D&D 5E Is D&D becoming TOO popular (More DMs Needed)?

[techno]

I recently had several couples in our neighborhood ask me to DM a game for them. I am running 2 separate groups to try and accommodate everyone. Few have ever played before. Yesterday, several more neighbors asked if I could run a game for them too. So, I am looking at starting a 3rd game. Our church youth group leaders asked if I would run a one-shot D&D game for their teens as an activity. Maybe this is just a fluke, but I cannot believe how popular D&D is in my area. There seems to be lots of people who want play (most with no RPG experience) because of watching games being played online. I have been playing D&D for 37 years and I have never seen anything like this wave of interest in RPGs. I don't think I can take on another group and so others will have to step up and DM at some point. I am wondering if anyone else is having more requests from friends to play than they can handle or if this is just an isolated situation. It seems like a "golden age" of D&D to me.

 

[cbwjm]

Went from a group of 4 players to 6 or 7. Doesn't sound as big a number as what you have, but people are definitely wanting to play. One was even because he watched critical roll. The good thing is, 2 new players also wanted to have a go at DMing.

 

[Calithorne]

I'm actually having the opposite problem. It used to be I was the only DM, because no one else wanted to do it. Now, everyone in my group wants to DM and it's hard to squeeze in everyone's campaign. I haven't DM'd for months now, and I'm getting antsy.

 

[Xeviat]

Supply and demand. Maybe the going rate for DMs will go up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Demetrios1453]

Supply and demand. Maybe the going rate for DMs will go up.

So, we can demand two bags of Cheetos and two 2-liters of Mt. Dew per session now? Score!

 

[Hussar]

The nice thing about 5e is that the bar to DMing is a LOT lower than in previous editions. There's just not that many things that you need to be concerned about. Which hopefully will translate into more and more people taking a stab at sitting in the big Daddy chair.

 

[Iosue]

After me DMing the group through the Lost Mines (TPK at Wyvern Tor), Hoard of the Dragon Queen, and Lost Mines again (great success!), my 11 year old niece is taking the reigns for White Plume Mountain. Yay, I get to play!

 

[Rya.Reisender]

In online play, I noticed the following:
If you run one of the official adventure paths, then there is really a HUGE demand for DMs. I just need to post something like "I'm going to DM this official adventure path" and within a week, I'll already have like 30+ applications. So it definitely feels like the demand is really high for that at least.
From DMs that prefer to write their own adventures, however, I heard they often have trouble to find players.

Of course there's also the effect of "We can't find a DM at all..... well okay, fine, I'll do it.", so yeah, if the demand gets too high someone who usually wants to play will be willing to DM. But I'm not sure about the quality of the DMing if you don't really enjoy it as good DMing really requires a lot of time commitment.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Generally speaking, DM's are the bottleneck of the hobby. Most people have no idea how to fix that. Mearls is trying though.

 

[The_Gunslinger658]

With programs like roll20 and fantasy grounds getting a group of players together is much easier than trying to get a ftf group together. You dont have to deal with traffic, going to a strangers house, irritating personalities, working around people schedules and so on. Ya I do miss those days of ftf play, but I'm also enjoying online play plus it keeps me away from World of Warcraft thankfully.

As for the shortage of DM's, well it is not an easy road to be a DM. You basically need to have a personality, a commanding voice and very good organizational skills. The Best DM's are the ones who have been in the military, they know how to talk and motivate their players. DM's who say um um um, uh uh uh well, um um um alot lack good communication skills. Ya gotta talk from the gut, a nasal or soft spoken voice is a no go to me. Believe me, I have seen many a utub video and many of those DM's make me cringe.

Scott