Is it harder to go from DM to character?

[Creamsteak]

For a short three or four hour span I was a character for the first time in a year. For some reason there was gold in them thar hills and we were nosedragged into them. A few gnolls attacked, one at a time, against three armed characters and me laying out magic missles at all of them. I kept saying things around the lines that "why are these things just attacking us suicidally... they can't be that dumb..."

The DM did not get that I was implying something, and instead started excusing himself with stuff about gnolls thinking with their stomachs.

Is it my bad to have been critical of the "free experience" enemies we were fighting? Is it just something of a, "thats not the way I do it" thought?

 

[Black Omega]

I've not really seen this problem. But my group almost deals with rules as a collective. We all know some of the rules and look up stuff when we don't.

Tactically, it makjes more of a difference I think. I notice tactics way more when GM'ing than when playing, I suppose because I try to plan tactics for encounters

 

[Lendyl]

core books

when i dm the core books are three big books of suggestions. keeps the veteran players on their toes. the only trick is to ensure you make consistent descisions, but that isn't so hard. i play in a campaign as well with a different group, good dm, hasn't been a problem.

 

[Deadguy]

I Recognise the Disease!

Yup, Raistlin, I do know what you mean! I am lucky enough to both play and DM a lot, but they are quite separate game types, i.e. I DM Ars Magica and D&D3e but play Earthdawn and Mage the Sorcerers Crusade. Why? Because, with the best will in the world I find that playing the same game as I DM causes me problems with the 'rules application' and also the 'campaign assumptions', just as you describe.

I'm not quite as bad as I sound (honest!), and it's also partly chance that I don't both play and DM the same system. But I have DMed for a long, long time, and even when I play I have my 'DM-analysis' hat on. I find myself looking at the game from the outside, examining the choices that the DM has made, looking at play balance and NPC construction. I am playing my character at the same time, but these thoughts also crowd around. I think I have found the answer in the MtSC camapign, in that we are playing 'troupe-style'. By that I mean we all take turns as the DM, so we all, as a group, decide tricky rules questions or setting queries. It works really well, even if it does sometimes break the flow of the game. This way we all get to 'own' the setting and rules, so we all feel a point of pride in making stories flow well.

Does this make me sound a lousy player?

 

[nsruf]

Seems there are two different problems here:

1. Knowing the rules better than the DM, no matter whether you DM yourself

2. Increased awareness of holes/inconsistencies in other people's plot, due to own experience as DM

I admit that it is sometimes hard for me to shut up in either case, but I try:

Say to yourself "The other guy is the DM now!", take a deep breath, count to 10, and repeat until the urge to complain goes away

 

[The Furious Puffin]

I know what you mean

It can be hard to switch from DM to player there is an overidding urge to run the game.

For example after DMing a group for a long time (almost ever since we started playing) I switched back to playing, after running out of ideas. In the minddle of the first game one of the players turned to face me and started describing his actions in the game. After we all stopped laughing the game resumed unhindered.

That particular incident was triggered by me semi-westing crontrol of the game off the actual DM by describing *my* actions as I would a critical NPC, and because the group was used to my method of presentation they responded.

I also argee with nsruf not matter what, if you know the rules better than the DM there is a heavy tempation to say "but that's NOT how it works, you should be doing it like this" Generally I try not to think about it, makes the problem easier

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Creamstreak, come and join the IR in In Character, if you'd like.

You expressed an interested. I hope you will join in.

I'm trying to produce a mess. But I need the right ingredients to produce the proper mess!

 

[Carnifex]

I must say that I too suffer from this, unless I have a really good DM of at least my standard and preferably better (yeah, it's a bit arrogant, but I like to think I'm a pretty good DM). It's to a lesser extent in campaigns in gaming systems I haven't run myself, but sometimes it's still there, largely due to the fact that in my previous gaming group I was the most experienced GM there. It meant that the efforts of the other GM's never seemed to match up to mine, and I couldn't help but feel critical even though I wanted them to develop to become just as good as me (thus allowing me to play in good games).

 

[Hand of Evil]

I find it hard being a player with my group. They think I am a wonderful DM and the other players think I am in the know.

Now when I play with other people I don't have any problems.

 

[Madfox]

As has been said, basically we are talking about two problems and one of those has got little to with a difference between DMing or playing. A DM should know the rules and if the DM does not know the rules he should not mind a player politely pointing out what the rules are.

A much bigger problem is the feeling you would have done the plot differently and that you would have used different tactics. I try to keep my mouth shut during the game. After the game though I do discuss it with the DM. He has a right to know what type of game I like as a player and improve his skills. When I do something wrong in this regard as a DM I fully expact my players also to step forward and tell me after the game.