Forever DM
You guys remember that one time Laurel got to decide what to draw? Well it’s no longer “that one time.” She wrote and illustrated today’s comic entirely on her own. I guess she picked up on my overworked GM vibes from Monday’s comic.
This isn’t all about me though. The larger point is that the guy behind the screen puts a lot of time and effort into make that weekly session happen. It’s fun work, but it’s still work, you know? And chances are he’s got other stuff going on in his life. Maybe he’s overburdened at school. Maybe he’s preparing to propose his dissertation. Maybe between running Monte Cook’s Dragon’s Delve, a gestalt version of Curse of the Crimson Throne, and The Thirteenth Gate over in Starfinder, the prep time is getting to be a bit much. For all you know he’s got an overdue module with his publisher, and the kids in his Maya/Unity class are wondering why it’s taking so long to get their project grades, and the greyhound can’t get out the dog door because he’s still wearing the cone of shame, making it impossible to get a good night’s sleep when that poor GM has to roll his leaden GM bones out of bed at 3:00 am to let the damn dog out. You know. Hypothetically.
All I know is when I discovered that, having forgotten to write Friday’s comic, my wife and co-creator had decided to put in the effort on my behalf, I may have gotten a little bit misty-eyed. The gesture means a lot. And the moral of the story is simple: GMs deserve a little love and support. A simple “thanks for running” is a good start. Offerings of beer and pizza are better. And if you manage to remove the mantle of “forever GM” from the poor bastard’s shoulder, he may very well break down in sobs of gratitude.
Therefore, for today’s discussion, I have a simple question: Have you thanked your GM lately? What’s the best way to let the guy behind the screen know you care? Sound off with all your fanciest Cheeto varieties and exotic dice sets down in the comments!
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LG Laurel: Cheerfully takes the pressure off her hubby with a self-made comic before he self-destructs from burnout.
LE Laurel: Slowly accumulates/siphons his writing powers and gains a favor for later. Just. As. Planned.
Picture of us IRL.
The OTP!
Our main Pathfinder DM was just this week released from the curse of forever DM! At least for a few weeks.
After a stressful time finishing off Mummy’s Mask (going through some insane rocket-tag fights, including a pretty hectic, near-TPK final fight with the BBEG), he’s finally taking a break from DMing. He’s taking a break from DMing anything for at least a few weeks/months.
We all gave him our thanks for the game, and he’s getting further rewarded by now being a player himself in a brand new, homebrew game of 4th edition D&D, by one of the other players.
Grats for making it through to the end of the AP. I hear that those final fights are about 50/50 on the TPK front.
Our worst encounters involved swarms (which we couldn’t damage because swarms use horrible rules), oozes (which, due to a combination of bad luck, failing our knowledge rolls, splitting it in two and it being in a horrible place to fight it in, almost put us in a death spiral of engulfing and huge damage from slams), and the BBEG (who was being handled fine until half of us were paralyzed because of their mummy aura).
The worst part personally, however, was the fact that I spent 3 rounds paralyzed in that BBEG fight, but wholly forgot I was actually immune to it via my Ring of Freedom of Movement.
So, do the opinions of the guards in this comic reflect Colin’s, or Laurel’s PC desires? 😀
It reflects Fighter’s pretty clearly…which brings up the ominous possibility of his player being stuck in a DM role.
I seem to recall hearing somewhere that the South Park creators intended Stan and Kyle to be their avatars. Slowly, they both realized they were closer to being Cartman.
In the same way, Laurel identified with Wizard at first (drama!). I identified with Cleric (rules!). There may be more than a little bit of Fighter in both of us though.
I was freed from the curse for a LANCER campaign… and then the quarantine started. The GM prefers a hex map, and that doesn’t get along well with Roll20, so it was more Pathfinder from me.
I’m having fun, but I was looking forward to finding out what was in store rather than putting it there.
As far as I’m concerned, the best way to thank your DM is engagement. If the players are having fun, I’m having fun.
I’ve run Starfinder starship combat on Roll20. It works OK on a hex grid. What was the problem for you guys?
One of my players recently wrote and recorded an in-character song. I was not expecting to be so overwhelmed by the gesture. Speaking from recent experience, that level of engagement means a lot to a GM.
Hey, Laurel and Colin?
… Thanks for all the beautiful art, adventure, humour and ideas you guys keep sharing. ^_^
I appreciate it.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTas_MvYkMk8fyQFq-xvewOQx2NBD8YcJDoFw&usqp=CAU
I would like to second this motion.
literally every game.
I am a rarely DM on purpose. I like running a game because I get to control the setting and rules that way, but I don’t like running a game because of the extra prep time required, so I prefer just playing in someone else’s game.
As a result of wearing the DM hat, I know how much struggle it can take, and being in a long form campaign, I don’t want the DM to think I don’t appreciate the effort that goes into it all.
At the end of every game, a hearty thanks and a that was fun are offered, because even when it isn’t fun, it is still fun! And at least half of the reason I love this game so much is because of the DM doing all that work!
Good on ya. You DM may not always say it, but it means a lot to hear.
Does bribing count as thanking? Because we use to do a lot of that many years ago with this one particular DM who had an “Open Bribe” policy. We use to walk down the street to the local convenience store and buy him snacks and goodies.
Did you get many bonus levels?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B_Hh_A-XEAAiqd6.png
Just a couple of weeks ago we finished up the final session to the campaign i was running. It was a glorious session where everybody’s character development actually dictated their actions and everybody got a chance to show off what theyre good at. And at the end, when it was over, i was totally floored by everybody taking the time to thank me and congratulate me on finishing the campaign. It was a wild ride, and they made sure that i knew just how much they enjoyed every step of the way. Were all friends, and i try to get regular feedback from my players about my DMing, but still, it was overwhelming to just get so much raw support and affirmation. I may have teared up a bit at the end, im not ashamed to admit it.
Pop that champagne, buddy. Grats on seeing it through.
BTW, do you have any thoughts on commemorative gifts for the players? Custom T-shirts or character commissions or anything? (I ask because I’m beginning to contemplate this stuff for one of my own games.)
Less than half the time, because more than half the time when I’m in a RPG, I am the GM. At least I’m not literally always the GM, which I am thankful for.
I don’t GM half the games half as well as I should like; and I like GMing for less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/88/c9/71/88c971ff10acab2203f1de491426703c.gif
Very early on in our big shared Pathfinder game, the precedent was set that at the end of every match, everyone involves thanks the GM for the day for running it. Now, I GM sessions for the game because it’s fun and I love to do it, but seeing everyone thank me at the end and praise the parts they liked really helps me get up the energy to start planning the next one.
For me, a simple “thanks; that was amazing!” every few sessions makes all the difference in the world. I say “few” rather than “every” because it always feels far more genuine that way… which may be illogical, but my emotions don’t care.
luckily I have two 50% DMs
unfortunately one of them has a strong tendency towards grimdark settings.
I‘ve taken up the habit of saying „thank you for DMing“ at the end.
two xmasses ago I used my off time to draw the dungeon of the giant fortress in RotR out in advance. Made a nice „room by room“ puzzle with numbered and cross referenced pieces. 2 square meters (21,5 sq ft) worth of flip chart.
It was greatly appreciated and saved a ton of time at the table.
As a matter of fact i haven’t thanks him in a while. More or less since the plague begun and we stop playing 🙁
That said, as the guy that makes the plot, lore and world-building i already help him much. I make those things, he choose what NPC to use, what path to follow and do the fine tuning of the campaign while on the road. We try to help him not get too much complicated things, otherwise his works more than DM would be cat-herding. A funny thing is that he is our DM for personal choice. He like the hobby, but likes more running than playing 🙂
If, hypothetically, you could get less things to do it would help you lots. Colin if you need time, even if you need a hiatus, you count with my support. Health first, always. So try to not overstress yourself and enjoy the game, don’t let it become work 😀
And congrats to Laurel for helping you and making a nice comic for today 🙂
I always thank my GMs at the end of each session, and I’ll usually recap some of my favourite moments from it as well to show how much I appreciated them. Having run my share of games myself, I know how difficult it can be, but also how rewarding it is to see players enjoying these worlds we’ve created for them to explore. A little bit of gratitude goes a long way, I feel.
U din’t know about thanking the GMs, but I read those two Guards in Henchman 21 and 24’s voices.
That should start with “I don’t know”… not that ode to sleep dep.
I would pay upwards of fifty money to playin a game with Venture Brothers voice actors.
I always try to be available to run a oneshort or short campaign if our DM needs a break.
1. Everybody needs a break
2. If the DM I’m filling in for is better than me, I can go full experimental with the rules and just basically use it as a test run for homebrew ideas, and allow players and the DM to see what impact they have on a game, and see if he or the players also want to try it in the main campaign.
3. If I consider the DM I’m filling in for to NOT be better than me, it will generally be because I have issues with how they rule/balance, and again, this is still an opportunity for that DM to see how my methods balance and impact play, so that they can hopefully reconsider their own rulings. If not, I still at least know that they are making that choice from a position of experience, rather than ignorance.
4. It gives me an appreciation for just how much a DM has to juggle. It’s an effort to read through the modules, while realizing just how LITTLE they actually tell you to do. Improv is nice, but when there is a general direction that you’re trying to gently bait the party towards (while not railroading) it works better to have some ideas already brainstormed.
I also record sessions so I can listen back over the audio to take notes so I know what information has actually been established, which allows me the leeway to easily change anything, that hasn’t already been revealed, on the fly.
The unfortunate side effect of listening to the audio is that I’m now incredibly aware that my voice does NOT sound like how I thought it sounded, to an extent that borders on upsetting. Hopefully with practice I’ll be able to push my voice where I actually want it to go, but it’s a real grind to start out.
Well, I GM’ed Pendragon for 18 years, before I even got a change to play it. However, that was with Greg Stafford, the designer, as GM and was a special “Thank you” gesture from the Tentacles Convention organisation, as I also had GM’ed a Pendragon convention game at all the previous 12 Tentacles conventions that I attended there. All the other players had to win their place at the table in a lottery. That certainly was a nice way to say Thank You! And much appreciated.
Well hot damn. That’s quite the dream table.
Did you learn anything about the art of GMing from the experience?
I was my group’s forever GM until I got lucky enough to be asked to help with another GM converting a campaign I’d played from pf1e to pf2e. I promised not to spoil the other players on anything, I got to try out 2e (and I got to use the most overpowered weapon to ever be put in pathfinder 1e, since their party left it behind because no one could use crossbows) From there I joined another three campaigns so I’m, for once in my life, a player in more campaigns than I’m running! it’s a nice change of pace to only have to prepare one sheet, that’s for damn sure.
Aside from that, occasionally one of the artists in the group (there are three, I am jealous of all of them) is inspired to draw something from the campaign or their characters and it’s the most.. cathartic? I don’t feel like that’s the right word. Either way, its’ amazing. Whether it’s the incredibly detailed art, the quick sketches of events from the campaign, or
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/384723562696671233/809984862383112232/intimidation.png
this, it’s all great and I get teary thinking about it.
My old game group would take turns swapping between two frequent dms and another that would do one shots/short campaigns. Unfortunately things kinda went to pieces before I got enough experience under my belt to take a turn behind the screen. That said, I have this distinct feeling that I might end up as forever DM once my local nerd group actually manages to start meeting. Lol
https://me.me/embed/i/c18232aeb83942eba0c85e941181bc7e