Do you have more fun as a DM or player?

[danzibr]

The title is pretty straightforward.

I suppose this GREATLY depends on the quality of the DM and the group you're with, but for me I'd have to say DM. The most fun I have is with creation, in particular character creation, and as DM you get to make tons of characters! Bad guys, good guys, all sorts of guys.

And I like telling a story.

[Amnestic]

Being a DM lets me craft characters I might never have had a chance to play (flavour is wrong, mechanically too strong or weak to be part of the party, PrCs which players would almost never usually choose but now suddenly do have a part to play, etc.) and craft a cool story all at the same time. Sure, the characters might only ever last a single combat (or sometimes even less than that!) but being able to seem them in action, just a bit, is one of a big draws to DMing for me.

It's a lot more work, generally, but I much prefer being on the DM side of the screen, though one thing I do miss is the party planning stage where you hash out tactics, ways to approach a certain problem and stuff like that.

[Keneth]

I definitely enjoy the process of creation immensely. But I don't enjoy being DM during actual gameplay as much as I enjoy being a player. I tend to compromise by offering my help, experience and rather extensive knowledge to my current DM, while remaining a player.

[RFLS]

In an ideal world, I'd prefer being a player. Sadly, good DMs are really hard to come by, and I end up DMing a lot more than I'd like.

[killem2]

I prefer playing.

I can DM when needed, but playing is so much more rewarding for me.

[dysprosium]

I also like to be the DM. I like acting the parts of the rest of the multiverse that the players take part.

I can playtest or experiment with different playstyles or character types.

I also like knowing what is behind the door or what is happening on the other side of the world.

[Darius Kane]

I use DMPC's, so I have it both ways.

[hymer]

DM over player, but it's less simple than that. The longer I DM, the more I want to be a player. Being a player is one of the things that whets my appetite for DMing. If I haven't been a player for a long while, I'd rather that than DM.
But if I had not played or DMed for a year, I'd be missing DMing most.

[Aegis013]

In an ideal world, I'd prefer being a player. Sadly, good DMs are really hard to come by, and I end up DMing a lot more than I'd like.

+1. My situation exactly.

[Averis Vol]

DM over player, but it's less simple than that. The longer I DM, the more I want to be a player. Being a player is one of the things that whets my appetite for DMing. If I haven't been a player for a long while, I'd rather that than DM.
But if I had not played or DMed for a year, I'd be missing DMing most.

This nearly down to a "T". the only reason I prefer DM'ing is because 1) I hate change, and my friends cannot stay interested in their own games for more then 2 sessions before they start complaining that they don't get to play enough (I've been the DM for 2 of the 3 years we've played, out of that time we have missed 4 sessions of which we play weekly because of me. Whenever someone else takes the reigns, we play maybe once a month, every other time falling back on my campaign.) and 2) is pretty related to 1. Because I rarely get to play my imagination is left to well up, and as such I have a surplus of 67 characters on my file at RPGcrossing. Almost all of them will end up as npc's as such.

[OREO]

DM... my creative side dominates and my players appreciate the atmosphere I provide for them within a very core-style framework.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Definitely DM; I like to play once in a while too, but DMing something is the only thing that lets me vent enough of my creative side/excess of energy that I don't end up overrunning games as a player.

[GreenETC]

The more I learn the 3.5 system, the more I want to DM, simply because there's no enough opportunities to try out every character concept or strange build I find as just a player. That being said, it's also in part because of my occasional issue with other players DMing, since I'm very good at recognizing fiat and railroads, and I'm always saddened when a good idea goes to waste because of failed planning.

[Sgtpepper]

I prefer player, I enjoy being apart of the story and making the choices that effect the story. As well I have never DM'ed before. Oh and on a last and final note I also enjoy the flavor of a character

[Prince_Ornstein]

The longer I DM, the more I want to be a player. Being a player is one of the things that whets my appetite for DMing. If I haven't been a player for a long while, I'd rather that than DM.
But if I had not played or DMed for a year, I'd be missing DMing most.

this is it ha ha. i love to DM, i can let my imagination run wild and anything and everything i can scribble down on paper can become a reality for my players to crawl through, but then i write that one dungeon or that one scenario that makes me say "wow i wish i could play through that situation, or oh man what i wrote out is really cool that gives me an idea for a player concept that i would love to try." then i thirst for being a player again.

[russdm]

I have found in my experience that i seriously dislike both DMing and Playing in D&D 3.5. Atleast with my current group. The group rarely roleplays and running encounters gets tedious because you have to start competing against the players to make the encounters even interesting or challenging. Otherwise, the players are bored and they blame the DM usually for that, even though they make characters that usually break the game alot. DMing becomes a chore, and you get to see how broken the game design is with characters, monsters, magic and so on.

As a player, the same problems exist. Most campaigns either turn into cakewalks (ie super easy and boring) or really dangerous (Someone, usually me, ends up dying alot). There is little roleplay happening and if you try roleplaying, the other players sometimes mock you. There is a lot of metagaming happening too. In all, its not really fun either way, but since I can't really find another group close enough that works for the right day, i am sort of stuck with them. You also have to powergame to either survive or be useful to the party.

The only really way to have fun is to try playing games that only a few people know so that the powergaming (cake-walking) isn't as bad. Frankly, i usually have more fun watching tv shows on netflix, playing some of my rpg computer games, or just reading. I really need to find another group; I can't stand D&D 3.5 much anymore.

[Curmudgeon]

I have more fun as a player, but I spend more time DMing. It's more relaxing to only be "on call" for a portion of the PC time, rather than all the time as a DM. I do tend to make a lot of Rogue characters who have something useful to contribute pretty much all the time, but that's still a lot less work than when I'm DMing.

[Crake]

I'll find myself thinking about stuff that's happened to my character throughout the week and greatly look forward to my next session as a player, but as a DM, I really enjoy it when my players say at the end of each session "that was great, I really had fun".

[almightycoma]

For me it's being a player. I love the look on my DM's face when i come up with a weirdo solution to a problem, or when he shakes his head in disbelief when a solve a non combat encounter with violence.

[cosmicAstrogazr]

It's actually really hard for me to decide which one I like better. I guess I'd have to say it goes in cycles; when I've been playing for a while, I start to crave DMing, and vice-versa.

Overall, I suppose if I had to pick one, I'd have to say DMing, if only for all the intensive plotting involved. I like to give my players a lot of options, and I spend a lot of time playing through if-thens in my head. Trying to anticipate all the possible actions and reactions of my players is a lot of fun, especially when they take the least-likely of the plot-hooks I dangle in front of them.

Building a world for the PCs to explore, crafting plots and potential plots... The long and short of it is, I'll always have more game-seeds than I will games, which is both happy and sad, and... Yeah, okay. Okay, DMing.

By a smidge. :smallsmile:

[Seharvepernfan]

In my experience, I have much more fun as a DM. I roll with whatever the DM decides to do, assuming I get a word in if I think he's got a rule wrong, but I'm almost always unsatisfied with the way others DM.

[molten_dragon]

Definitely as a player. I don't mind DM'ing, but I won't do it all the time. Generally our group will have one player DM a campaign, and when that's finished someone else will DM the next one so everyone gets a chance to play sometimes.

[danzibr]

There is little roleplay happening and if you try roleplaying, the other players sometimes mock you.
I feel so bad for you. :(

[Amnestic]

There is little roleplay happening and if you try roleplaying, the other players sometimes mock you.

I'd have dropped the group already if this happened to me - difference of interest and also them being meaniepants.

[russdm]

I would have dropped them too, but i have one major problem: I haven't been able to find other groups that would work out. the other group i was in happened on wednesdays in bellevue at noon, which i can no longer get to. I pretty much have one or two days for play a week and i really haven't found anything yet. Also, this current group is close and the host guy has a stocked fridge of mountain dew and makes dinner or orders it as pizza and he provides munchies! Its really hard to give up, plus we can watch shows like tv shows or movies for free at his place too. Nice perks that i am so-so on losing.

[gurgleflep]

The title is pretty straightforward.

I suppose this GREATLY depends on the quality of the DM and the group you're with, but for me I'd have to say DM. The most fun I have is with creation, in particular character creation, and as DM you get to make tons of characters! Bad guys, good guys, all sorts of guys.

And I like telling a story.

I have fun as both, though I prefer being a player. I'm not very good with describing things. Visuals help quite a bit.

Me: "You walk into a room that's eight feet tall, thirty feet long, and fifteen feet wide"
DMs who aren't me "Upon walking into the room, you see a throne. Sitting upon it is the skeleton of a minotaur... (three minutes of beautiful description later) What do you do?"

[Bubzors]

I would definitely say that I enjoy DM so much more than a player. Recently I stepped down as DM to allow another player the opportunity to try it. And I have to say, though enjoying myself enough, I find myself just counting down the time till the campaign is over and I can DM again. Playing just one character gets old to me. As DM I can play any type of character I want each session. Also I love crafting an interesting story

[Za'hynie Laya]

While I enjoy being a player where I can focus on my PC and I have no responsibilities other than to know what I am playing and paying attention to my DM's story, I have to come down on the DM side.
I love to invent new rules (preferably in the player's favor), new monsters, feats and spells. I self-correct often with new stuff added to my game, it feels more like play-testing. I usually run pre-fab modules that are heavily modified for my campaign. With this much open creativity, this is why I love DnD so much. Story is secondary to creativity for me.