Girl DMs!

[Ziona]

Wellllll, we DID spend the whole session picking flowers in-game and discussing who we wanted to marry whilst poring over a copy of TIGER BEAT. We gave each other manicures and then yelled at an ogre until it gave up, after which we celebrated with a big bowl of chocolate ice cream.

Plus, our equipment lists were called "hope chests".

GIRLS STINK THIS IS D&D NO GIRLS ALOWED THIS MEENS YOU!!!

That's it!! -500 XP Mister!!

 

[CaptainCalico]

I’m not a DM yet, but I’m working on it. I’ve played with female DMs at cons and had a good time, but I’ve been lucky with the quality of all of my con DMs so far, male or female. I will say that finding a female DM running D&D was a big factor in my taking the leap into playing at a con for the first time, it just felt a bit more comfortable for me.

My friend Vicki will be running a seminar on women in gaming at GenCon again this year. The one last year was well attended (despite room changes and other mix-ups) and a lot of fun. She was looking for a more focused topic this year; maybe I’ll suggest “Challenges of Female DMs”.

 

[Voneth]

While not on this board, I know of a female GM who runs her game in Brazil. She claims that while it's not a big deal to have female gamers at the table in that country, it seems that being a female GM gets the "Uh, its a girul!" repsonse.

If I remember right, her history is that she was a gamer and then thought about GMing. So she got her best friends, all of which had never rpged before, and then ran her first campaign with them. That sort of made sense, everyone was learning so there was no pressure to meet anyone's standards. She now games a mixed group.

From what I gather, she has different styles between playing and GMing. For GMing, she does plot and rpg, for playing she likes to do over the top combat.

I also noticed that she has a low tolerance for any sort of player foolishness. If people start playing politics or having issues with her or other players, she just postpones the game until people decide that they can either leave or deal with their problems and come back to the game table.

For me, I haven't seen or had that many female GMs. Mostly I think it was the connection that most of the female players I had were g/fs to guys I gamed with. Their main motivation to be at the table was not the game itself.

As far as female to male rations changing the game play, I have the best story so far. I once ran a game of 4 players, both were couples. Then the two couples decided to break up and switch partners. That sort of tanked my project right there.

 

[Conaill]

I've played under two female DM's back in my GURPS days. They both were excellent DM's, but I can't say there was a radical difference in the tone of the game.

I do think that having some female participants tends to make a difference compared to an all-male game, whether they be DMs or players. I much prefer the atmosphere in a mixed-gender game.

I did play my one and only female character with one of those female DM's though. Very interesting experience, and one of my most favorite PC's. The DM did put me on the spot a number of times, but we all had a great spot. Infact, I wouldn't consider running another female PC in a game that did not have a female DM, or at least a good number of female players. In an all-male game, that too often leads to sexist jokes and immature behavior, whereas in a mixed game it provides a nice roleplaying challenge (not to mention quite a learning experience).

 

[fusangite]

I'm struck by the large proportion of men posting to this thread discussing the phenomenon of female GMs -- I think this tells us something. I'm not sure what, aside from the obvious demographic information that I think we already know.

 

[Ashtal]

I GM in my group that's all guys except for me, but my groups in the past have had either one or two or three girls in it, all counted.

I don't really think it changes the dynamic too much. I rotate with the guys, though I was the one that formed the group in the first place.

In fact, I'm on the cusp of running Buffy TVS, though previously I ran 3E with the guys for about a year.

 

[Regdar]

Never had a Female DM, female players yes, never a Female DM, bah Regdar finds it to be a pity.

 

[dave_o]

I'm struck by the large proportion of men posting to this thread discussing the phenomenon of female GMs -- I think this tells us something. I'm not sure what, aside from the obvious demographic information that I think we already know.

I don't see anything wrong with it. Not only do I acknowledge females as the superior gender, but the superior DM.

I think there's just something captivating about the female form and persona which naturally lends itself to storytelling, and in this case, DMing. Not that guys can't do a great job, it's just that there's a subtlery, a fairness, that women have seemed to develop through eons of being the caregivers.

This post seemed sort of mean-spirited, though. I'm just trying to show some much-needed appreciation for the Girl DM!

 

[Tokiwong]

My friend Talindra use to run a great game for our old group, and she rocked, she showed great insinct and creativity, miss those glory days, hope to get back to them one day....