GM or player? GM AND player?

Started by moon December 18th, 2015 4:36 PM
  • 4569 views
  • 32 replies

moon

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 23 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
Some arrange RPs and play the masterminds, creating worlds and managing events. Others create characters and build stories, interact and look forward to surprises and events within the adventures.

Which role do you prefer in general, Game Master or Player in a RP here? Why? :3
paired with Ivysaur

Dragon

lover of milotics

Age 30
Male
Viridian City
Seen 3 Days Ago
Posted October 24th, 2022
11,170 posts
9.7 Years
I think I'm stronger as a player. Because as a player, I think I can be more funny and adapt more to situations. :3


"Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess...
DRAGON SLAVE!"

Daydream

Boo.

Age 29
Male
That thar Kingdom. The United one.
Seen July 2nd, 2020
Posted June 27th, 2018
702 posts
13.7 Years
I've been a player more often, but recently I've been lured in by the pull of GM'ing. Developing history, creating maps, environments, magic systems, etc. is really fun. It's a task I find myself getting really engrossed in. Then the best part is seeing how others manipulate and add to your lore to fit their characters into and around it.

So I think I'd like to be a GM a lil' bit more. Not by too much though. :P
Noble Magic
Courtly intrigue; may contain lightning bolts and necromancy.
Yes.
Out Of My Mind
Seen August 18th, 2021
Posted February 2nd, 2021
399 posts
9.4 Years
Being a GM I have found is pretty fun, although not easy. I've found its quite a bit like herding cats. I really need to work on getting things started quickly, as it can be hard to keep interest sometimes. But other than that I find it incredibly amusing to mess with my players and see what happens when I throw them into a situation.

Sonata

Don't let me disappear

Age 27
Male
Indiana
Seen 7 Hours Ago
Posted March 25th, 2023
13,619 posts
10.2 Years
I prefer being a player as there's less responsibility and less worrying about if someone's going to post or just drop off the face of the earth and make you pick up their character because you don't want it to end. but then being a gm can be fun too because you can plot all kinds of things and just never tell anyone until it pops up. Make all the plot twists.

moon

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 23 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
I usually love being GM. Plotting, twisting, guiding, creating the world and have others want to come and play in it... It's heaven for creative people with a bit of a controlling side 8)

But lately I think I need to be a player instead. As Alvey says, there is sort of less responsibility, even if you are still crucial to the RPs. You can focus on yourself and what you build with others. I have almost always GM'd something so it should be a nice break haha.
paired with Ivysaur

gimmepie

Age 27
Male
Australia
Seen 7 Hours Ago
Posted 16 Hours Ago
As much as I love being a player, GMing is my forte and is probably my favourite thing to do. There's just something about creating and manipulating a world and watching how players handle it.
RPWLA&MVGGaming Journal

Loki

x

Seen March 23rd, 2022
Posted June 14th, 2020
6,822 posts
17.8 Years
I'm lazy so being a player is preferable for me haha - I just like being swept along for the ride. I tried my hand at GM'ing here at PC once or twice like... 6 years ago and the result was so pitiful that I resolved never to subject anyone to my GM'ing again LOL.

Oddball_

Magical Senpai and god of the closet.

Age 24
They/Them
Seattle, WA
Seen 4 Weeks Ago
Posted May 17th, 2019
866 posts
8.5 Years
I love to create worlds and act as an omnipotent, all powerful being who decides the course of life and death... but I don't have enough time in the day. So I get to enjoy others stories most of the time.



Friends for Infinity
Paired to GreyBidoof| Magical Senpai |

"I've learned to be wary of his suggestions... he's consumed my life."

art by the amazing Infinite

Sopheria

響け〜 響け!

深き海の彼方
Seen July 19th, 2022
Posted December 17th, 2017
4,904 posts
9.5 Years
I think I'd lean more towards player. Just seems funner. GMing requires that you maintain an entire universe and canon, but being a player seems a bit more relaxed. I probably wouldn't be opposed to being a GM, if there was a Roleplay that I really wanted to see happen and but it wasn't being done by anyone else.
Paired with Dragon and Koakuma

GreyBidoof

You used a Master Ball on the GreyBidoof!

Age 26
Male
Goldenrod City, Johto
Seen June 14th, 2020
Posted November 29th, 2018
774 posts
9 Years
Being a GM [...] I've found its quite a bit like herding cats.



Friends for Infinity
RPT | Titans | Theme Song | Pair

"Doofin' it up."

art by the churiffic Infinite

Retro Bug

Seen July 18th, 2016
Posted May 27th, 2016
1,176 posts
14.8 Years
GM GM GM GM

However, I'm too lazy to actually become a GM and submit my roleplays. I like navigating people through stories and seeing how the characters develop, and how my roleplay develops with them. It's really satisfying to see people enjoying the content you created and the characters they created for it.

"I'm ready for a nap..."
[YOU ARE CHALLENGED BY TIRED STUDENT RETRO BUG]
Pokémon:

The Meta Journey

jombii

Crobat is ProBat

Male
Philippines
Seen June 28th, 2019
Posted April 13th, 2019
3,412 posts
8.9 Years
I find it more fun to be a player. As a GM, there is this intense pressure for you to know where each and every player for your RP while managing the world, all the while creating plots for story development and understanding how each character's subplot might affect your general plot.

However, I think Journey RPs are fun to mod as they're relatively easier to handle compared to other types of RPs.

FireSnow

Show me that Fighting Spirit

Age 27
Male
Ambrette Town, Kalos
Seen August 20th, 2021
Posted October 3rd, 2020
2,644 posts
7.7 Years
I have largely been a player in my RP career and I find that that is the one i find to be more enjoyable. This in mind though, I also like to feel in control of everything in regards to how an RP is run. So I must say I hope to be a GM at some point in the future.

Quest

Veteran Roleplayer

Male
Seen January 6th, 2023
Posted May 3rd, 2020
984 posts
14 Years
I rather enjoy both parts. I enjoy writing and love to be in worlds both of my creation or others. Like Retro Bug, I really enjoy GMing, but I'm too lazy most of the time. Hopefully, people like Fire can keep me in check!
// Bae'd to Kikpanther //

Geras

Roleplayer

Age 27
Male
Everything's bigger here, apparently.
Seen 2 Weeks Ago
Posted March 28th, 2023
957 posts
12.2 Years
Definitely player, mostly because I make a terrible GM. Really though, I love the surprise of not knowing what the GM is going to throw at me next.
I'll put something cool here eventually.
Male
Tennessee
Seen 3 Weeks Ago
Posted 3 Weeks Ago
5,620 posts
13 Years
I like being a player. I was a simi GM of an RP back in the summer, and I wasn't a huge fan of it. I don't like planning things in advance. Some people might get left behind or can't keep up. I don't like rushing people. Plus, if you are a main GM, I would say it becomes almost like a job.

Jay

Here comes the boi...

Age 26
Male
Ireland
Seen 1 Day Ago
Posted October 10th, 2022
899 posts
8.2 Years
I'm not sure, since I've not really been a successful GM. I'd say I prefer the player role in general though, which may surprise some who know me personally. I love the element of surprise, I love writing with my fellow players and I love love love making characters for different settings and seeing them blossom into beautiful little butterflies.

...

When the RP gets that far, that is. Regardless of role, I hate seeing an RP die before its time in the limelight is fully experienced. Still, RPer, GM, it's the experience that matters most to me. I really do enjoy both, maybe if I make a successful RP one day... I'll have a more valid opinion.~

Arsenic

Flying High

Age 26
Male
In the skies
Seen April 13th, 2022
Posted August 28th, 2020
3,201 posts
11.9 Years
While I have an interest in GMing something, I feel I even lack still in the player category and find myself to intimidated to GM something.

Not to mention I have the attention span of a cat.

jombii

Crobat is ProBat

Male
Philippines
Seen June 28th, 2019
Posted April 13th, 2019
3,412 posts
8.9 Years
When the RP gets that far, that is. Regardless of role, I hate seeing an RP die before its time in the limelight is fully experienced. Still, RPer, GM, it's the experience that matters most to me. I really do enjoy both, maybe if I make a successful RP one day... I'll have a more valid opinion.~
There is a huge pressure on a GM to keep an RP alive and running. When people are slow to post, he should be there to keep them on the right track just to keep the thread alive for one more week then another then another.

You think it's hard to post as a player? Just imagine what a GM feels when nobody is posting and his/her created world is slowly being lowered to literary graveyard.

Jay

Here comes the boi...

Age 26
Male
Ireland
Seen 1 Day Ago
Posted October 10th, 2022
899 posts
8.2 Years
There is a huge pressure on a GM to keep an RP alive and running. When people are slow to post, he should be there to keep them on the right track just to keep the thread alive for one more week then another then another.

You think it's hard to post as a player? Just imagine what a GM feels when nobody is posting and his/her created world is slowly being lowered to literary graveyard.
Hey, hey, trust me... I don't think it's hard to post on a player, nor do I think it's easy for GMs either. I know how insanely difficult it can be for both.

All I'm saying is that I hate to see it when an RP dies. It's a sad time for all involved and it always disappoints me to see a good story and concept go under.~

jombii

Crobat is ProBat

Male
Philippines
Seen June 28th, 2019
Posted April 13th, 2019
3,412 posts
8.9 Years
Hey, hey, trust me... I don't think it's hard to post on a player, nor do I think it's easy for GMs either. I know how insanely difficult it can be for both.

All I'm saying is that I hate to see it when an RP dies. It's a sad time for all involved and it always disappoints me to see a good story and concept go under.~
Hey hey I'm not contesting what you said. It's more like an added fact that the pressure is bigger on a GM to keep an RP alive.

But yes, tales of altaria

Nagi

she/her
home
Seen 1 Week Ago
Posted 1 Week Ago
1,003 posts
8.7 Years
But yes, tales of altaria
;-;

ahem. i've only ever GM'ed once and that actually fell rather flat, so i don't think i'm actually very good at it (as of yet anyway), but i actually think i'd like the worldbuilding and guiding role of a GM more than that of a player, haha. it's just that i'm terrible at coming up with storylines from scratch... i need a base to work with, hence being a player comes so much easier.

moon

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 23 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
;-;

ahem. i've only ever GM'ed once and that actually fell rather flat, so i don't think i'm actually very good at it (as of yet anyway), but i actually think i'd like the worldbuilding and guiding role of a GM more than that of a player, haha. it's just that i'm terrible at coming up with storylines from scratch... i need a base to work with, hence being a player comes so much easier.
Well, now you are finding it pretty fun, aren't you? (;


So if we shift the question a bit from "roleplayer OR GM"... How do you guys feel about being a GM and a player in a RP?

Usually when I am a GM, I also sign up with a character of my own and am part of events just in the same way as my players are. But Star Wars could be an example, where I didn't quite sign up with my Felacatian smuggler, nor with my Jedi characters. I just claimed to be the GM and presented them and played them haha. And there have been RPs where I have only GMd and not participated as a player. That works too, if you feel like focusing completely on making a great experience for the others.

But usually I enjoy participating myself c:
paired with Ivysaur