers?

no

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

Yes

Does DMing make one a better Player?

not necessarily.

Does player a PC make one a better DM?

sometimes

 

[atomn]

Are all the players in your group willing to DM?

Except for the one guy who's new to roleplaying in general, everyone has at some point. Although I'm typically not very willing because I don't enjoy GM very much.

Does everyone take a turn, at some time?

People in my group run games when there's a time slot available (usually once a campaign has run its course) and if they want to. No forced GMing.

Has a Player been banned from DMing in your group?

Nope.

Are Players who never DM moochers?

I'm biased because I typically don't want to GM, but I don't think so. Personally I get more enjoyment creating and fleshing out a single character rather than creating and fleshing out a plot (and I think I'm better at the character rather than plot making). So I think it's more of personal preference than mooching.

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

If they never allow for others to GM, I'd say so. Everyone should get a fair shake at running their campaign.

Does DMing make one a better Player?

In my experience it doesn't make one a better player and for one of my GMs it makes him a terrible player. He's one of the very best GMs I've ever played with. Hands down, A+ every time. But as a player he still trys to GM by explaining why his plans will work instead of leaving it up to the GM's discretion. Or he'd create his own plots by wandering away from the situation at hand and trying to something else involved. Etc...

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

I think so but I don't know of any GMs who have never been a PC.

 

[Henry]

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?

Not all in our group do; but at least four others besides me in the group DM, and it's a great relief to be able to stretch one's legs and do some playing.

Are Players who never DM moochers?

Nah; some people just don't have the drive, but I do try to encourage all the players to take at least one turn at the helm at some point in their RPG careers; see below.

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

If somebody wants the chance to be a DM for a while, and the DM doesn't let them? Then YES!

Does DMing make one a better Player?

In my opinion, ABSOLUTELY. Even for players who are really on the ball, it gives everybody insight into life behind BOTH sides of the screen. You can always learn a little something from trying all the positions on a sports team, so to speak.

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

I think so, too, and in fact, it would seem that 99% of all DMs started as a player first. In addition, playing once in a while while another person DMs gives you an appreciation of the pace of rewards in play, of providing enough information during a game, and really good and really bad pacing of a story.

 

[sjmiller]

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 think a few of the players might be willing to DM, but nobody has asked if they could and I have not asked anyone if they would. There's one player who I would not want as a DM and would actively work towards preventing this person from doing so. I've heard this person talk about their DMing in the past, and frankly I am shocked at what this person calls acceptable.

Are Players who never DM moochers?

No, not in the least. Some people don't feel comfortable running a game, and some just don't have the time or creative energy to do so. Others just want to play and have fun.

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

Believe me, if I could get someone else to run a game, I would be happy. I miss playing as much as I used to. I think most of the time it is not that they won't let others DM, it's that nobody else steps up to DM. I do know one DM who makes a poor player and is only happy gaming when he is DMing. He's also a bit of a jerk as both a DM and player, so he and I do not game together.

Does DMing make one a better Player?

Sometimes I think it makes for a worse player, because you are often trying to seek control which you do not possess as a player. Other times I think it is good to see what it is like on the other side of the screen, so to speak.

Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

If you have not played the game, in my opinion, I cannot see how you can make a good DM. But, just because you have been playing for years does not automatically mean you will be a better DM.

 

[Ant]

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?

No way, thank goodness! Seriously, after Jay's failed Runequest attempt it's plain that some people should never, ever sit behind a DM screen. Of course, I've never seen anyone play a cleric as superbly as Jay, so there you go. No one's ever been formally banned though.

Are Players who never DM moochers?

Rarely ... usually they're just being very kind.

Are DMs who never let others DM powermongers?

No, they're selfish masochists who probably own at least one 30-sided dice.

Does DMing make one a better Player? Does playing a PC make one a better DM?

No, but it helps you know exactly what to do to drive the DM/player nuts.