# Gamehackery: Why Do You DM?



## savrasbane (Jun 1, 2013)

I don't really have a "statement" per se, so much as a set of rules, very much like a set of standing DM orders. 

1. If my players do not have an "in-game story" to go home and annoy the s**t out of their spouse or g/f with, I haven't done my job. 

2. I will create (or maintain if using published adventures) the kind of world I would love to live in, if I was a D&D character.

3. I will add at least ONE new mechanic every session, so that my players will eventually know the game better than I. 

4. If my players aren't having fun, it is mostly MY fault. 

5. I will allow the game to progress organically, and not hamfist the PC's into doing what the book says, or what I have written.


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## Ahnehnois (Jun 1, 2013)

I create in advance a skeleton of themes, setting, characters, and tentpole moments, and on game day me and the players collaboratively improvise a full-fleshed story on top of it, while I adjudicate disputes and add mechanical elements and keep the show going on.


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## Radiating Gnome (Jun 1, 2013)

savrasbane said:


> 1. If my players do not have an "in-game story" to go home and annoy the s**t out of their spouse or g/f with, I haven't done my job.




This is awesome.

[edit] I'm adding to this response now. It's probably just a stupid idiosyncratic thing in my head, but I think I would actually like this idea better if it were worded in a positive way, rather than a negative one.  So, I would like "I strive to send my players home with in-game stories that they won't be able to shut up about, so they will annoy the s**t out of their partners."

the same for #4. "I take responsibility for my players having fun." 

-rg


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## Ketherian (Jun 1, 2013)

Hi Radiating Gnome, Hrm. I've never thought of putting why I GM into a statement. Here goes: 

Lets create a story together. I promise to create scenarios that will haunt you, bad guys that will challenge you, and detail a world that will intrigue you. And in return I ask only that you help me write the story for the benefit of all the players.

Like savrasbane, I run my game based on a series of rules. In short, all of them are an attempt to generate a story that is challenging to the party while being as fair as possible in a "realistic" world.

GM'ing is exhausting. If I am very lucky, I have just enough energy to finish up my notes before my thoughts about the game disappear into the ether never to return. Still, as much as I love being a player, I get far more satisfaction out of being a GM. 

Back when my own game became highly irregularly scheduled (due to real life interventions) I started GM'ing at conventions and pop-up games at local stores. I think the change of venu (and not really knowing who I'd be running a game for) improved my GM'ing considerably, and it was in that period that my "mission statement" went from - "everybody have fun tonigh"t, to "lets tell a story".

Now that my game is back on a regular schedule, I don't GM at conventions or local stores much at all -- and I'm surprised to say, as stressful and hard as those games were to run, I actually miss it.


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## savrasbane (Jun 1, 2013)

Radiating Gnome said:


> This is awesome.
> 
> [edit] I'm adding to this response now. It's probably just a stupid idiosyncratic thing in my head, but I think I would actually like this idea better if it were worded in a positive way, rather than a negative one.  So, I would like "I strive to send my players home with in-game stories that they won't be able to shut up about, so they will annoy the s**t out of their partners."
> 
> ...




Fair enough. These rules were written from the mindset of a guy who does his best work under pressure. For the average guy, I suppose some positivity is in order. lol 

As odd as it sounds, being a player is a little too boring for my taste, so the only other option is being a DM/GM. Having said that, if that's the only role I'm willing to assume, I'd better be a damned good one. =) Hence, the pressure in the rules. I've been adding to those rules since I wrote them, but after #5 they get a little game specific, so the fist 5 will do for the purposes of this discussion. Maybe I'll write an article for my website about the rest of them... Cheers.


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## The Mormegil (Jun 1, 2013)

I... don't even know anymore. I guess... so that everyone else can have fun? ._. Because I love the way they react to how I handle the game, because I can make sure everyone has a good time, because I love seeing people having fun from what I built. But... ._. I don't know, something is missing.


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## Rune (Jun 1, 2013)

I run games to facilitate the growth of an adventuring party and a gaming group, and through these things, the growth of a setting and a story.


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## Psikosis (Jun 2, 2013)

I write interesting RPG stories to be edited, in whole or in part, by the PCs. 

For me, almost everything about GMing is fun. Developing a story and building a world (or in interpreting one, in some case) is the best part. Running the game, the PCs take the story and edit it according to their interests and abilities. Sometimes they hew close to what I've expected and sometimes the PCs (and/or the die rolls) simply don't cooperate and there's some on-the-spot rewriting. I read an interview with (I think it was) Madeline L'Engle and was really struck by her comments about how sometimes her characters don't seem to 'want' to do what she thinks they should and surprise her. Good players are like that. 

I've been very lucky to have had pretty good players over the years. Interested, engaged players make GMing look easy!

Chris


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## delericho (Jun 2, 2013)

I DM for the love of the game.

The moment I first encountered D&D, everything in it sang to everything in me. The mathematical basis, the strong creative outlet, the fact that it's possible to be a good DM (or a bad one), the ties to fantasy, to history... everything.

A quarter of a century later (or almost - it was Sept 1988), that's still true.


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## DMBrendon (Jun 2, 2013)

I DM because I want to play with my friends, and no one else will DM so it's as close as I can get.  My goal as DM is to be a "fun factory" - whenever I'm considering adding something or taking it away, I always evaluate it with "Will this increase the fun that we have?"


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## Radiating Gnome (Jun 2, 2013)

DMBrendon said:


> I DM because I want to play with my friends, and no one else will DM so it's as close as I can get.  My goal as DM is to be a "fun factory" - whenever I'm considering adding something or taking it away, I always evaluate it with "Will this increase the fun that we have?"




Do you find yourself feeling like your players should be grateful that you're DMing for them -- making the fun for them? 

-rg


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## Razjah (Jun 2, 2013)

I GM for a few reasons:
1) I enjoy running a game that my players talk about, I strive to make the game one that we talk about later "remember when X happened?"
2) I want to keep improving my GMing skills.
3) I want to create situations that challenge the PCs and the players so that their choices matter.
4) When I'm GMing I am constantly paying attention and thinking, it may be tiring after several hours but I would rather GM than play in many games.


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## Fetfreak (Jun 2, 2013)

Few reasons for me I guess. 
1. An escape from everyday things as well as being in the center of attention. I'm usually quiet and shy.
2. I love creating cool and exciting scenarios and also roleplaying unique characters. Sometimes our dnd is a awesome movie that hasn't been made yet.
3. The story element. I always try to surprise my players. We are close friends and I get a kick from entertaining them.
4. The rules. I love playing out scenarios in my head with my custom rules. When it works and is balanced I feel like a math genius.
5. The fun! Pizza, drinks, friends and dnd. Maybe I'm lousy at partying but some dnd nights were better than most gigs or parties I've attended.


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## Challenger RPG (Jun 3, 2013)

Great article! I really love writing, so I guess you could say my mission statement for being a DM would be, "Creating a great story and entertaining the players."

RPGs are stories and games at the same time, but great stories seem to live on in the imagination forever. They grow again and again in the re-telling and I have no doubt that some of the games we've run will be retold to future generations. That great feeling you get at the end of an epic adventure seems to burn into the psyche of the DM and the players. More than that, years later hearing the story retold by a player you catch things you had forgotten about and can smile at the recollection. Creating good adventures can be a ton of work, but the satisfaction of a job well done is often more than worth it.

Writing and playing a good adventure is like writing a good book and watching people read and enjoy it. It's a great feeling. The really neat thing is that the players are basically co-authoring the story with you, and you have a game thrown in for good measure. It's great fun. I'm also sure I started writing more fiction because of the adventures I wrote when I was younger.

Thanks again for the fine read, Radiating Gnome!


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## dd.stevenson (Jun 4, 2013)

I find that my reasons for DMing vary from month to month and from year to year. Right now, I DM because I prefer a certain style of game (heavy on the free-form exploration, interspersed with many fast, nearly-overly-simplistic combats) and these games are easier to run than to find. A year ago? My reasons were different.

However, one thing has remained constant: the consequences of DMing are better than the consequences of _not _DMing.


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## JoshDemers (Jun 8, 2013)

I GM because I love stories, and the best, the richest, the most engaging stories are the ones shared by friends.

I GM because there may be a day when elves riding unicorns are not awesome, but it is not this day.
I GM because there may be a day when halflings are silly wastes of time, BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY.
I GM BECAUSE THERE MAY COME A TIME WHEN NERDS ARE A SAD, DEPRESSED BUNCH OF LOSERS, *BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY!*


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## Herobizkit (Jun 9, 2013)

I DM because no one will run the kind of games I want to play, so I try and lead by example.


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## Aeolius (Jun 9, 2013)

I DM, so that my hags have someone to play with.


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## DMZ2112 (Jun 18, 2013)

I Dungeon Master because I find the creation of worlds to be the interesting part of storytelling.  I'm far more interested in seeing what other people do when confronted with a consistent but unexpected environment than I am in making up reactions for my own characters to an environment I designed.

...And I didn't realize that until I started writing this post.


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## ThatGrumpyScotsman (Jun 19, 2013)

I GM because I like playing multiple characters. Besides that, I find the games I particularly like aren't likely to be GM'd by anyone else in my party.


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