D&D 5E "I’m that DM. . ."

[Stormdale]

I am that dm that turns up week after week expecting my players to entertain me and not the other way round. More often than not they succeed.

 

[overgeeked]

I’m that DM that doesn’t care about RAW.

I’m that DM that cares about verisimilitude.

I’m that DM that homebrews all the monsters.

I’m that DM that will kill your character without batting an eye.

I’m that DM that is more than happy to follow the PCs wherever they want to go.

I’m that DM that isn’t interested in metagaming, power gaming, or leading the players around by the nose.

 

[aco175]

I'm the kind of DM that makes an encounter for the PCs and then changes the choice of the players to meet the encounter. Quantum Ogre- yes, but the monsters may change and I might only need the map I made.

 

[Oofta]

I'm that DM that gave up long ago trying to figure out what the players were going to do. So I just set up situations, NPCs and opponents then sketch out a handful of combat encounters.

But 80% of the game? Just stuff I make up on the fly. Works reasonably well until I do something stupid like throw in a random tangent on the fly that totally derails the threads we had been following. So the group goes off to some obscure island I now have ato build and make living thing instead of the area I've been building up for the past 8 levels of play.

Ah well, the price of being lazy.

 

[Quickleaf]

I'm that DM who... doesn't kill PCs; falling damage, fleeing through those traps you detected, and poor life decisions with necklaces of fireballs kill PCs.

 

[Lanefan]

I'm that DM who promotes "do what your character would do" as the basic framework of play.

 

[Seramus]

I'm that DM who constantly forgets to describe sounds and smells. I swear I'm working on it!

 

[Mad_Jack]

I'm that DM that will unabashedly say, "Screw that." and not let some bad luck on a die roll kill a character if it's not narratively interesting, but will also cheerfully let characters die when they've decided to do something stupid.

 

[prabe]

I'm that DM that will unabashedly say, "Screw that." and not let some bad luck on a die roll kill a character in some low-stakes, non-climactic situation, but will also cheerfully let characters die when they've decided to do something stupid.

The fights you stumble into probably won't kill you; the fights you go looking for just might.

 

[Mad_Jack]

The fights you stumble into probably won't kill you; the fights you go looking for just might.

Yeah, people in my games don't accidentally fall off the sides of mountains and die on the way to the dungeon, unless I've designed it so that getting to the dungeon is a major part of the adventure and falling off the mountain is the major dramatic consequence of that part of the adventure. (although they may well fall off the mountain and have to climb back up.)
On the other hand, If I've just told them straight-out that they can clearly see that the rickety bridge across the crevasse is far too messed up to cross and they'll have to find another way, and they decide to try it anyway...

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Yeah, people in my games don't accidentally fall off the sides of mountains and die on the way to the dungeon, unless I've designed it so that getting to the dungeon is a major part of the adventure and falling off the mountain is the major dramatic consequence of that part of the adventure. (although they may well fall off the mountain and have to climb back up.)
On the other hand, If I've just told them straight-out that they can clearly see that the rickety bridge across the crevasse is far too messed up to cross and they'll have to find another way, and they decide to try it anyway...

Yes to this. Telegraphing dangers solves so many issues.

Oh, and to stay on point: I'm that DM that tries my best to telegraph dangers so the players feel they can make informed decisions for their PCs without feeling "gotcha'd".

 

[Older Beholder]

I’m the DM that enjoys world building a setting how ever I want.
I’ll mix Theros with Dark Sun and throw in Warforged while I’m at it.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I'm that DM that can name an NPC on the fly, but can't remember the name I gave them the next time you run into them. Unfortunately, I'm also that DM that doesn't write it down. In fact, I rarely write anything down. I used to easily get away with it, but my memory is not what it used to be.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

I'm that DM who always has more prep time, props, and potential than actual games or players.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I'm that DM who worries himself sick over whether or not something will work out, and then is baffled when the players are over the moon about it.

I'm that DM who spends three days prepping something that ends up completely irrelevant, and totally forgets to prepare anything at all about something that is obviously relevant, thus having to improvise an entire session.

I'm that DM who isn't shy about saying how the sausage was made, though I usually wait until hours after it's been eaten.

I'm that DM who gives everyone unique/custom items, skills, powers, etc. because (a) I think they're just cool and (b) I can use them as story hooks.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I'm the DM that says that I don't accept bribes.

(I'm also the DM who lies. Pizza is good. Expensive liquor is gooder. Cash is best.)

 

[Richards]

I'm the DM who...oh, wait, no - that wasn't me. Never mind.

Johnathan

 

[Lanefan]

I'm that DM who isn't shy about saying how the sausage was made, though I usually wait until hours after it's been eaten.

Same here.

That said, in the past I've had players (who aren't DMs) complain when I do this - to follow your analogy they don't want to know how the sausage was made, as long as it was tasty. They don't want to "see behind the curtain", as it were; and I suspect if I was never a DM I'd be the same way.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Same here.

That said, in the past I've had players (who aren't DMs) complain when I do this - to follow your analogy they don't want to know how the sausage was made, as long as it was tasty. They don't want to "see behind the curtain", as it were; and I suspect if I was never a DM I'd be the same way.

Had I any players who voiced criticism of this I would at least try to curb it, but I'm not sure I could completely stop. It's an example of my pathological over-sharing. "Yeah, that session we just ran, I had NOTHING prepared so I was winging it the whole time" or "that fight went south way too fast, so I got creative with the 'steal health' move in order to clear away some of the rabble after you focused the big bad--which was a smart move on your part."

Mostly I see it as keeping myself honest, I think. Not trying to pass off my sausage as anything other than what it is, you know? But then again I was raised being told fairly frankly what the contents of my diet were. I remember being so confused in high school when someone told me she didn't want to know that mushrooms were fungi because it would mean she wouldn't want to eat them anymore.

 

[Lanefan]

Had I any players who voiced criticism of this I would at least try to curb it, but I'm not sure I could completely stop.

Yep, I hear ya.

It's an example of my pathological over-sharing. "Yeah, that session we just ran, I had NOTHING prepared so I was winging it the whole time" or "that fight went south way too fast, so I got creative with the 'steal health' move in order to clear away some of the rabble after you focused the big bad--which was a smart move on your part."

Mostly I see it as keeping myself honest, I think. Not trying to pass off my sausage as anything other than what it is, you know?

Indeed.

There's also the other potential side effect: if never-DM players see a bit of what's behind the curtain and realize that sometimes there's really not as much to it as it sometimes seems, maybe it'll encourage them to try DMing someday. Or send them screaming for the hills. One or the other.