The Pleasant Side-effect of DMing: Self-Education

[00luyan]

When I decided to start DMing, there were of course the obvious things associated with it which I anticipated. It is demanding, time-consuming, even stressful sometimes yet it is also greatly rewarding. It boosts one's creativity, communicative skills and even confidence.

One thing that I did not realise when I signed up for it was that I would often be so eager to educate myself on various topics to provide more details to NPCs, cities etc. Firstly, there are many basic things that we use daily but hardly know anything about them. What materials can f.e. boots or carpets be made of? How is wax made? I have never given much thought to such things before I started DMing. Then there are the more bizarre things such as what's the size of a triceratops and how much does it weight? How do they reproduce? (Wait they lay eggs?!).

What a nice side-effect. I should thank my players for making me want to DM.

[Hytheter]

{Scrubbed}

[KorvinStarmast]

What a nice side-effect. I should thank my players for making me want to DM. I love how you've responded to the role of DM - it has a lot of facets that inspire thought and creativity. And it's easy to get totally engrossed in the 'who' of some of the NPCs that the party will meet.

I hope you continue to enjoy DMing, I have certainly had my creative instincts improved by having done so. :smallsmile:

[JonBeowulf]

Or even more unusual; the dominant flavors in root beer (so I could describe it instead of saying, "this town has root beer!").

But there is a dark side to this... such as trying to figure out how a primitive smith can make 1000 ball bearings in one day.

[KorvinStarmast]

But there is a dark side to this... such as trying to figure out how a primitive smith can make 1000 ball bearings in one day. They probably can't, but roller bearings might be doable ...

[EggKookoo]

What a nice side-effect. I should thank my players for making me want to DM.

It's helped me with my writing. Like most beginning writers, I tended to have a plot in mind, then have characters behave in a way that "makes sense" for that plot.

DMing games has taught me that it's best handled the other way around. Have characters with internal motivations, put them together, and see what kind of plot emerges. You can then go back and massage things to make it flow nicely. It makes a story that's so much more alive.

[JonBeowulf]

They probably can't, but roller bearings might be doable ...
I thought there was something in PHB or DMG about being able to craft X gp of a thing in one day. Can't find it now, though, so I may be pulling this from another edition.

[Easy e]

I am so happy to hear you are enjoying! I also find it very rewarding, and love to see where the "story" goes; it is always a surprise to me!

Please, continue to share the joy of DM/GMing as the hobby needs more players willing to run things. I find players who also GM are way easier to play with, as they know the challenges of running a game themselves.

[Unoriginal]

I thought there was something in PHB or DMG about being able to craft X gp of a thing in one day. Can't find it now, though, so I may be pulling this from another edition.

It's in the Downtime rules.

You can craft a non-magic item that is up to 5 gp in 1 day.

I don't see how it's outlandish for a smith in the pseudo-late-medieval-early-Renaissance-with-magic-monsters-and-wonders framework of D&D to be capable of crafting 1000 small metal balls in a day. They don't need to be well-made balls or survive more than one use, they just need to roll when someone walks on them/make it difficult for someone to walk where they're spread out, and each ball bearing is less than 1 gram.

You can take an 1kg (or a bit more) sheet of pig iron and cut it into 1000 roughly spherical pieces by putting the extremity of the sheet over an half-spherical cavity, then hitting it with a hammer that also has an half-spherical cavity, and doing that 1000 times. Kind of like how most minting of coins was done for a long while.

Or you can take 1 kg of pig iron (or another metal, why not), melt it, and make 1000 drops of it in either a cooling liquid or in tiny cavities.

[Psyren]

The official term for this is tangential learning, and it's one of the greatest real-life benefits of gaming. Have a video! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlQrTHrwyxQ)

Note however that there's a dark side to this power; I won't elaborate too much here, but just as games have the potential to be great vehicles for learning, they can be equally great vehicles for misinformation and propaganda.

[JackPhoenix]

Or even more unusual; the dominant flavors in root beer (so I could describe it instead of saying, "this town has root beer!").

But there is a dark side to this... such as trying to figure out how a primitive smith can make 1000 ball bearings in one day.

It's a bit of an anachronism, but shot tower could work. Not sure if it would work with metals with higher melting point than lead, though. If you don't need the spheres to be precise, you can just use mould or water basin to cool the drops of metal.

And I agree, GMing led me to gaining a ton of random knowledge, though I'm overall interested in random trivia even outside that, so hard to say how related it is.

[animorte]

DMing games has taught me that it's best handled the other way around. Have characters with internal motivations, put them together, and see what kind of plot emerges.
Yes this. I’ve always used my theater experience to influence my writing, DMing, and playing. Seeking the motivation for the characters helps to bring the world to life much better.


Please, continue to share the joy of DM/GMing as the hobby needs more players willing to run things. I find players who also GM are way easier to play with, as they know the challenges of running a game themselves.
Understanding both sides of the situation has always been an excellent factor in creating fun.

Running games has helped me to appreciate any other DM and the perspective of players. I agree, I have learned more about how things work and how to relate that to the game worlds.

Another thing I want to add: I have noticed that some source books don’t receive a lot of attention because they don’t have as much additional content by way of subclasses, spells, etc. However, in my experience, a lot of them are still excellent sources of inspiration, and thus undervalued.