D&D General Why do you prefer DMing over Playing?

[AnotherGuy]

For reasons others have already mentioned AND
I haven't been fortunate enough to find a creative DM that follows the campaign all the way through...it is why I don't sign on as a player anymore. A limited story-arc sure, but I'm not signing onto being a player in a campaign that in great probability won't go anywhere.

 

[DarkCrisis]

I know how I like D&D to be ran and I’m sad to say it bugs me to no end when another DM doesn’t do it how I would do it.

there is one guy I don’t mind handing the reins to and we’ve been playing together for 20 years so we are pretty synched up in style.

 

[Asisreo]

People often forget past the rules and mechanics that DM's are the lifeblood of the hobby. The more difficult of a task to DM a game, the less the game gets played.

Difficulty can be all sorts of things like time and basic overhead. Being an arbiter of the rules means you have to be on top of them or risk your players playing an inconsistent game.

Then, you have to arbitrate the settings and characters. It can be confusing if suddenly the brooding roguish NPC named Loreth changed into the quirky goblin Yooshoo because you flipped to the wrong part of your notes.

DM'ing just isn't easy and many don't find it fun. Imo, that's why a game that makes it easier/more fun for the DM is better than one with a huge swath of player-facing options. Doesn't matter if you get an official gunslinger if there isn't a world for them to live in. I actually like 5e for being fairly easier and open to more creativity, same with 2e though 2e was definitely harder to run as I recall.

 

[Imaculata]

My passion is story telling, game design and level design. DM'ing is one of the few ways to instantly get feedback about your creations.

I also enjoy being a player, but I will always have strong opinions about game and level design.

 

[Mannahnin]

In principle, I enjoy playing about as much as GMing--they're different things, and the enjoyment is different, but the amount of enjoyment is about the same.

In practice, I prefer GMing, I think, because I seem to want specific things out of TRPGs, and the other GMs I've gamed with haven't built or centered their games around those things.

Yeah. That's another big one. I've never found a DM who wants to run the kinds of games I really want to play in. So I have to run them.

I'm solidly in the "forever!DM and happy about it" camp. I don't really enjoy playing, and the main reason for that is, nobody will ever DM a game the way I'd do it!

An observation my gaming group had back in my college days was that many DMs run the kind of game they wish they could play in.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

I was genuinely surprised (and pleased) to read some of the comments by others who had expressed similar experiences they had when playing in someone else's game who wasn't quite up to their own standards. Finding a GM that meets your expectations is a gift. One that exceeds them is a godsend. But its not always about the GM.

In my life, I have only truly enjoyed a handful of games as a player. Most times, I just enjoy sharing the company of friends and acquaintances, or giving someone else their shot at the GM chair. I would often assist the GM with making calls, or helping set up scenes and encounters. And I would engage with the other players with more direct, in-charcter dialogue to get them more into the game and their character. But most often, I would be the example I would like to see from players while entertaining and having fun.

Sadly, there have been times when I would just wish the GM or players were more like me. I had met players who were too rigid to think of anything other than the most optimized option to maximize results, and felt that everyone else's job was to do the same. I had dealt with GMs who were adversarial, who felt they were only good if they could take down characters or defeat the players, who barely made the minimal effort or prep to run anything, or otherwise had no business being on that side of the screen. And I'm sure many of us have been there.

So it should come as no surprise when I tell you that my truly greatest delight is when I can provide a great experience for another GM. More than anyone else, a GM can really appreciate another good GM and is not likely to take them for granted. And a player who never sits behind the screen can never fully appreciate what a GM does, regardless of how good or bad they are at it.

 

[Shiroiken]

Because I'm a masochist. Just kidding... sort of.

In reality it's because I have to. I don't know why, but I do. I'm currently on month 3 of my hiatus after 5 years straight DMing, and I'm already itching to start running again. I've narrowed down my campaign ideas, and have started thinking long term plans. Given that I probably won't run a full campaign for another 6-9 months, working on it will temporarily satisfy my need.

 

[Vaalingrade]

People often forget past the rules and mechanics that DM's are the lifeblood of the hobby.

We're really not that important.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

We're really not that important.

Maybe. Then again, economics has a lot of explanatory power in terms of what is supplied, and what is demanded.

Can you get paid to DM? Yes.


Can you get paid to play? Not really.

Which means, pace Milton Friedman's invisible pimp hand, that society places more importance (more demand) on DMs.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Maybe. Then again, economics has a lot of explanatory power in terms of what is supplied, and what is demanded.

Can you get paid to DM? Yes.


Can you get paid to play? Not really.

Which means, pace Milton Friedman's invisible pimp hand, that society places more importance (more demand) on DMs.

People also pay for receipts of ugly monkey pictures and easily replicated carbon crystals. Economics tends to ignore that it's actually a psychological science, not a physical one.