DMing Encouragement

[Elz]

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It's came up a bit about there being a lack of DMs now and then, so I'd like to try and address this a bit more in depth. It is hard to DM, sometimes it can be intimidating to do it for other players and sometimes it's just generally anxiety inducing to think about the 'what if I do it wrong'. Whilst I believe experience and practice are the main ways to overcome these things, I do believe we could do with some more definition and more leeway on what DMs can do. This thread then is a way to discuss what would encourage you to DM for other players, what things make it enjoyable. Many people do DM because they want to/enjoy it simply for DMing, but it can get strained.

Beneath I'll put notes (talking points):
- Allowing DMing for friends, and addressing the 'bias' accusations towards DMs for doing so. This can include some sort of system of doing events to get events.
- Actual rewards for DMing, monetary or otherwise?
- Permissions, such as being able to place blocks anywhere

I'd like to get discussion going on events, what makes you want to DM or what makes you hesitant. If I open a new event request thread in the future, it's likely a bigger team is just better all round, but to do that I need to address problems that prevent people from going ahead.

 

[Mongoose]

Whereas there's nothing that can really be done about this, it's rare I feel the want to DM, but usually it's spontaneous. With the requirements of getting permission to DM etc. and with everything that's locked behind DM only screens, thats usually why I haven't bothered

 

[Retro]

I think I've always felt that DMing could be fun on occasion, but not as a constant thing. This is what largely keeps me from doing it. I've considered dming a lot, I've even been asked to think about it. However, I don't think that I'm very good at defining combat situations and trying to resolve them. As such, in a scenario like that I'm scared I'd do something wrong and drag an event longer for everyone involved. I also don't think I'd have enough energy or motivation to constantly be about DMing something, which is also why I try to avoid requesting staff on any regular basis.

Hence, I've concluded that I'm not ready to dm on any official regard. Though the notion of DMing in my own region with creatures that I don't need special permission for doesn't sound too bad for me.

 

[Galaxy]

also, something I think the playerbase could benefit from is when people want to add a flair to their rps, they dm things like the current weather, or the general vibe of the area at the time if they feel like it, with the ability to just freely chnage between nicks. i know only staff and purple nicks can do that, which makes it difficult to be good ambience when i want to have some nice little scene setting emotes with my friends. not all dming needs to have something happen, and that sort of mundane "oh look it's windy" sort of stuff is what /i/ personally like

 

[Elz]

This is not forgotten - I have been a bit occupied with things lately but I'll bump and come back to it

 

[Necro98]

I miss Dming, Was the only fun part of being staff for me. Unfortunately players (especially ones you don't know) love to corrupt whatever you're doing, and that makes my skin itch. I admit this is not a productive addition to this thread, Just felt like throwing this in there. To any player reading this: THE DM IS NOT YOUR ENEMY, JUST LISTEN TO THEM, AND BE RESPECTFUL.

 

[Electric]

I've definitely missed the Event Request thread thoroughly and constantly, lol. There are a lot of events and hunts that I'd like to do that I can't without an official DM, which kinda sucks. Having the ability to do that again would be nice. I know it's tough on the DMs though, so I hope a balance can be found!

 

[Bartooliinii]

- Permissions, such as being able to place blocks anywhere

Back when I was actively DMing, this (a proper toolset of perms) was all I asked for and all I needed, yet never gotten.
This, and a shorter line to those who decide about events/lore, with quick rapid answers or a direct line over discord (in my case, in the end, I did get quite rapid answers, which did help).

I still think it's the one thing that will encourage more people to help if you show faith in them and trust them.
It was the sole reason for the whole fiasco with my DMing at the last campaign: I had the time, I was spirited, wanted to help, had the experience, knew about the plot, wanted to get it going, but wasn't given the tools I needed.

Fix this one thing and you'll fix your problem.

I remember not feeling heard nor my headaches really being taken seriously back then. If you're willing to listen now and take me and this problem seriously, I'm willing to make some time free to tell you exactly what drove me away from player DMing and what you can do to fix it for the people to come in the future (cause I am not going back to DMing anymore).

 

[Elz]

Permissions are a thing, yeah. Currently event staff do get permissions, there are currently two defined roles. I've added a small note on the event staff roster to some of the perms they get, and there's more in depth explanations in the event staff section on them. I've also, today, opened up more for players to be able to DM (ghosts and stuff). I cannot give players perms to do nicknames and so on, but I've made it fine to do your atmospheric emotes as well. The Event Request thread will be staying closed for now, it can be quite taxing but I'm hoping with freeing up some stuff for players that we won't need to rely on the thread.