Sometimes I wonder why it is I prefer DMing to playing RPGs.
Anyone that has run a game knows how much time and hard work are put into a game long before anyone is sitting on the other side of the screen from him/her. You spend hours upon hours organizing maps, reading background material, brushing up on encounters so they run smoothly, getting into the mood so you project the right atmosphere, gathering appropriate music (if you're into that, which I am) and printing out page after page of information vital to making a game as enjoyable and involving as possible. All this on the hope that it will entertain a few Mountain Dew swilling critics that just showed up to kick ass and eat pizza for the night.
Yet somehow, that is so much more fun than just being a player. I have spent weeks preparing games and doing research to be ready for my players. And the time just flies by because I am having so much fun delving into ancient tomes of forbidden lore, summoning images from the interweb that once seen, they can no longer be unseen, and telling stories that chill the spine and raise the hairs on the most hardened adventurers neck all for that moment of triumph when the party explodes in cheers of victory after successfully navigating a quest *I* was able to bestow upon them.
There is a great satisfaction in being an entertainer for just one night a week.
Man, you totally remind me of my first DM. He loved being behind the screen and he was really good at it. These days, the guys in my group share the DMing responsibilities. Nobody wants to do it, but somebody has to, so we take turns. I miss having a really enthusiastic and motivated DM.
ReplyDelete@Rognar, that's strange. Mine group has 3 people waiting in line for their turn to DM because we all have stuff we want to run.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, most of the groups I've ever been in there was always a bunch of people waiting to DM. Must be something in the Mt Dew
Nobody has the time. Everyone in our group has young children. There just isn't enough hours in the day to really prepare something special, so we just play prepared adventures. They don't get the creative juices flowing, but at least we get to play.
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