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Old 11-30-2012, 05:52 AM   #1
Maz
 
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Default Does players want to be GM's too?

Reversing the question of a similar thread: http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=100713

The question in that thread is about GM's wanting to be players, and that got me thinking about why some players do not want to be GM's, or more interestingly, if someone wants but doesn't do it and why?

For instance. I am first and foremost a GM, but i have players that have a want to try out GM'ing but never do it despite offers of help.

One reason I have heard is that the player is anxious. There is a lot of pressure on a GM and they do not dare take the leap.
Another is the classical "I just want to focus on one character".
A very common explanation I have heard is that the person doesn't feel like they know the rules well enough.
Actually I never heard the "its' too much hard work" explanation.

Do you want to be a GM but just never do it? What is your reason?... And can we here help with that?
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Old 11-30-2012, 07:49 AM   #2
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Default Re: Does players want to be GM's too?

Of all my players, only a few have tried to GM. Most see the amount of work I put into it, think that level of work is mandatory and throw their hands up before they get started.

The few that have tried, have been on the other end of the spectrum 'How hard can it be?' and they come in with no plot, no monsters, no map, very little rules familiarity, and no ability to improvise. The three times its happened its ended either utter disaster or abject boredom.

If your a player that wants to be a GM I leave you this advice.

  1. Have a story to tell, one that includes all members of the table.
  2. Design your world at least to the extent of the session at hand.
  3. Know the rules, the ones relevant to your game, and be on the look out for players trying to exploit them.
  4. Ref Fairly. Justify your rulings AFTER the session, not during.
  5. Communicate the action as clearly as possible, flourish with dramatic descriptions second.
  6. Be prepared to improvise a little. You will never be prepped for EVERYTHING. That doesnt excuse you for being prepared for NOTHING.
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Old 11-30-2012, 08:13 AM   #3
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Default Re: Does players want to be GM's too?

Excellent advice for any GM, Nymdok!
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Old 11-30-2012, 10:46 AM   #4
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Default Re: Does players want to be GM's too?

We have a few people in my group who want to GM, myself included.

We have 6 people who want to GM!

We have decided to make a rota to decide who gets to run what when, I am scheduled for March next year for my next stint.

I am the only one who runs GURPs :_:
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Old 11-30-2012, 11:02 AM   #5
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Default Re: Does players want to be GM's too?

Well, they can't! It's my preciousssss...

*clutches GM's screen*
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Old 11-30-2012, 11:10 AM   #6
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Default Re: Does players want to be GM's too?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Asta Kask View Post
Well, they can't! It's my preciousssss... *clutches GM's screen*
What has it gots in its adventureses, precious?
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Old 11-30-2012, 11:40 AM   #7
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Default Re: Does players want to be GM's too?

I hope that one of my players wants to run something someday. I have a sort of personal code that I will play in any campaign run by someone good enough to play in one of mine, if it is logistically possible. I think that GMing is a learnable skill, and practice + feedback + experimentation are the keys to improvement.
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Old 11-30-2012, 01:36 PM   #8
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Default Re: Does players want to be GM's too?

I wish! Mostly I have to badger people into taking on the role for more than one or two sessions. I've had a good run the last couple of years with me being the GM for only two thirds of the time. I haven't had the luxury of playing for a good-sized stretch (like six sessions) at a time, though. If the stand-in GM is not as experienced/obsessed, job/study-related stress makes session prep hard, which makes me take over for 1-3 sessions of something else.

In six years of our campaign (but not quite the same group), I had four people help out as GM. One GM did very roughly prepared DF-esque one-shots (which might have bled into two sessions) that were a bit of a mixed bag, but they were always ready to help out. One did very involved adventures double-crosses and huge, intelligent dungeons, but they were very reluctant to GM. One munchkinny player did a single canned adventure before they had to move and was surprised that the other side of the screen wasn't that unfun. One shy player tried a canned campaign and really had to wrestle with being tongue-tied and having trouble improvising.

So in six years four players out of seventeen got behind the screen and only one was ready and happy to do that regularly. My sample might be skewed, but it leads me to believe that players seldom have an irresistible urge to take um the burden of the GM. It wasn't any different in my case, but once I moved to GURPS I got hooked on building settings and characters.
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Old 11-30-2012, 04:27 PM   #9
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Default Re: Does players want to be GM's too?

I almost never GM. I think about it from time to time, I have this idea in my head. But then I have to work the idea a bit more, and somehow my time gets filled with other stuff.
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Old 11-30-2012, 04:38 PM   #10
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Default Re: Does players want to be GM's too?

I mostly wound up DMing a lot early on because I was to lazy and unprepared to make characters, so since I didnt have a character I clearly should be the DM. In particular I DMed an absolute ton of Shadowrun, because I really really hated making SR characters

I am perfectly willing to DM almost any time almost any system (whether or not I know the system is of trivial concern, I can wing it!), with often good results

Unfortunately I am horrid at actually planning, and the few times Ive actually tried to prepare for adventures catastrophe has been the end result. Seriously, I make up a map or anything ahead of time? Maybe even stat something? Doom! No good will come of this!

One of my players really really wants me to try running something with a Theme and an Over arching Uber plot, and I have no clue whatsoever how to approach this . . . I also think if I could somehow come up with such things I might be writing novels
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