"Great session"? Wait, I'm confused...

[messy]

i ALWAYS compliment the dm on a good session. i've been on both sides of the screen, so as a player i can appreciate a good game.

plus, good dm's are hard to find. we should thank them for their efforts


messy

 

[Blackbrrd]

If your players nag you to plan the next session it's reasonable to assume they really enjoy your game.

I am wondering, do you guys compliment your players? Good players are just as important as a good DM.

 

[MortalPlague]

Agreed. Any time the players express genuine attachment to any in-game element -- hatred of a foe, grudging respect for an NPC -- it makes my crusty black heart sing.

I agree. It happens so rarely, and often it's completely unexpected when it crops up!

I do love receiving compliments as a DM. It makes it all worthwhile to know that your game is enjoyed.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Do you ever have to wait so long for the reply box to come up that you completely forget what you were going to say?

But you know it was interesting and relevant so you post something anyway? Besides, you want to bookmark this thread so you can come back to it later.

Yeah? Me, too!

 

[Holy Bovine]

So a player in my group said something on Saturday after our session that I don't understand. He said, "This was a great session!" I've been DMing for about 10 years now, and I've never heard these words uttered out of another players mouth before. What exactly did he mean by that? Is this what some call, a "compliment"? I've heard of such things, but I thought it was a myth. Was he just trying to get some bonus XP from me or something? Or maybe he stole something from my house, and that was great? Hmm, I'm unnerved by these words.

I got 2 new players in the last 6 months. This current group of players are great. I've been having a blast playing with them. It was nice to hear a compliment and that just inspires me to keep doing what I'm doing and try my best.

There's no real point to this thread other than to brag, since I'm used to just hearing complaints from players Just let me have my moment please!

Huh. My players thank me after almost every game. Many times they say how great & fun the session was. Is this really that rare? When I am a player I always try to remember to thank the DM. They put in a lot of work to run a game and the least a player can do is acknowledge that fact with a thank you.

Now my greatest 'brag-about-how-awesome-you-are' moment was at the end of a 2.5 year 3E campaign where, after I described the events over the next year of game time resulting from the PCs heroic actions they burst into a round of applause!

 

[Nifft]

Hey players, TALK TO YOUR DM. Offer criticism. TELL me what you liked and what you didn't like. Don't just say "good game" and go home. Let me know. I WANT FEEDBACK.

Eh, people suck at introspection. It's sometimes hard to pinpoint what you enjoy.

IMHO it's more productive to watch for cues, like when they lean forward in their seats, and then try to puzzle out what was going on that got them extra interested.

If your players nag you to plan the next session it's reasonable to assume they really enjoy your game.

Agree. Judge by actions: whatever they're interested in is important, rather than what they say they enjoy.

During my first campaign, I set up a bunch of polls, and on the autonomy poll, one player voted 100% against railroading -- "I will carve my own path in the world!" -- when what he actually wanted was some intellectually non-intensive fighting, carried forward by a plot that was not driven by his character. In other words, he wanted unobtrusive railroading.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Show your appreciation for the DM? Are you crazy?

Everybody knows that the reason somebody becomes a DM is because they have a large ego and want to be the center of attention. Don't feed the beast by showing appreciation. Maintain your disdain for what your DM has done. If they ask what you think just say, "Meh, I've seen better." Any weakness on your part as a player will release a monster upon the world that no amount of crits will be able to vanquish: the DM who believes they are, "ALL THAT."

 

[Oryan77]

Is this really that rare?

I partly kid on the rarity of hearing a compliment. I'm sure I've been complimented a few times before. But in my experience, yeah, it's pretty rare to hear a direct verbal compliment. But it honestly doesn't bother me. The compliment for me is the fact that they keep showing up to play and seem genuinely interested while they are playing. It also means a lot when they do this without ever complaining about anything or arguing with me while we play. I'm more of a "show me" person than a "tell me" person....words don't mean as much to me as actions do.

the reason somebody becomes a DM is because they have a large ego and want to be the center of attention.

Oh definitely. Plus we just want to control people and boss them around.

I've been accused of the ego/control freak label a couple of times. But it's not even close to being true; well, I do control how the world works, isn't that what a DM is for? Strangely enough, it always seems to be the whiny, deva, controlling players that says something like that to me.
They never seem to understand when I say, "That's not the kind of campaign I'm currently running. But I'll gladly play in that type of game if you want to DM it."

 

[Nifft]

haha, players are idiots!

I do hope you're making a joke here.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Obryn]

I hear that from my players pretty often, but I might just have more vocal ones than most.

As others have mentioned, the best kick I get out of it is when I - for example - take my dog out 15 minutes after the game, and still find my players standing around by their cars talking about the session. I love that sort of thing.

-O