;p

But unless you’re one of those, keep truckin. Even when you make mistakes, you’ll learn.

@DocRyder – I don’t think every player should BE a GM, just that every gamer should try it at least once. Even if you hate every minute of it and your players feel the same, you’ll learn a lot.

@Bercilac – Yep. Call of Cthulhu was the game that broke me of that back in high school. I wanted to read all the stories so badly that I learned to compartmentalize player vs. character knowledge so I could read the stories and still enjoy the surprises in the game. Good point!

I’ve since discarded that idea, if only because players NEED to look at the DMG to figure out what sorts of magic items they might like to create/buy and often need to look at the MM for various races (I never run campaigns anymore with the set in the PHB, too boring). It’s not what the elements are that makes the mystery, it’s which one you have in store next; just like the words in a sentence don’t mean anything unless they’re in the right order. (Ooh, semiotics…)

In my own group we have two people who will run a game with regularity. Myself and one other. We’ll both run D&D (1st and 2nd editions) while I will run Shadowrun and he Rifts.

However, over the years, some of the regular players have had a chance to sit behind the screen for a bit. It left them with some respect for what goes on when you slip on the GM/DM boots. I wish a couple other of my players would take even a one shot turn behind the screen so they’d have a better idea of the work…and the task of herding cats that can sometimes occur when things go haywire.

That being said, I find it very useful as a GM/DM to sit on the players’ side of the screen every so often. It reminds me that the story telling is group activity. Something which I occasionally forget when running a game. Being a player every so often reminds me to not railroad the PCs, but to instead be (and plan) flexible.

I think taking on the role of GM/DM is special in that you take on a lot of responsibility, but there is no game without the players, so they too are special. Doubly so that rare player (well, at least rare in my experiences) who becomes a prime mover in the game. The one who gets vested in the plot and starts coming up with the crazy ideas and outlandish plans that leave you as the GM/DM scrambling. I love being surprised be my players.

Ah, one final thought; time spent on the players’ side of the screen reminds me to do my darnedest to include something in every gaming session that will make each player feel important and indispensable to the group. I know when I’m a player the chance to use that odd ball skill or what not can really leave me with a good feeling at the end of a gaming session.

I’ve played with some GMs who treated me in a condescending way when I joined their game, and then they played in a game that I GMed, and the next time that I played in their game the treatment that I received was noticeably different. I was now in “the club” because I could GM just like they could. Whether or not I know how to GM should have no bearing on how I am treated as a player, but it happens (at least that is what I have seen, anyone else?).

I think anyone who plays tabletop RPGs should try GMing at least once. Not because they should be GMs, but because they might like GMing. I also believe that you break out of your comfort zone with music, movies, books, cuisines, and anything else that might be part of your routine. It is just a healthy experience IMO. GMing is different from playing, and for some of us it is more enjoyable than being a player.

Yet being a GM makes you a member of a special group? No, absolutely not. It may make you feel special, and that is just fine, but it does not make you special. It just makes you a GM.

Yeah, right…

Actually, I do believe there are some people who just aren’t suited for DMing. They may not understand plot or may not even get story. They’re disorganized to the point that they can’t find the character creation section of whichever rules they’re running. They can’t think on their feet. They can’t control a group of players and keep them from going so off track that the game wanders into realms of silliness unrelated to the game. Those people ought not be DMs (or whatever you call it).

(For me, it’s DM, not GM. That’s the one thing I’m “old school” about.)

It doesn’t have to be perfect when you run it– sometimes, as a GM, it’s just nice to get to play for once. You can give the gift of “a night as a player” to your GM. While http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/introductory-games-for-new-roleplayers was about new players, my wife had only run one session when she went about introducing new players. Look at that article for lots of advice and tools to make it easy for your first time.

I was the DM back in OD&D and 1e days, but all I did was build dungeon crawls with little coherence. My friends enjoyed the few sessions we played, but they had nothing to compare it to.

The sentiment being that GMs are not a special club or an exclusive group, that it is a fun thing that everyone should try has my complete agreement.

However, I spend a lot of time on game theory and design in all sorts of places, and my sticking point is that the job of GMing (and rulesets and systems for GMing) includes three major possible duties. Pursuing any of these makes on a ‘GM’, but all fall under the rubric.

1) Sitting down and running a game.
2) Managing a campaign/group of continuing adventures.
3) Setting design/rules design

These are all under the bailiwick of GMing. Furthermore, and this is where I might run afoul of some people, I believe that these different responsibilities/activities are hierarchal in terms of defining the ‘exclusivity’ or ’specialness’ of the GM grouping. Virgil guides us GM’s through three major circles, and they get more rarified as we go.

“Grab a published adventure for your favorite system, one that includes pregenerated characters. Read up on the bits of the rules you’re less familiar with, ask your friends to give it a shot with you, and sit down behind the screen for one night.”
Sound and good advice, and purposely written to define the experience as easy and unthreatening, a ‘dip-your-toe’ invitation.

However, it speaks directly to my comment. It’s a good idea and an easy way to try GMing without major investiture. But it’s also GMing at it’s most basic and simple level.

I guess my rambling point (that has been written in during a conference call and a purchasing emergency) is that ‘GMing’ is more than one thing, and as with any art, there are levels of investiture that lead to mastery, and that these levels of investiture do equate to some measure of exclusivity.

But the feet have to get wet sometime to start it. The doors are open to one and all, welcome.

As for people trying to GM, that’s definitely sound advice. Even one evening behind the screen can change one’s ideas about being a player, and gives some appreciation for the other role at the table.