What makes you happy as a DM

[Thornir Alekeg]

When a player who is not the best a the role-playing side of the game takes a cue from the DM and manages to play out a scene perfectly.

When the party does something totally unexpected, I am forced to punt, and everyone thinks I had it all planned out.

When someone finds a truly creative way to handle an encounter (this can be both good and frustrating at the same time).

Managing to get two gaming sessions in the same month with everyone in attendance.

 

[Hjorimir]

1) Players who know the world they are gaming in.
2) The look on their faces when they finally put two and two together and realize the true terror of what has been going on in the campaign (I have some long, long plots that seem obscure at first).
3) Players who say, “Thank you, that was a lot of fun.”
4) Creative planning and execution from the players.
5) Players, as a group, shouting in excitement and joy from something that was hard to do but they manage to pull off.
6) Players that are sadden (yet not mad) when their character dies. It tells me that they cared about the experience but don’t hold the death against me.
7) The fact that my wife plays in my campaign.
8) The fact that I count years of friendship with my players by the decade.

 

[BlackMoria]

What is best in life..... To crush their characters, see them driven before me and to hear the lamentations of their players.

Seriously, it is seeing them enjoy the game and forget who they really are for several hours.

And being called a Rat Bastard on occasion when a master stroke of mine surprises, confounds, befuddles, enrages or sparks up their characters.....

 

[wingnut_dc]

When you haven't seen a player in a couple of years and you have some sort of reunion (school, military etc.) and he reminisces about his favorite campaign and character. The one that you DMed for him those many years ago.

 

[MerakSpielman]

What is best in life..... To crush their characters, see them driven before me and to hear the lamentations of their players.

Hey, you took the funny I was going to do! No fair!

Anyway, what is best about being a DM is seeing people genuinely enjoying an adventure I've worked on. Just knowing I can give my players a good time is the best gift a DM can get.

 

[Alenda]

As a newcomer to the role of DM, here are a few things that make me happy while running a campaign:

1.) When I'm roleplaying a hilarious situation with my players while struggling to keep a straight face the whole time.

2.) When a player gets so immersed in their character that I find it difficult to discern in-character and out-of-character comments.

3.) The struggle to appear perfectly innocent when I know the party is about to walk into an ambush.

4.) That moment of perfect clarity when I'm in the middle of DMing a session, and I think of a cool way to weave a character's history into the main plotline.

Alenda

 

[robberbaron]

I love it when the players look at all the stuff I've put together, and say "Whoa. This must mean this, this and this!" Then you get to nod and say "Yup." An hour later after the session ends for the evening you madly scribble down this really cool idea that wasn't how you had it all planned out before hand.

Yep, damn near every session. I love having such creative SOBs as players.
Means I have to do twice as much thinking between games but, hey, that's what GMs are supposed to do.

 

[MerakSpielman]

Players create the best conspiracies... Don't use their ideas wholesale, though, or it'll get obvious. Put bastardly twists on their bastardly brainstorming. Rat-Bastardness within Rat-Bastardness... Just when they're getting used to this, run a straight dungeon-crawl with no convoluted plot. Makes 'em paranoid as hell.

Er, that is, do this if that's the sort of thing your players like...

 

[KB9JMQ]

I like when at the end the players have had a great time.
When they come back they are still talking about last time.
When everyone is so into the game that ooc talking is nil or at least minimal.
If I had a good time running the game.

 

[Arnwyn]

- When the players remember things about the campaign world.
-When the players are proactive and look up a complicated rule themselves before they are going to use it.
- When the players say "thanks" and that they had fun.
- When the players put two and two (and sometimes two more) together and realize what past events now mean.
- When players cheer after they've successfully completed something difficult.