[GM's] How much should you play?

[Shin Okada]

I am playing RPG for 15 or so years. And I have started as a referee of Traveler.

I often play in "rotation" campaign for DnD. Their are 3 or more DMs for one party. Each DM guys have their own PC, too. When one of the DMs run a game, his PC become a kind of NPC but shares XP as a PC. This method may or may not work for certain play group or for certain campaign.

Another way is to just create a "home town". Everybody PCs are living there. We play a session with whoever can gather at that day. PCs, who's player is not there that day, are just "busy for some reason". In this case, DM's PC is "busy", too. It worked very well for some modern or future urban settings (like Cyberpunk RPG). But frankly speaking I am not sure if it works for DnD.

 

[LufiaLillystorm]

Play time? nosa write an adventure

I know the feeling of longing to play

My friends don't let me play anymore...I am a bad girl I guess I just tend to get frustrated when I am on the playing end. While I love it, it has to be with a really good GM that doesn't down play my ideas as 'silly'. That and I hate it when my character is made fun of because I didn't take everything the best that is possible Like that is what the game is about.

So instead I write an adventure. I also understand the scare of 'gosh this is a boring adventure' then running it for the players and they love it. It is a bizzare thing, like you can't see yourself as a player.

Oh well

Just thought I would pop in and say something

 

[maddman75]

I'm the same way - I have to play to recharge my batteries. There's another player that has agreed to run a game after the current story arc is finished. We have a really cool idea after that

Our current campaign is typical heroic stuff. Bold heroes defeating evil, all that stuff.

Our next game (the one I'll play in) is an evil, antihero campaign, using the guidelines in AEG's Evil.

After the evil guys get up to about the same level, the two groups are going to come into conflict, eventually going after each other. Whichever group wins in that conflict will be the ones that we keep playing with.

Should be interesting .

 

[Chriskaballa]

I am not the Iron DM (that title is reserved for Vaxalon) but an Iron Endurance DM. I've been running since September 2001 with only one week off. I still haven't had a burn-out yet. I'm itching to play, but I can't seem to find a group.

*begins crying* I forgot what the front of the DM screen looks like...

-Chris

 

[Agamon]

I don't like playing. Maybe it's the, erm, not-that-great DMs, I don't know.

I only play as a break to DMing. Really, though, I'm not the one that wants the break, one of the players wants to take a turn at DMing. I don't mind the break from between-game campaign development, so I let them DM an adventure once in a while. Oy. The first time (this campaign) wasn't very interesting, too straight-forward. The second time tear-inducing boredom with a first-time DM, that I advised as well as I could, but he ended up not listening and learning it the hard way.

There's another decent DM in the exended group, but he dislikes DMing and would rather play. Even sessions under him aren't great.

I admit, there is a bit of "screen envy" when I play, but really, I'm the only good, experienced, DM that enjoys DMing in the extended group of players (around 16) that I game with, so when I play, the level of fun drops. Kinda sad, eh?

Not very modest sounding, but nearly all of the players agree with me (though that still doesn't stop them from wanting to take a turn... )

 

[TalonComics]

I run a weekly D&D game on Sunday and a monthly D&D game on Saturday. That means one weekend a month I'm running two different games back to back! Because of our "Open Saturday" games at the store I actually get to play a couple times a month and yes it has helped me recharge more than once.
I love gaming so running and playing both work great for me but I think I love GMing more than playing. I'm looking forward to Cthulhu D20 coming out but it's still up in the air if I'll be GMing it or playing in it.

I would love to rotate my game with someone else but so far my players, after 18 months of weekly games, they still want me to run every Sunday. That makes me feel good as a GM.

~Derek

 

[Falcon]

I don't think a DM "should" play in X amount of games while DMming. It is up to the DM whether they play or not; they are under no moral obligation to do so. Granted, a DM should be familair with experiences on both sides of the screen. I played in three 3E campaigns before I DM'd---I had done a lot way back in the AD&D days. This helped me gauge encounters and players reactions, and understand the emotional responses players go through. Honestly, if a DM creates something that works, regardless of experience on both sides of the screen. I suggest reading Robin D. Laws' "Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering: for further reading, because I am tired and my brain is seeping out my right ear as I type.