Do you DM?

Do you DM?

Total Votes:

[ 0 ]

This poll closed on January 9, 2005.
No longer accepting new votes.

[Comte]

I DM/GM/Storytell or whatever you want to call it today. In fact most of the time I introduce people into the hobby instead of playing with established role players so I have no choise but to gm. I don't mind, its fun and I'm pretty good at it.

[Glitch (Shiro Ryu)]

Arbaal

I used to do a lot of DMing back in AD&D but not so much now with the new D&D.
This new D&D is just missing something to me.
Plus when I first started running the game after reading the rules for it,
I kept on getting the rolls wrong.
Now days, I just stick to doing AD&D.
I'm used to those rules and I like them a lot more.

I must say that I have only played a char in one game that I was running but that was Vampire Dark ages.
I don't do it any more coz people started to think I was cheating with the char, so I killed him off and ever since then.
I haven't.

Well put dude, the old AD&D was the best, followed by the neweest, I didn't like second edition, it was like an attemptedly over complicated first edition with useless skills,

I almost always Dm and have for like 5 years, the only break I ever get is when Clickims DM's

I rarly run an NPC with the party but often have one help them out when they are stuck, usally a binded genie or demon, but somtimes just a helpful ranger or powerful mage

[Cantropos]

I've had bad experiences with GMs using uber-powerful NPCs and dominating, so I tend to go the other way and not use many myself. They're useful for some things (filling a role that the group's lacking, dramatically getting killed, romance, betraying the party, acting as a red herring as the romantic lead betrays the party, etc.), but I tend toward the philosophy that NPCs can easily draw the attention away from the party. Also, they can distract me from my main priority: telling a story with the help of the party.

Another reason to not use NPCs is that mine tend to get no respect. I recently sent a buddy along with the group on an adventure because I had planned it for more people, and the party had to split up halfway through the dungeon. Well Hasim, the NPC knight, ended up spending the whole time being called "Has-been" and was the only one left behind in the room where not everyone could pass. (Please note that there was a puzzle that led to a hidden room with more loot to keep those left behind busy.) He ended up almost eaten by giant spiders while there, and the group spent some time debating whether to save him or not. To top it off, they didn't want to give him any of the treasure, saying, "Well, you didn't really do anything there, anyway." No respect, I tell ya.

[Celisasu]

Yes. It's rare(I much prefer being a player) but I've DMed on occasion.

[Calunio]

You know... I HATE DMs that do that.

If you crave to much to be a player, develop your character, fight monsters, gain levels... do that. But as a player, not as DM.

It's not fun at all for the players to have a "half-NPC" in their party. He'll want to share trasure, XP, etc... Besides, PCs should be the focus of the campaign.

It's not such a big problem to have NPCs travelling together with the PC group, but they shoul be secondary, and preferrably temporary.

I think many people are bad DMs because they have this "I want to be PC" syndrom.

[Arkanik]

I GM for a little D20 Modern group, but i'd rather be playing...
I DON'T have my own little NPC, because i'd wind up concentrating more on him than the actual PC's sweatdrop besides, with the people i play with, the party size is from 6-8 people at a time, which is big enough....

I only started GM'ing because i knew it was the only way i could actually get to play it, since nobody else in my RP group WANTS to GM/DM/whatever....

[Dracos_73]

Ruddigger

I ALWAYS run my own character along with the group. I crave playing a character and gaining abilities just like anyone else. I almost wish someone else would run my ideas and let me just be a player in the game instead of running it.

I Agree

[Arc Vembris]

Kino42

No, two to three is about human. 1 is an intelligence of 80.

I played a Wereolf once with an Intelligence on 1. Stupid is as stupid does.

[MightyBob]

I love Dungeon Mastering for Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Revised Edition (3.5). Honestly it is because I am a power hungery player at heart which is far to destructive for any group so I abdicate to go behind the screen to save others from my abusive nature as a player.

That said. I am gaming as a player at the moment but I am trying not to make the DM cry as much as I can.

[AntiChristMachina]

I DM, and I use NPCs in the party, but I enjoy developing the Enemies even more... My main Enemy might become a powerful ally in the future even...

[Kino42]

I like running NPCs in my games occassionally with the party because, like he said earlier, I wish someone would just take the ideas out of my brain and run my game so I can play in it. But since that won't happen, I run NPC's who either always stay in the back and don't say much, or an NPC that isn't always there (and therefore doesn't cut into the PC's experience points. He levels up if the whole group levels up).

I have had the extrodinary luck where the players don't look to the NPC that I'm running for answers or even hints. They like to figure stuff out on their own. I was in one campaign, though (not for long) where the DM ran an NPC, but everyone in the party except for me relied on her to do things, far too heavily.

[Cantropos]

Calunio

It's not fun at all for the players to have a "half-NPC" in their party. He'll want to share trasure, XP, etc... Besides, PCs should be the focus of the campaign.

It's not such a big problem to have NPCs travelling together with the PC group, but they shoul be secondary, and preferrably temporary.

I understand your frustration with the "half-NPC" as you call it. I had one GM that dominated the game with his personal characters, and I figured he might as well be playing alone.

On the other hand, keep in mind that there are sometimes good reasons to have NPCs along, and if they're coming, they should be treated IC as another adventurer. It generally wouldn't make sense for someone to tag along for awhile with your group and NOT expect to get a share of the loot and experience.

[JoeyD473]

Kino42

If you do, do you run an NPC with your party? I ocassionally do, because I like DMing, but I love playing a character even more and being in someone else's world.

I do DM. However I am not very gooda t it since my friends and I can only play once or twice a year. I normally have an NPC running around with the PCs, and it is normally my character because this way when I finally convince one of my friends they want to DM I don't have to make a fresh character that si far behind htem, or a character that gets to skip levels so it isn't behind the rest

[Wydda]

DM'ing is fun but I prefer playing as a player character.
-Andrew

[FallenLeaves]

I run games fairly frequently, and will occasionally run an NPC along with the players' group for brief periods (generally lasting only one session, and never more than a single story arc). While optimally the PCs shouldn't need constant aid from outside sources, it doesn't make any sense for them to not be able to draw on allies if they can't figure out a way around a problem.