Being a PC vs a DM [Archive] - Wizards Community

Being a PC vs a DM [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Goblinzep
08-31-03, 09:47 PM Being a PC or a DM? I would personally much rather be a PC but I'm the only one who understands the rules worth crap in my group. That and, I'm the most creative (in my opinion)... Anyways I'm weighing up the practicality of also playing a member of a party but there the problem is, even if I pretend I don't know about the trap or whatever, would the character act differentlly if I really didnt? I've got all these allied NPCs that I love but my PCs tend to kill them all insted of sharing the loot (this includes the Paladin, or rather, unforgivable ex-paladin)... anyway I'm rambling. Should I try to educate one of my more creative players in the rules so I can be a PC for once?
nevick
08-31-03, 09:58 PM Sure if they are interested in DMing you should educate em! you can still help the DM with rules as a PC if he is unsure what to do you know =P.
the DM controlled NPC can be an asset. but keep him in the background and tell your players he'll only do something if he is told to, to prevent meta gaming on your part.. which can be hard to avoid sometimes. you can even let your players control him during combat.
A DM-NPC is a good way to slip hints to the players in a realistic way if they are stuck or if you just want to help them along.
Edymnion
08-31-03, 09:59 PM I feel for you, 'cuz I'm in the same boat. I *much* prefer to be a PC than a DM. I don't know, maybe I just don't have the storytelling gene or something, but I would rather go all out on one character than run a world. But, I also happen to know the most about the rules, monsters, etc of anybody I personally know (Well, my old DM knows more 2e, but he absolutely refused to ever do a 3e game, thought it made the players too powerful. Last I heard he was running a BESM space mecha game...).

A few suggestions for you:

Dual DM. Get one person to be the "Story DM" who's in charge of coming up with the story and roleplaying portions. You can be the "Combat DM" who handles combat, skill checks, and the rules heavy stuff. That way, you can play a PC and not know whats going to happen next. Let the Story DM plan out dungeons and traps, and just have you make up the traps he can drop in wherever he wants.

Rotating DM. You DM for a little bit, then switch off with somebody else. Everybody has a PC, but it gets turned over to another player while that person is DM. You'll have to DM a little, probably volunteer to go first to get everything going. Trade off little by little until you find somebody thats good at it, then slowly make them full time DM.

Online. Find a good online roleplaying area (there's one in my sig by the name of RPOL), and find somebody there to DM while you provide all the players. Not as good as real face to face, but as a last option, its more than acceptable.

Good luck man, I hope you figure something out.
Dungeon_Master
08-31-03, 11:35 PM I dunno. I'm sort of both ways. I DM and PC, as my group only has 3 actual players, and ussually at least one of them is often unable to make it at any given time.
Lewin
09-01-03, 12:16 AM it can be fun to have two campaigns going at once. Each DM is a player in the other's game. It allows you to play D&D more often without burdening one person with all the DM duties.

Sure, being a DM can be fun, but it's a lot of work. Or at least it's a lot of work for me since I'm trying to compensate for poor interpersonal and storytelling skills. ;) Being a player in another game helps me get new ideas and refresh my braincells.
Vaalingrade Ashland
09-01-03, 02:25 AM Being a Lazy DM with a supportive group.
When you're the DM, you don't have to put up with other people's house rules (especially designed to screw your char -- sneak attacks have to be surprise my wombat) and you get to decide how things are set up.
Now, once the game starts, your set up gets set on fire and eaten, but its still loads of fun.
Tzalice Minoladir
09-01-03, 02:24 PM I love PCing. I love developping characters and watching them grow and evolve into little cute charries. Aww. anywho though. DMing is nice sometimes too. It's like PCing with a lot of PCs and you control everything. Down to the wind. Try to mix DMing with PCing to avoid burnout if you're going to DM. If you really don't wanna DM, try and help someone else figure out how or Co-DM with them until they get the hang of it.

When I learned to DM I sat and observed my DM for like 3 sessions, not even playing. Sucked, but paid off
SilveRaven
09-01-03, 02:40 PM I personally would prefer to play most of the time but I also don't like to play with any of the rest of the group running, they are not very good at it. Anyways I almost always play a NPC that hangs out with the group. My current NPC has spent little or no time with the group though, he does the bidding of one of the leader characters and spends most of his time spying etc. He will show up for that extra push if I threw too much at them. He is also a great way to bring hints or information into the game. If I run a character that does run with the party I usually wait till the party tells me to do something before my character acts in order to avoid the fact that I know it all. My character is never proactive, he is always the follower type. I have played in games where the dm had a character that did everything and new everything, and that was very unenjoyable as a player. I have also played in games where the gm ran a behind the scenes character, and I loved that. Just make sure you keep the balance and don't make your character all powerful, and you will do great whatever you decide.
Wilhelm
09-01-03, 07:14 PM My DM is kind of the same way. He's really the only one who knows the rules well, I'm still learning. However, he wants to be a player sometimes. So I'm trying to learn how to DM so he can be a PC sometimes. I DMed once, and it was kind of a disaster. It was a short mission that didn't challenge my players. It really kind of aggravated me with its failure. Still, I think it went pretty well for something that I thought up at 1 in the morning when I hadn't read the PHB.:D Thats all changing now. I've been spending weeks on building my personal world.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Goblinzep 08-31-03, 09:47 PM	Being a PC or a DM? I would personally much rather be a PC but I'm the only one who understands the rules worth crap in my group. That and, I'm the most creative (in my opinion)... Anyways I'm weighing up the practicality of also playing a member of a party but there the problem is, even if I pretend I don't know about the trap or whatever, would the character act differentlly if I really didnt? I've got all these allied NPCs that I love but my PCs tend to kill them all insted of sharing the loot (this includes the Paladin, or rather, unforgivable ex-paladin)... anyway I'm rambling. Should I try to educate one of my more creative players in the rules so I can be a PC for once?
nevick 08-31-03, 09:58 PM	Sure if they are interested in DMing you should educate em! you can still help the DM with rules as a PC if he is unsure what to do you know =P. the DM controlled NPC can be an asset. but keep him in the background and tell your players he'll only do something if he is told to, to prevent meta gaming on your part.. which can be hard to avoid sometimes. you can even let your players control him during combat. A DM-NPC is a good way to slip hints to the players in a realistic way if they are stuck or if you just want to help them along.
Edymnion 08-31-03, 09:59 PM	I feel for you, 'cuz I'm in the same boat. I much prefer to be a PC than a DM. I don't know, maybe I just don't have the storytelling gene or something, but I would rather go all out on one character than run a world. But, I also happen to know the most about the rules, monsters, etc of anybody I personally know (Well, my old DM knows more 2e, but he absolutely refused to ever do a 3e game, thought it made the players too powerful. Last I heard he was running a BESM space mecha game...). A few suggestions for you: Dual DM. Get one person to be the "Story DM" who's in charge of coming up with the story and roleplaying portions. You can be the "Combat DM" who handles combat, skill checks, and the rules heavy stuff. That way, you can play a PC and not know whats going to happen next. Let the Story DM plan out dungeons and traps, and just have you make up the traps he can drop in wherever he wants. Rotating DM. You DM for a little bit, then switch off with somebody else. Everybody has a PC, but it gets turned over to another player while that person is DM. You'll have to DM a little, probably volunteer to go first to get everything going. Trade off little by little until you find somebody thats good at it, then slowly make them full time DM. Online. Find a good online roleplaying area (there's one in my sig by the name of RPOL), and find somebody there to DM while you provide all the players. Not as good as real face to face, but as a last option, its more than acceptable. Good luck man, I hope you figure something out.
Dungeon_Master 08-31-03, 11:35 PM	I dunno. I'm sort of both ways. I DM and PC, as my group only has 3 actual players, and ussually at least one of them is often unable to make it at any given time.
Lewin 09-01-03, 12:16 AM	it can be fun to have two campaigns going at once. Each DM is a player in the other's game. It allows you to play D&D more often without burdening one person with all the DM duties. Sure, being a DM can be fun, but it's a lot of work. Or at least it's a lot of work for me since I'm trying to compensate for poor interpersonal and storytelling skills. ;) Being a player in another game helps me get new ideas and refresh my braincells.
Vaalingrade Ashland 09-01-03, 02:25 AM	Being a Lazy DM with a supportive group. When you're the DM, you don't have to put up with other people's house rules (especially designed to screw your char -- sneak attacks have to be surprise my wombat) and you get to decide how things are set up. Now, once the game starts, your set up gets set on fire and eaten, but its still loads of fun.
Tzalice Minoladir 09-01-03, 02:24 PM	I love PCing. I love developping characters and watching them grow and evolve into little cute charries. Aww. anywho though. DMing is nice sometimes too. It's like PCing with a lot of PCs and you control everything. Down to the wind. Try to mix DMing with PCing to avoid burnout if you're going to DM. If you really don't wanna DM, try and help someone else figure out how or Co-DM with them until they get the hang of it. When I learned to DM I sat and observed my DM for like 3 sessions, not even playing. Sucked, but paid off
SilveRaven 09-01-03, 02:40 PM	I personally would prefer to play most of the time but I also don't like to play with any of the rest of the group running, they are not very good at it. Anyways I almost always play a NPC that hangs out with the group. My current NPC has spent little or no time with the group though, he does the bidding of one of the leader characters and spends most of his time spying etc. He will show up for that extra push if I threw too much at them. He is also a great way to bring hints or information into the game. If I run a character that does run with the party I usually wait till the party tells me to do something before my character acts in order to avoid the fact that I know it all. My character is never proactive, he is always the follower type. I have played in games where the dm had a character that did everything and new everything, and that was very unenjoyable as a player. I have also played in games where the gm ran a behind the scenes character, and I loved that. Just make sure you keep the balance and don't make your character all powerful, and you will do great whatever you decide.
Wilhelm 09-01-03, 07:14 PM	My DM is kind of the same way. He's really the only one who knows the rules well, I'm still learning. However, he wants to be a player sometimes. So I'm trying to learn how to DM so he can be a PC sometimes. I DMed once, and it was kind of a disaster. It was a short mission that didn't challenge my players. It really kind of aggravated me with its failure. Still, I think it went pretty well for something that I thought up at 1 in the morning when I hadn't read the PHB.:D Thats all changing now. I've been spending weeks on building my personal world.