Poll: D&D data-farming: Player to DM ratio
- Thread starter Brentpool
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I DM my groups monthly game. DMing is not some mystical position where only the chosen can ascend to. If you've played the game regularly as a player (I played about a month before I DM'ed, though I had a helper behind me to make sure I didn't whoops a rule the first time), you can play as the DM.
I could probably run a couple of sessions in our campaign, or even start another smaller one. However, I don't think I'm ready to run a full length, deep & engaging campaign yet. So competent, sure; that's not that difficult. But a great DM I am not.
I voted no because I certainly couldn't do it right now. I don't know enough of the rules to really do it without referencing the guides over and over, so it would be lame. I could do it with a couple weeks of time to prep, though. I'm thinking about running a game after we finish this current one, but only if we don't do Shadowrun, which is being tossed around by some of the guys. NOT going to run that shit. Ever.
What we did to solve a similar problem was to start with a simple campaign (mapping an mysteriously-appearing island) with everyone in the group taking a turn as DM, rotating each session. If people want they can just run a couple of combat encounters with random monsters and everyone goes home happy, but you might find someone who wants to make encounters with wandering tribes or whatnot; those people, the ones who try and build a story, are the best bet for finding a DM. Some people do prefer to play party members rather than DM, but most people don't mind occasionally stepping up to the plate, and someone may find they enjoy playing God.Brentpool said:
I hope so as after about 10 years away from the game, i'm about to start running a game for a group of my friends who have never played before. Hopefully i won't have to keep looking up rules.
Could I? Yes.
Would I want to? No.
If there's a job with a worse effort to reward ratio than DM, I've not encountered it.
Would I want to? No.
If there's a job with a worse effort to reward ratio than DM, I've not encountered it.
Well, I love to DM, but so far I'm not great only competent. I think the best stuff is Home-brewed, and our group agrees. We have three DMs. Our regular is a bit malevolent but he makes it fun. The other two, well we can get a session done but aren't really tested yet.
I voted "no". But really, it's complicated. I could be a DM and eventually probably rise to a competent one. But I lack experience. And I lack experience because I never expressed desire to be a DM. I don't really like D&D as much as other games. And it's all the math that turns me off from running a game - I have to make sure the encounters are sort of balanced to be a "true" D&D experience, so I don't want to bother. D&D made me hate math. I picked it up because I found it cool how much calculations there were but then I realised how much calculations there were and that they weren't necessary.
I'd gladly GM another game, though, if I have a group. I can even simulate D&D, is need be.
I'd gladly GM another game, though, if I have a group. I can even simulate D&D, is need be.
Oh. How dull. I thought you wanted to know how many players I prefer as a GM.Brentpool said:
I've been GMing since 1998. I'm very, very good at it.
And, to answer the question I thought you were going to ask: my preferred ratio is 2 or 3 players to 1 GM. I don't like running for more than 5 people if I can help it. And, I also (from time to time) enjoy running 1 GM to 1 Player (typically my spouse) for exceptionally character-driven narratives.
I can and do from time to time. I just started one a few weeks ago with pathfinder materials. I'm trying to work on my "on the fly" dm'ing since my players tend to want to do random things at times and I've set up the world to be fairly open so they can do just that
My friends and I are al complete noobs when it comes to tabletop RPG's. We've decided to choose one and just start playing. I was voted as the DM because I am generally good at organising events and am rather well spoken - so it should go down well. Gonna have a rule book on hand of course, as I'll need to check everything a few times for the first go round.