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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kzach" data-source="post: 5283292" data-attributes="member: 56189">Firstly, let's get some DM'ing credentials out of the way to qualify what I'm about to say.I've been DM'ing D&D games since I was thirteen. The moment I picked up the PHB, the very next thing I did was pick up a DMG, and the very next thing after that, was DM a game. I have DM'd for literally hundreds of people. Primarily this has been due to moving a lot. The last time I moved house was the 42nd time I've moved in my life.Other issues, of course, crop up. Personality conflicts, system preferences, girlfriends, boyfriends, life, etc. Point is, I get a group together and inevitably something happens and I start looking for more people or a new group. I have also DM'd a fair bit for Living games, online and off.In this time I've learned a lot of things. One of those things is that the onus is always put on the DM to provide the story and keep everything running smoothly. I, however, have come to a different conclusion. IMO, the onus should be on the players.Inevitably what I find is that even the most die-hard roleplayer who will scream black and blue that they are the bestest roleplayer evar, fails to follow clues, chase leads, investigate possibilities, ask questions of NPC's. In most cases, what they're looking for, is a railroad. They won't admit that, to the group or to themselves, but the fact is, they don't initiate, they follow.I've done this experiment too many times to count where I've told the group either one or the other, ie. I've said, "Go where you want, do what you want, but the onus is on you to find adventure," and everyone is like, "Yay! Awesome!" and we start the game and sit in a tavern for three hours roleplaying hitting on the barmaids, drinking themselves silly, and provoking fights. Usually this goes on until I finally break and paint a flashing neon sign that says, "Adventure, this way!"Other times I've said, "Ok, I'm going to railroad you through the plot, is everyone ok with that?" and I get, "Sure, will speed things up!" and then people bitch, moan, whinge and complain about not being able to go where they want and do what they want.The best solution, I've found, is to simply lie. Tell them it's a sandbox, and then railroad them down a set path. By providing the 'illusion' of choice, everyone's happy. The game continues at a good pace, nobody gets bored or frustrated, and nobody complains about being spoon-fed the plot.I feel that this situation has developed because of an expectation for the DM to be all and end all. Everyone blames the DM if a game runs badly, or is boring, but do they ever blame themselves?Part of the reason I'm mentioning this is because recently I have vowed not to DM. A life-long buddy of mine and I met through D&D, and in the last 18 years, we can count the number of times we've both been players in a game together. 90% of the time, I'm DM'ing, the other 10% he's DM'ing. So I said to Hell with it, and now every group I look for, I look as a player, not a DM.It's here that I've noticed how little people will initiate adventure or follow the DM's clues. Unless they're patently obvious railroads. Players tend to go off on tangents or, and this is what I find really bizarre, purposefully ignore the leads. And it's not like they're doing anything interesting instead. Rolling to seduce the barmaid got boring for me when I was fourteen and no longer initiates giggles.So I often find myself taking up the mantle of party leader and running with whatever clues the DM has put in front of me. And when there's nothing obvious, I find I am the only one to suggest or initiate avenues of exploration or investigation to find out where to go and what to do.This, therefore, is a callout to all players. It is not the responsibility of the DM to make a game fun. It's everyone's responsibility at the table. If a game is boring, then perhaps you should look to yourself as a player and contributor to that boredom, instead of placing blame on the one person who has the least control over what happens in the game.</blockquote>

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