Okay, so *why* is EN World GM-centric?

[Umbran]

Having been a professional freelance writer and designer, I would tell you that you are wrong. They are much the same mindset. Now, running the business? That's a whole other animal and not linked one whit to being a creative type.

I'm not sure where we disagree. A person working inside the business (and freelancers may not count as "inside", depending on how the company treats them) generally has access to some of the business information - they need to know *why* something is being done to do their jobs properly.

Long-time GMs, being consumers and not inside the business, do not generally get that information.

 

[WizarDru]

I think the big numbers have been hit, here.

1) DMs require more resources for the game and sharing resources makes their lives easier. ENWorld has provided me with tons of monsters, maps and ideas.

2) DMs and players are not mutually exclusive. DMs are, if anything, a superset of Players.

3) DMs tend to think much more on the meta-game and the superstructure of gameplay. Players spend less time worrying about inter-party dynamics, story flow, treasure balance, monster interaction and threat level and tons of other issues that have much less or no direct impact on the players ability to play, but have a huge effect on the DM's work.

4) Players have less of a need to reach out on message boards to other players, because they already have at least one to many other players right there gaming with them, usually. GMs, by contrast, usually only have one or two counterparts in a gaming group to bounce ideas off of...and those GMs are likely also players, which makes it problematic to discuss details of traps, monsters, balance or future plot details with them.

 

[Wicht]

I'm not sure where we disagree. A person working inside the business (and freelancers may not count as "inside", depending on how the company treats them) generally has access to some of the business information - they need to know *why* something is being done to do their jobs properly.

Long-time GMs, being consumers and not inside the business, do not generally get that information.

Experienced GMs though are interested in the business side of things as they consider themselves a part of the business and want to know more of how it works (or else they have opinions on how to do things better). It is true that doing creative stuff for money is a slightly different animal than not, but we all come to believe we could one day publish or be published.

 

[athos]

I think I might have to agree with Umbran on this one, in that I have met several GMs that will "very humbly" tell you that they never use published adventures because the published writers just aren't as good as they are. This always makes me cringe. I know there are some very good unpublished DMs/GMs out there, but I think the editors of most of the gaming magazines and publishing houses know what appeals to the biggest audience of gamers, they have hard sales data to look at to base their opinions on. If an adventure gets published, it generally means it is above average in quality, IMO.

Where a "house" GM can really shine is by tailoring adventures to his characters' personalities and backgrounds. These adventures would be meaningless to any other group, but for his/her group they would be wonderful. This kind of personal attention to detail is what makes the game great and keeps it from being a video game where everyone goes down the same path.

So let me recap on what I am trying to say: published adventures are generally higher in quality because of better writing, editing, maps, etc. and home adventures are generally more personal because they are custom made for the group at hand. I like both, but I don't think they are one and the same, either in the product, or in who can write them.

In either case, GMs need resources and ideas, and this is a good website for that...

 

[Umbran]

Experienced GMs though are interested in the business side of things as they consider themselves a part of the business and want to know more of how it works (or else they have opinions on how to do things better). It is true that doing creative stuff for money is a slightly different animal than not, but we all come to believe we could one day publish or be published.

I don't disagree with any of that. I merely note the difference between our usual beliefs and the reality

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Well, like, duh.

If you're posting on a message board, wouldn't you also claim the title of Dungeon Master? I mean, c'mon, not many are going to publicly admit they hold the position of dungeon minion.

Besides, number of people who thought Uni was cool: 2.

 

[Katana_Geldar]

I think it also comes down to experienced people that can help you with GMing, particularly if you are like me and like to keep things from players so you can surprise them.

I can come on here, or another gaming site, and give details for my next campaign and ask for suggestions or solutions to any problems I have. Can't usually ask players that, or even on my blog as they read that.

GMs also need mentors, not just someone to bounce ideas off but with the details of management and the various problems that happen. A lot of people don't have these, enter the Interwebs.

 

[pawsplay]

As I said, GMs were tinkering for decades before the OGL, and would be doing so without the OGL. The OGL has no direct impact on tinkering unless you're planning on publishing it.

The presence of publishers as active participants on a website does influence its character and who it attracts. Certainly, I wouldn't be coming here very often if this was just another D&D site. I like talking to publishers and freelancers, and I like getting feedback and participating in discussions with players to use in my own endeavors.

 

[fba827]

I don't know about the rest of you, but...
I come here for the GM beer
I stay here for the GM porn



(DM beer= topical discourse; GM porn = creativity)

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Speaking for myself, I joined this board back in the Eric Noah's scoop site as a way to learn about the 'new' game of 3rd edition. I met alot of very cool people along the way; Nifft, Hypersmurf, Ranger Wicket, RavenCrowking, Lanefan, and Eric Noah himself. I noticed many folks posting here that are/were in the real business of gaming; the WoTC guys, the OGL guys, Hell-Hound, and even Gary himself.


Yes, I think ENWorld has a high percentage of posting GMs. I think that reason for this is a circular-logic problem. As a GM, I post here because I know lots of other GM's post and may respond...

..and yes, an RPG online discussion of rules and game systems is most likely to self-select the group of people most involved in said rules/game systems.

I am a subscribed user because I want this resource to hang around... and cause Morrus says they are doing a city-based AP