Rant: Players who don't DM

[Thornir Alekeg]

If you were playing baseball you wouldn't make everyone take turns being the pitcher, or being the goalie in soccer, right?

I think an even better analogy would be: you wouldn't expect the pitchers to umpire the game, would you? How about: you cannot keep attending broadway plays unless you audition as well. I love theather, but do NOT ask me to get up on stage. Have I tried it? No. But I know myself well enough to know that I would hate every moment of it. Maybe your players also know themselves well enough. Perhaps they are selling themselves short, but its not up to you to try and make them find out for sure.

 

[takyris]

Yeah, I'm old enough to have a decent idea of what stuff I like and dislike, thanks.

Now, my group has me (the mostly permanent DM) and almost nobody else. One guy, who DMs for another group, DM'd for a few sessions in order to give me some playing-time. It was awful. It was painful. People were phoning in their actions because handling this guy as the DM was incredibly unpleasant for all parties. I still had a bit of fun playing, but I now realize that having a good time being DM is better than having a bad time playing.

I'd love for other folks to try DMing if they want to. One guy has flatly said that he doesn't want to put that much work into the game, which is fair. Two other guys have said, "Nope, not for me, thanks, I don't like the idea and I'm not comfortable with it." I can respect that. Another guy said "I'll do it, sure," and the next time we come to a lull, he'll run something. And the last guy will never be invited to DM again.

 

[the Jester]

JesterPoet, if I'm ever in your area I'll run some games for your group and let ya get in some playin' time.

I like to play but not nearly as much as I like to dm. It's a different sort of thing, but still.

 

[JesterPoet]

JesterPoet, if I'm ever in your area I'll run some games for your group and let ya get in some playin' time.

I like to play but not nearly as much as I like to dm. It's a different sort of thing, but still.

It's not that I don't get plenty of play time in. I do. I'm totally content with the amount of time spent playing vs. DMing in this group. Perhaps it's more that when it was suggested that someone else run, they didn't:

A) Either offer to run

or

B) At least offer a reason why they weren't offering.

Instead, they just sort of ignored the issue. Perhaps that's really at the heart of what bothers me about this whole thing.

 

[der_kluge]

Whoah cowboy! Nononono... I LOVE DMing. Actually, the only reason I even wanted someone other than me or Dude1 to GM is that I wanted to play at the same time as Dude1. Otherwise, the arrangement we have is just fine.

Problem solved, then.

 

[Thanee]

Have you ever asked them directly?

Bye
Thanee

 

[JesterPoet]

Have you ever asked them directly?

Bye
Thanee

Outside of saying to the group, "Dude 1 and I don't feel like running the next game. Who is going to run next" and ending up with nothing but silence, no.

S'allgood, though. It isn't as big of a deal to me as some people seem to think it is. Just an annoyance, and something that seemed interesting to talk about for a while.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

I understand where you are coming from but I think you are over reacting a bit. I'm in kind of the same situation. About 6 months ago I moved to a new area. In my old area I was with a group filled with DM's. We could never complete anything because someone would get inspired to run some really kick butt game and rather than squash his enthusiasm we'd stop what we were doing and let him run it.

That is one side of the extreme... if everyone loves to DM then you'll never get anywhere in one game because you'll constantly be switching.

The flip side is where I am now... NOBODY wants to DM. At first it used to irk me a bit because I love to play from time to time. You know what? I learned to love it. If I can't make it to a game I don't miss out on a session and fall behind in XP. I never get ticked with the way a DM is taking a game or one of his/her rules interpretations because I am the DM. The game goes according to MY schedule and after moving and getting a new job that has been a godsend. I would like to play again sometime but I would be happy with a one-shot and then I'd be happy to get back to DMing again. There are definite advantages to being the DM. Try thinking about those before you start feeling down about the negatives.

Be careful what you wish for... you may get it! A group of nothing but other DMs and you'll never have a long running campaign.

 

[Necron99]

If they don't want to DM, then they shouldn't have to DM. It's as simple as that. Unless that was the rules of the game when they were brought in to play. I don't like to DM either, but no one else wants to in my group and since they think I'm good, I do it. But, I don't get upset because they don't. I say let the chicks be.

 

[Malar's Cow]

I don't get it.

When we set up our current campaign, the players said "I'd like to play", and so they play. The DM (me) said "I'd like to DM", and so I DM. I much prefer taking the reigns of the campaign, seeing a vision I have manifested through the eyes of the players, and directing a collaberative story-telling process. I don't ever expect any of my players to volunteer to DM, because we're in an ongoing campaign, and they might find out certain elements of the meta-plot that would ruin their enjoyment as a player. I'd much rather have creative control over the campaign environment, and let the players enjoy participating in it.

Plus, I'm a control freak.