Sunday, November 20, 2011

Domo Arigato Mr Roboto

So, let's get down to where the bear does his bidnez in the buckwheat (yes, I said that,  this is an all ages friendly blog ya know).

What is it I like so much about being a Dungeon Master anyway and why do I believe others like my style?

AD&D is a role playing game.  Pretty obvious right?  What about the DM though?  I find it interesting to hear from players who want to really get into their characters how they think of a DM as a mostly serious role.

Maybe I talk to weird players.

I like to get into the character(s) as much as the next person.  So much so that as a DM, I get to be untold numbers and variety of characters.

I have been a writer and story teller since I was a kid.  My imagination knows few bounds.  I have fun creating voices and "characters" just to entertain my kids and other people.  Sometimes just because I am entertaining myself due to boredom.

Yes, people have walked by and seen/heard me and thought I was totally off my rocker.  Oh well, at least I was entertained.


But, in AD&D, I have an excuse, nay I have purpose, in letting those characters out.

While the other people in the game might be playing one or maybe even two or three characters, I get to play a cast of dozens and I do it with gusto.  Complete with voices, accents, mindsets and all.   For the seconds to minutes I am with the non-player characters in the games, I AM those characters.

Of course I am keeping track of time and game progression, battles, etc.. I take my role as DM seriously.  It's not a good game just because I have fun with npc's.  It's a good game because the game itself keeps moving and being challenging.

I treat each game as a story. I actually write/script segments in preparation to get a new game underway.  Often specific to the players who will be playing.  Taking player ages, experience levels, etc into consideration.

To me a game isn't a good game just because it's challenging, it's got to be fun and interesting.

Yes, players are often entertained by my character role playing, but I don't let that take away from how I conduct the game at the same time.

I have as much fun being the DM and role playing characters as the players do and I think that's one of the reasons players usually like my DM style. 

I'll discuss my use of and approach to non-player characters in future posts.  I just thought I'd say a little something about my general view on being a DM and AD&D.




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