D&D General I DM because...

[EzekielRaiden]

What it says on the tin. If you don't DM, but have in the past, or are about to start, please feel free to vote as appropriate.

If you are truly a "Never DM," that is, you have never done so and don't have any plans to in the foreseeable future, please vote "Actually, I've never been a DM and don't intend to become one."

If more than one answer applies to you, or has applied to you in the past, you can choose up to 3 responses. Please don't choose other responses and "never been a DM," because that's a contradiction and not very helpful.

 

[aco175]

I was the DM off and on from the early days when we would swap off all the time. In the Army I always was the DM. After that I was a player for a while under 1 DM and another wanted to for about a year. My brother ran a 3e Age of Worms campaign, but after that I think I was the DM until now. I recall my brother wanting to take a break after Age of Worms and I took over. Nobody said they wanted to DM after that.

 

[jdrakeh]

Usually just because I wanted to, BUT sometimes because I want to play a game that isn't D&D and nobody else is well versed enough in it to GM.

 

[TarionzCousin]

I got too frustrated with being a player in the games I was playing. Several of the players asked me to DM a new game.

I emphasize story and character development over combat.

 

[Reynard]

My one regular group has 3 folks willing and able to GM. So when I GM for that group, its because we decided that for this game I should GM.

For my other group, I am.the GM. That group only exists because I want to run a game and I invite players to that game. I am lucky in that I have a relatively large pool of players to draw from, so it is generally pretty easy to put bottoms in chairs (virtually speaking) for that game.

GMing is infinitely more rewarding than playing for me. I always seek out a group to run for.

 

[Shiroiken]

Primary Answer (why I became a DM): I wanted to and my DM felt I had potential. This was back in 1E, when it was common for DMs to take on apprentices.

Secondary Answer (why I continue to DM): I'm a masochist
Just kidding. Sorta. Not really... I have a drive to DM. If I take a hiatus, I start thinking up new campaign ideas almost immediately. IME most Forever DMs fall into this trap.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I still remember paging through my friend's DMG thinking 'Wow, I'd like to make this happen for my friends."

Started my friend game within 6 months of starting playing.

 

[RoughCoronet0]

I wanted to, as I enjoy lore and worldbuilding and it gave me a chance to share that creativity with my group. I’m still really new to it (currently running my very first campaign in my own homebrew world) but I seem to be doing good so far.

Also because I wanted to play a dragon and this is the only official way to do that.

 

[payn]

Seemed like a great thing to learn and do when I started out (and it is!). I continue because many GMs don’t have the drive to keep a game going.

 

[bedir than]

I DM because I want to figure the answers to questions I can't answer myself

 

[iserith]

I honestly can't remember the first time I DMed. I remember vaguely the first time I played. I was playing solo with my friend who had the boxed set and died to a carrion crawler at the entrance to the dungeon. The promise of the game had me interested in more though and I imagine I ended up DMing just because I had the bug and the group needed someone to do it. Couldn't even tell you what adventure I actually ran though.

Since that time, I've either DMed because I wanted to or was enlisted specifically.

 

[David Howery]

first group I was in, I was only occasionally the DM. Second one, I was the DM almost all the time...

 

[J-H]

I DM the kind of games I would like to play in.

 

[MockingBird]

Some other reason. I like to create and get the stories and scenarios in my head out.

 

[p_johnston]

So the question is a bit hard because my group only exists because I started to DM. It was more a "I want to play D&D. Fine I'll just DM so at least I can play." and then I DMed pretty much straight for... 8ish. Last few years I've gotten some breaks with other guys stepping up and we now alternate weeks.
But I suppose the correct answer is "I DM (or started to DM) because I wanted to play D&D and that was the easiest way."
Though I will say now I find myself getting antsy if I don't DM for to long because I really do enjoy it.

 

[Umbran]

I felt some gaming should be happening, and it wasn't going to happen unless I offered to run the game.

 

[Orius]

Because I want to. What other reason is there?

I like the power and I like to watch the players squirm.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I wanted to play D&D but no one was even thinking about playing it, let alone running it. So I DM'd just to get a game started.

Bunches of years and games later I've gotten more and more people interested in D&D and playing it... and some of them have occasionally stepped up to run a small short game to get their feet wet at DMing. However, only two have moved on to run their own full campaigns themselves. Which means I'm still DMing games just to keep the train moving along the tracks (but I do get to play in one of the other games, thankfully.)

The real difference now is that when some people who have played with me in previous games and are not in my current one ask me about playing more D&D... I just tell them they can always just run a game themselves if they want to play that badly like I had to do years ago. Thus far that comment has not inspired them to do so yet, but I keep hoping. LOL.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

I've always wanted to GM. My experiences as a player were unsatisfying, so I wanted to learn everything about the games so I could create the experiences I wanted for others. Ultimately, I just became the GM I always wanted to play with but rarely ever met.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I had the least time constraints... which right now is not a big bar to overcome.

I hope we will soon have more time again.