Topic: Are you primarily a player or a GM?

[Peter R]

I saw a comment yesterday, I forget which thread it was in, that said that most of the people here are GMs and not players. I have looked at my own activity and it seems true. I am really active right now because I am planning a new game. I joined the boards in 2012 when I was GMing and my game was just winding down. Between times my GM was the final arbiter or any disputes and his rules and rulings were what were important and the community less so. I am not one to argue against GMs ruling during the game even if they are simply wrong.

I am just curious if we are nearly exclusively GMs seeking inspiration and clarification because we are the creators. As players we then become more passive and are consumers of others creations.

[Tommi]

Only way  for me to play RM or any other ICE game is to be GM
I used to think that I'm mainly player but after 2000 I've played four session as player.

I do play in one D&D (3.5) game.

[Peter R]

We have a strange set up where our group live all over the south and south west UK and we all gather a couple of times a year to play but then play all weekend. We found that once you became GM then that was it, the end of your playing for the next five years or so. We are starting to look at playing one game on the Friday night and then the main campaign on the Saturday/Sunday. When the main games finishes then the Friday night game will become the main game and we will start new characters in a new game on the Fridays. This way everyone gets to game and the GMing is split between two people. We will be doing a Forgotten Realms based game with 1st level characters in the next session on the Friday night and a Shadow World game with 15th - 20th level characters on the Saturday/Sunday session.

[Athelstaine]

I am fortunate enough that our group all live within an 30 minute drive range. We play every weekend for the most part(excluding holidays, and college football when their teams are playing on tv). Most of the Gm'ng is spread about. When one get burned out or tired, someone else will pick up the reigns and so forth.

GM wise. I have the most fun GM'ng Rolemaster/Harp & Warhammer. Other systems i tend to be just a player.

[Warl]

I chose, "I am a GM but get to play sometimes" because a more correct option wasn't really available.

I GM by Choice, But would Like to play sometimes, but the chance to play for me doesn't happen very often.

RM groups are hard enough to find, let alone find time for, and I am one of those who finds it a Joy to GM, so I pretty much GM..
If there was a Good PBP game going on I could Join I would play, But I don't see any of those about either.

[OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol]

I started RPGs (back in the early 80s) in order to GM. Whilst I did play as a player, my main interest in RPGs is GMing, if only because creating and taking care of my own world is my primary hobby: having people enjoying it is merely a good addition. So, regardless of the system, I always choose to GM if I can, and most often in my own world.

[Peter R]

The only thing I miss that I get when playing that you cannot get when GMing is the sense of achievement from the planning, execution and total destruction of your enemy.

As a GM your role is not to totally destroy the party even if your are playing the most evil of evil villains. All of your villains must have some kind of flaw for the heroes to be heroes.

[Peter R]

I started RPGs (back in the early 80s) in order to GM. Whilst I did play as a player, my main interest in RPGs is GMing, if only because creating and taking care of my own world is my primary hobby: having people enjoying it is merely a good addition. So, regardless of the system, I always choose to GM if I can, and most often in my own world.

I am awful at world creation. I can build an amazing town or city, a pretty good country but when I get to continents and worlds I just run out of inspiration. They start to get a little bit generic.

Give me a town to work on and I like to build it in the way a pearl grows inside an oyster, building up layer upon layer. I could tell you the routes of every town guard, where they stop for a tankard of ale, which out lying farms sell their wool to to which weavers. Who is jealous of who and who has affiliations to all the individual guilds. I like designing all the little wheels within wheels that make a town work and have a functioning economy. Who works where and what happens to the people who cannot work.

I can scale that to a country sized system with the trade routes, communication routes and the expoitation of the countries natural resources. The differences in wealth that those resources create and where the seeds of discontent would be greatest.

Take that up to a world and I kind of run out of steam. I couldn't write a book either, two good chapters probably and then you would just have blank pages.

[Cory Magel]

Over the years we've always had a primary GM, with others (including me) rarely running a game/campaign.  The players seem to love it when I run, but I don't enjoy it as much as playing.  I don't really enjoy knowing everything, it's more fun when you have to figure it out.  Anyhow, I'm working up a new campaign, which now I'm thinking I'll make Sci-Fi.

I was working on a Fantasy setting campaign (all that will just go into mothballs now).  Have the foundation for most of the world already done and a layout for the campaign, but when we found out our primary GM was moving I decided to switch over to Sci-Fi.  Three primary reasons.  #1. I find it easier to put together overall.  #2. We haven't really done a good Sci-Fi game.  #3. I want some space battles!  (i.e. players will have a full on character but there will also be spaceship/space fighter battles).

[Peter R]

I used to have all the spacemaster rules but somewhere in some house move or other they have disappeared. If I wanted to run a Sci Fi game I would have to buy them all again. I would probably go with something Firefly universe based. I like the lo tech/hi tech mix in the firefly series.

[Warl]

I used to have all the spacemaster rules but somewhere in some house move or other they have disappeared. If I wanted to run a Sci Fi game I would have to buy them all again. I would probably go with something Firefly universe based. I like the lo tech/hi tech mix in the firefly series.

that could be a fin game, I love that series. Would love to play in it.

[Peter R]

As a GM I would just love that moment when things are either going really well or totally belly up for the players and you decide to send in the Reavers.

[Warl]

Yup totally peter

I am currenty working up my rules for a PBP game that will be a Mix of Post Apoc, Sci-fi with a Little Magic Mixed in.

Character will come from various back grounds of Genre, But will all end-up (each character will start the game solo) on the same back world Planet for one reason or another.
Kind of mixing Firefly, Fallout and Halo.

[RandalThor]

I would have loved to say that I get to play sometimes, but I just don't. *Sigh*

[Peter R]

May I ask what PBP stands for?

[Warl]

Play By Post

[Warl]

I would have loved to say that I get to play sometimes, but I just don't. *Sigh*

Play By Post is exactly for people who don't have time for a standard session. you should get into one Randalthor.

If you got time to post here :-P you got time or a PBP

[Peter R]

Ah, I always knew that as PBM play by mail.

It just isn't the same as real playing though is it?

[Warl]

LOL " real playing" makes me laugh.

Okay s no, you don't have the instant reaction and easy comradery of a Face to face or even VOIP game.  But, (and I caveat this by saying, it depnds on the GM and game) PBP can be very close to the same thing just spread out over longer periods of time between responses.

I have 1 game I run PBP currently and I play in one as well.
The game forum we use is RPOL.net and it has a Die rolled, and private messaging in posts so that it can run very similar to a regular game. The Game I run currently uses the "Hack Master" (new edition) system, And I run it, even combat, The same as I would in face to face.
I plan to run my RM/SM game the same way.

I used to be down on PB games, as I had a few bad experiences years ago, But again, With the right GM, Right group, it is a Decent play. and IMO is better than not playing at all.

[Peter R]

The last time I did play by mail it really was by mail with about a weeks turn around.

I may Google to see if there are any RM based ones. As they say 'don't knock it until you try it'.