[Ssri-Tel-Quessir Hitokiri]

Well... I have done both and find both to be fun in their own ways.

As a player, I find that creating just one character can be just as fun as creating an entire world because of all the intricacies that you can get into with just this one character. Development is awesome without having to worry about the entire world.

As a GM, creating a world is just fine and dandy but I'm a lazy bum. I know the entire thing about roll playing and role playing so I'm gonna spin it a bit and say I'm a ROLL GM. Basically I don't have very much planned out for my players. A majority, like 90%, of what happens depends on the roll of the dice. All I have is some basic idea and let the players take it from there. Most of the time I am just as, if not more, suprised than my players when I find out what is happening in the game. The surpise is what I love most about DMing... well that and creating situations that my players have to get out of unless they want to die...

[SchizofranicDM]

I've done both enough to know that each holds their own intrigue. as a player character, i love the surprise, and the fact that i can concentrate on just one character to develop; it's so much easier to really get into the role. On the other hand the control of the DM is very tempting, and creating situations and adventures that the players enjoy is very gratifiying. if i had to choose, i would pick DMing. but only by a slight margin. lately i've given up the DM chair simply because i just don't have as much time as i did when i used to DM constantly. As a DM, as fun as it is, there's just more to study, more to focus on, and more time needed. I guess that another reason that i like DMing more is because i usaully have a character myself as a DM. and no, he is not the uberly powerful 10 levels higher than the group monstrosity of a character. infact, my last DM PC was among the lowest in level in the party, second only to a half-celestial elf who whould have been higher level if she did not suffer any level minuses. But the chair is calling to me. and perhaps, one day, schizofernia will once more rule the gaming table.

[Yorick]

blacxthornE, on May 15 2004, 03:05 AM, said:

Oh God. This Role-play/Roll-play thing is getting really old-play. No offence Yorick, but it's been used before you, and is getting old --at least for me.

So I am Old to some 45 and new to others but what ever way want to say it it still holds true.

I will contuie to say things no matter how "old" they sound to you!


"Age and treachery will beat youth and exupberance every time."

[dragonhand777]

The more I develop the plot and story line (giving the pcs options and trying to plan for whatever desicions they make), the more I'm enjoying the DM chair.


I just hope that they have as much fun playing as I am planning and creating a world.

Also, recently I purchased Book of Vile Darkness, thats helped me develop situations and npcs that the others won't expect.

[SchizofranicDM]

As for creating situations, i've been known for coming up with insane puzzles and maps; all products of a long time siting and thinking. my last one was simply called, "room 8". it was a 40 by 80 foot room with sequenced fire traps and animated stone attackers loaded with pressure plates and slick walls and spiked ceilings. it was based on a sequence of sequences. if you activiate a pressure plate, the sequence would change. the room back to difficult so we stopped that dungeon. but designing that room was one of my favorite DMing moments.

[Gamemasta]

I find that multiple traps slows progress figurative & literally to a grinding halt. The players spend too much time on them and eventually someone goes stir crazy and starts setting them off just to move forward. I go light on traps unless it is a chest with valueables or and entrance to someplace special

[SchizofranicDM]

Well, i rarely use traps myself for that same reason. however, i decided to make up for it with this one uber room.

[Yorick]

dragonhand777, on May 19 2004, 12:29 PM, said:

The more I develop the plot and story line (giving the pcs options and trying to plan for whatever desicions they make), the more I'm enjoying the DM chair.


I just hope that they have as much fun playing as I am planning and creating a world.

Also, recently I purchased Book of Vile Darkness, thats helped me develop situations and npcs that the others won't expect.

Well they keep coming back don't they

my players are ways ready to le me know when they are getting tired of a campain. since we have several different DM's and different systems we play. so we rotate from week to week keeping theings fresh in the game.
It is a litttle extra work remembering what is going at in a spefic game but it give the DM a month to plan.

We who DM know what that means 3 weeks of sitting and thinking followed by 2 ot 3 days of us getting our Sh*t together

[SchizofranicDM]

If it wasn't for the last minute, would anything ever get done?

[Yorick]

SchizofranicDM, on May 19 2004, 09:29 PM, said:

If it wasn't for the last minute, would anything ever get done?

Amen to that brother!!!

I will always remember the time that i had a whole adventer done up even my own random incounters. I was leading my players to the begining of their adventure. Being that no one had gamed in a week we were all little bit to eger to kill some thing or some one Including me (the dm) so i rolled for ramdom encounters and got dragon tracks and rolled for direction and got away form the adventure. so to try and get the player to ingnore them I made them "BIG" dragon tracks. of couse doing what the DM does not want them to do they followed them "sigh"

In waht I thought was a good IDea I had it lead to a large clearing with a Dragon on a collar and leash at the mouth of a Cave. well as the party is trying to decide what to do some got the great idea to parlay with the dragon.

The dragon told them he had been traped here by and evil wizard and forced to gaurd the wizard treasure. the party asked what they could to free the dragon. He gave them a list of exotic stuff and ancient rites to preform. Off they went the adventure forgoten and they never looked
back. 6 month real time (now mind you this group played usually 2 or 3 time a week.) about 2 yearsd game time they came back and freed the dragon. the dragon attacked killed the party killed them.
When the party complained that the dragon should have been gratefull and give them stuff. I asked them what agreement did they make with the dragon they all looked at each other and a light dawned

I then explained the dragon cleaned up any trace of the fight replanted trees and shuch took what magics the players had into the cave came out and snaped the collar back on.

Ever since then I have planned broad sweeps major NPC dungoen etc but put the fine detail in my note as the game develops

[Darius]

A smart and lazy dragon , thats just plain Evil
The one thing garanteed in a game is the players will always do exactly the opposite of what you want or find some way to bollicks up a clever and cunning plan of yours.
SOMETIMES , the idea the players come up with to thwart your plans can be absloutly brilliant , this happen to a friend(The best DM Ive ever seen), he had set up a series of games for us , to learn our new characters and as hooks to get us all to meet up and start the campaign , anyway , a few days after running the game for the Rouge character , he comes around to my place complaining Bitterly about our friend whos the rouge and how he'd out smarted him.Rod(the DM) had set it up so Trevor(The rouge) , had to sneek onto a ship and steal some of the cargo , he had a choice of what to steal , Very expensive but bulky furs , or a large quantity of gold from chests(Only what he could fit in bags he was carrying) - it was supposed to go , Trev takes a dozen or so fur's and leaves or 1/2 a dozen bags of gold(both being about the same value) , what Rod didnt bank on was Trev's greed and Inventiveness , he wrapped the gold in the furs and left with a hell of alot more than expected

Problem was Rod had never even considered the possibility though once Trev did it , it was a Blindingly Obvious ploy.

D

[Ssri-Tel-Quessir Hitokiri]

Trevor is a freaking genius man. I would not have thought of that happening in a long time.

[Darius]

Ssri-Tel-Quessir Hitokiri, on May 21 2004, 10:00 AM, said:

Trevor is a freaking genius man.  I would not have thought of that happening in a long time.

Another example of his thinking , I was about to stomp the Party with a gang in a slum , Trev throws a handful of GP in the air , screams "Free gold" and ducks , the gang gets flatterned in the stampede and the party walks away , I spent ages getting the encounter setup and He took 1 round to trash it.To beat him I need to think like a corkscrew

D

[The_Bard]

or you can drop a large boulder on his character. that'll slow him down.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I've always loved being a DM. Though I usually blend the rules so my NPCs can grow just like normal PCs.

I've come up with so many adventures over the years. My gaming world, Einderseod, features things like sunken cities, a Tournament of Deiton, a pit of dabauchery (If that's how its spelt), an island cut off from the world with all manner of different weather anomolys and much much more!
Nothing beats the DM chair!