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Abbandon
What eactly motivates a games master to want to run the story and be the bad guys over wanting to be just one of the players?? I have a pretty cool idea for shadowrun campaigne but I'd much rather be a player in it then actually run it.

I cant see the fun in not having a character who developes and grows. Im not very good at making other people happy before making myself happy first.

So any tips or advice or just reasons why you enjoy being a GM??
BishopMcQ
For our group, we alternate. There are three people who enjoy being a GM out of our eight players, and so we take turns. This leads to everyone getting a chance to play, which we all like.

As a GM, I take pleasure in telling the story. Being a GM is like being the narrator in your own personal novel. I setup challenges and scenarios that will be difficult but with a little bit of courage, luck and skill, the heroes/anti-heroes as portrayed by the players will be able to overcome.

When my players come up with a clever way of bypassing an objective, or take a route I didn't foresee, I applaud them for it. I think too often, people think that because the GM plays the collected armies of thugs, goons and "bad guys" it must be GM vs Players. While this may work for some people, and I know a few GMs who enjoy the TPK, it doesn't work for my style. If I TPK my group, all the work that I have done prepping my campaign is completely wasted, because the players won't want to come back to that story, their next group of characters will be different and I am back to square one.

It's not about making them happy so that you are happy, it's about everyone being happy at the same time. I spend just as much time smiling and joking with my players from behind the screen as I do across the table when I'm a player myself.
fistandantilus4.0
For me it's telling the story, seeing players reactions to scenarios, that sort of thing. I like to write and run the types of games I'd like to play in . I like to see interesting characters devlop, get up there in skills, influence, all that. mostly though I like to sit around with my friends and have a lot of fun. Someone's gotta be in charge and no one else wants to do it anyway.
Grinder
What fistandantilus3.0 said. smile.gif

(See, I copy'n'pasted your name to get it right! grinbig.gif)
mfb
i'm not much on GMing. i'd much rather play. when i do GM, it's generally because a) nobody else will, or b) i have something i want to show the players. a) isn't useful, here, so i'll talk about b).

it boils down to the idea that i like the characters my players are playing, and i want to put them in interesting situations. it's sorta the same thing as developing my own character, only i get to provide the stimuli instead of the reactions.
fistandantilus4.0
@mfb: Exactly

@Grinder:*clap* congratulations. You have learned young one.
Kagetenshi
I'm with mfb—I have plenty of ideas, interesting situations, and soforth that I want to put into the gameworld, but since they're all in my head it isn't like I can be the player for them unless I say "hey, you, run this for me", and even then it wouldn't be my vision of it. Also, having a game is better than not having a game, and you can't have a game without someone GMing.

That said, plot threads also develop and grow. Sometimes they die, too (players fail something, decide not to bite, whatever), but there's usually growth and change there. The characters begin to be played slightly differently based on the experiences they go through. You get to see the "ahah!" moments as a player makes a connection between apparently unrelated events or ideas.

So on and soforth. Plus, GMing is less work up-front. Of course, the work done is greater than that that players have to do pretty much all the time after the very beginning, but at least for me, spending a day or two solid on chargen is a relatively taxing thing—I can make a character in under fifteen minutes, under thirty if I have 25+ points in Resources and don't have a few really expensive items to soak up the money, but I'm generally not happy with a character until I've checked, rechecked, rearranged everything, then slept on it and tweaked the character again. Being a GM lets me choose from my stock collection of good "first runs" to get a feel for the characters and playstyles, and then just react from there for a while.

~J
Smilin_Jack
QUOTE
So any tips or advice or just reasons why you enjoy being a GM??


I land somewhere in between mfb and fistandantilus3.0.

While I enjoy telling a good story, I'm far more interested in how the characters will react and develop to the the twist and turns of the SR world and environment.

QUOTE
I cant see the fun in not having a character who developes and grows. Im not very good at making other people happy before making myself happy first.


A GM has a chance to develop and grow the entire world, which can be just (if not more) as rewarding as developing a single character. Events happen elsewhere in the world regardless of the actions of the characters - impacting their lives. NPCs die, companies are formed and destroyed, tech advances, politicians lose and gain office, etc.

While they are the stars of the show when you get together to run a game, the players really only have a small role in the world a GM can create.

Here are some in-game headlines ripped from newspapers and blog sites (part of my research for an upcoming game). I usually scan newspapers and blog sites for recent happenings for events and ideas that I can incorporate into the world - apparently my players really enjoy the fact that the world moves on without them. Of course it helps that the players are free to choose if they follow any of the trails the headlines leave - sometimes they do, sometimes they don't, and sometimes they stumble into a big conspiracy. Basically, developing a campaign can be much more interesting than developing or evolving a single character - when I the GM, I've got a cast of millions that I get to interact with.


[ Spoiler ]



Lindt
Im with K on this one. I do it because I have all sorts of ideas that I cant easly get to other people. But I love seeing my plot lines change and evolve, and see my players change and evolve, and what kinda trouble they get them selves into.
Or prehaps its the power trip...
Grinder
QUOTE (fistandantilus3.0)
@Grinder:*clap* congratulations. You have learned young one.

*bows* Thank you, master. nyahnyah.gif
nezumi
I GM because otherwise no one will let me use my neat character ideas frown.gif

In truth, I GM because I think I'm a better GM than most people I know. No offense against them, I've just been doing it longer, and I hang around with a younger crowd generally. So I figure it's my turn to GM and pass on the knowledge to train new, younger GMs, who will do the same forever. Plus, I generally get frustrated as a player. I get caught up on GM flaws because I feel like I know how I would handle it, and I think it would solve the problem quicker, as compared to how HE would handle it, which is stupid.

I'm currently the player in one real life game which is actually going pretty well. I GM a slew of online games, and go crazy when I'm the player because the GM never explains enough nyahnyah.gif
Adhoc
I'm a GM because I like to come up with ideas for settings, locations, NPCs, plots, plot-twists and so on...

...and I love it when my players take the stuff I've made and spin it in a completely new direction. I like being a catalyst for the shared creativity and always enjoy the results.

...and I love it when we tell old war-stories about old scenarios that I made up.

...and I love all the awkward roleplaying events....

A.
Kyoto Kid
...I agree with Smilin Jack who by proxy also leads me to agreement with fistandantilus3.0 and mfb.

...it starts with the story angle, however there are openings for the PCs to affect the direction of storyline through their actions. I usually have a number of events occurring in the background simultaneously that the PCs are not aware of unless they happen to stumble in that direction. If they go off on a tangent, the main story still rolls on albeit now as a background thread. It is especially fun when the "left turn" actually expands the storyline and/or indirectly impacts one of the other threads. Granted, it is is tough way to write a campaign but makes the world seem more real in that there are other events occurring.

I also keep an eye on RL news events as well and have in the past incorporated them as hooks and plot devices when they appeared to fit the nature of the campaign. Often times I do not just transplant the actual news story, but something that catches my eye within it to which I ask, "I wonder how the characters would deal with this?" I based a recent scenario on the poisoning case that involved Polonium 210. Instead of going after a single individual, I had a terrorist group going about setting off dirty bombs near crowded areas that created a cloud of highly contaminated smoke and dust that would drift from the blast site.

Meanwhile there was a series of newsstream reports throughout concerning the heist of Medical equipment from the University Hospital (including the machine that goes *Ping* biggrin.gif), the area was in the grip of a severe arctic cold snap with a rare snowstorm threatening to hit the city, a known celebrity was in town, and it was the Christmas Holidays.
Darkest Angel
I like to GM because I'm an evil sadist. I like to watch players squirm as they try to figure out what the hell is going on. It's also the only way I can get my hands on the milspec gear I can only dream of as a player. grinbig.gif

Seriously though, I like to make up the stories and plot twists and turns. I try not to plan too far ahead, because I know players will always scupper those plans for the plot, but it's nice to see what direction the players can end up taking you in within the overall big picture.

At the end of the day it's about everyone having fun, afterall it's a game and games are meant to be fun right? It's not about killing players, killing PCs is easy, and not fun. Setting them challenges that could get them killed, now that's fun, especially if they do pull through it.

Now I know on here a lot of GMs have issues with munchkin number crunched player characters with no background; that doesn't really bother me, if they can produce a legit character sheet and some semblance of what the character is like, then that's enough for me. Yeah, part of me is the EvilGM™, I am more than happy to throw charisma 1 troll killing hands adept of doom into social situations well out of his depth and watch him squirm, but that's purely in the name of character building, you actually get the best role playing when you throw players way over their heads, and those "arghcrapwhatdoidonow?!" moments are always the most priceless - said player become centre of attention (where he wants to be) and everyone else gets a giggle. Come the chapter finale though, everyone gets to shine at what they do best.

Ultimately though, it's about the story and the characters in it, and where they take you with it.
Kyoto Kid
QUOTE (Darkest Angel)
killing PCs is easy, and not fun.

<edit - missed one other hurdle>

...& expensive, you know what it costs to reposition the Orbital Bovine Launcher, how many forms need to be filled out, environmental impact statements filed, Eurocontrol, FAA and other airspace clearances to secure? Then there's having to deal with organisations like PETA, the SPCB, you have you maintain a fulltime staff of hotshot lawyers to handle them... biggrin.gif
Smilin_Jack
QUOTE (Kyoto Kid)
QUOTE (Darkest Angel)
killing PCs is easy, and not fun.

...& expensive, you know what it costs to reposition the Orbital Bovine Launcher, how many forms need to be filled out, environmental impact statements filed? Then there's having to deal with organisations like PETA, the SPCB, you have you maintain a fulltime staff of hotshot lawyers to handle them... biggrin.gif

Hrm... I'd think that PETA (People that Eat Tasty Animals) would be all for Oribital Bovine Bombardment? After all, its free beef from the heavens. nyahnyah.gif
knasser

I GM for two reasons. One - I have simply too much creativity to restrain it and GM gives me somewhere to put it whilst being a player does not. Secondly, I like to perform - vivid descriptions, tense plots, waving my arms around, etc. Again, I get less of this as a player.

I like to play. It's a chance to relax in a way that GM'ing isn't. Also developing a character is fun. But I'm pretty much entirely a GM.
Rajaat99
I GM for one simple reason, it's the closest I will ever get in my life of being a GOD!
fistandantilus4.0
Then you've certainly picked an appropraite handle. wink.gif
dog_xinu
QUOTE
What eactly motivates a games master to want to run the story and be the bad guys over wanting to be just one of the players?? I have a pretty cool idea for shadowrun campaigne but I'd much rather be a player in it then actually run it.


most GMs rather play over running. Or at least that is what I have come across. I run since there is no one else. Plus I have lots of ideas running around my head. To be fair, one of my players runs a game every now and then for a while so I get to play. So it isnt like I have forced to never playing.

QUOTE
I cant see the fun in not having a character who developes and grows. Im not very good at making other people happy before making myself happy first.

So any tips or advice or just reasons why you enjoy being a GM??


* come up with a storyline. A long term goal/thread of the campaign.

* make the game well balanced. If you have very little magic based characters, down play the magic threats. If there is no hacker/TM, then down play the electronic/hacking side of the game.

* make the game challenging. But dont be outright brutal. Unless the player is being "less-than-inteligent" then give them what they deserve. Now if they just do one thing that is in this category give them a pass/slide. Everyone makes a mistake. Second+ they get what they deserve.

* If you are not sure about how the game is going, ask the players at the end of the session. Getting feedback will allow you to adjust you game plan before the next session.

* write down notes on all your player's characters on things taht you would want to know about them without the player knowing what you . Plus this gives you the ability to say "Matt, please roll 6 dice..." That way the player doesnt know what it going on and cant do meta-gaming.

* write down notes about NPCs, mission notes, etc That way when the players as you a question you can answer quickly.

* also take notes of what happens. like when the items are due to come in via a contact, etc

more will come to me later.
dog
Angelone
The post above is very good advice-wise. I don't gm often and really only do it when my groups gm is burning out or needs a break. What I generally do is try to think of a few things that are going on and let the players find them. Like if they call their fixer he has plot 1, if they decide to hit the town they run into plot 2, etc. If for some reason they don't do anything then the fixer calls them, but I like the whole "hands off" gming.

I honestly hate gming, because I just get so selfconcous and worried if the players are having fun or not. Which they keep telling me they do, especially the other gm sarcastic.gif
mfb
if your players are good, and you can keep a lot of balls in the air, you can trick 'em into running a game for you. basically, you just expand their world. make them start things, rather than just doling out jobs and situations for you to react to. create a stable of NPCs with their own goals and motivations that intersect the PCs. make the PCs protect an asset, and then you get to have your team of runners try and get that asset. have your NPCs do legwork by going to the PCs and hitting them up for information--in the process, dropping clues that the PCs need to do their run.
tisoz
I too would much rather play than GM, but someone has to GM. When it is someone else, I get to feeling a bit guilty and try to give them some playing time.

What I like about GMing is playing NPCs that are not allowed as PCs, and having access to anything in the gameworld that makes any sense at all for the NPCs to have. In other words, access to all the cool stuff PCs can't afford or are wise enough not to try using too much.

My favorite type of game to run is one where the PCs have some plans or goals so I get to take characters and put in normal roadblocks (and some abnormal every now and again) to them fulfilling their plans and goals. Competition usually develops with others competing for the same resources, or with those whose goals conflict.
Garrowolf
I would much prefer to GM then ever play. I almost never play anymore. It's too confining. I love the crafting of setting and story. I started off GMing when I realized that I could tell a better story then the guy that started me off. I spend most of my free time working on various games and settings.

So I guess the underlining factor is that I have too much creativity to be bound by being a player. I love to GM.
2bit
fostering the development of characters, and telling a good story with them.

What I hate about being GM is that I always know what's going on behind the curtain.
Shev
QUOTE (2bit @ May 7 2007, 10:13 AM)
fostering the development of characters, and telling a good story with them.

What I hate about being GM is that I always know what's going on behind the curtain.

That very true, one of the worst drawbacks for me. It's like working at Disneyland: Bringing the magic to other people means you have to see all the ugly bits no one is supposed to see.
pbangarth
Oh, I can't imagine very many get to see ALL the ugly bits at Disney. We'd be into Call of Cthulhu then.
Kyoto Kid
QUOTE (tisoz)
What I like about GMing is playing NPCs that are not allowed as PCs, and having access to anything in the gameworld that makes any sense at all for the NPCs to have. In other words, access to all the cool stuff PCs can't afford or are wise enough not to try using too much.

...to expand a little on the above, also to be able to create new and interesting stuff that gets the PCs to go "wow, where can I get one of those?"

@mfb...you've been sneaking looks at my playbook haven't you biggrin.gif
Wounded Ronin
Well, I actaully don't like roleplaying and I feel like any story I'm likely to come up with in the context of a RPG will suck balls. The truth is that I stopped being able to enjoy novels years ago because nowadays I can only laugh about how the plots are implausible and suck.

What, then, are the reasons I've GMed for years?

1.) It gives me an excuse to buy and read SR3 sourcebooks.
2.) It gives me an excuse to research and present the 80s.
3.) It gives me the mental challenge of setting up tactical scenarios for the PCs to puzzle over.
4.) It allows me to repeatedly crack jokes about Chuck Norris, Ashida Kim, Frank Dux, etc. in the context of the 80s and awful martial arts.
5.) Elves with mullets.


So, I actually eschew all this "story" and "character development". I think my campaigns are more like statistical ballets of violence wrapped in an 80s motif and punctuated with absurdist humor.
youngtusk87
I What motivates me to be a Gm is telling a story to others that i've been working on for countless hours. It's all about expression--if you've never had the urge to write a book, a story, a play, make a game, or a movie, then chances are you wont be interested in being a GM. You'd rather experience the story.

I could be wrong.
Garrowolf
What's wrong with Frank Dux?
hyzmarca
QUOTE (Garrowolf)
What's wrong with Frank Dux?

Nothing is wrong with Frank Dux. He's very funny. The people who take him seriously, however, need their heads examined.
Wounded Ronin
QUOTE (hyzmarca @ May 7 2007, 10:26 PM)
QUOTE (Garrowolf @ May 7 2007, 10:18 PM)
What's wrong with Frank Dux?

Nothing is wrong with Frank Dux. He's very funny. The people who take him seriously, however, need their heads examined.
Garrowolf
Interesting. Didn't know... Oh well Never mind
Wounded Ronin
Whatever people say the fact is that the internet has a lot of good information it can teach all of us.
SuperFly
For me it's the ability to tell the story I want to tell, and watch the players have a blast with it. Since I GM exclusively over IRC, that also gives me the unique opportunity to craft a presentation of the entire game for the masses.

Some of the biggest satisfactions I get from GM'ing is watching the protagonists of my story think and act on their own, forcing me to write on my toes and adapt the entire plot accordingly; witnessing my players having a great time with the material I'm revealing to them; and getting the opportunity to bring some of my best NPC ideas to light, even if they are second tier to the storyline and played characters. My NPC's play a large part in what I enjoy the most about GM'ing, and my chosen style of giving all of them individual agendas makes for some amusing outcomes.

The PC's are also as (if not more) important to the storyline as the GM, since the relationship between the two is a symbiotic one. The PC's serve as the driving force behind the game and the stars of the stage... without them, there can be no campaign. They keep you thinking and alert, and provide great ideas for further story archs with their roleplaying.

When I discovered Shadowrun, it was through the SNES game. My uncle, who based his purchase solely on the fact that the package had a ram's skull on the front of it, had given it to my cousin for Christmas -- and so I played it soon after during a sleepover. I was hooked. I then learned that they had Shadowrun novels, and began to pick up as many as I could find -- starting with Never Deal with a Dragon and the rest of the Secrets of Power trilogy. These led me to Shadowrun 2nd Edition and the Seattle Sourcebook, which I read cover to cover twice. The Sega Genesis game came next, and I played through it multiple times over a Summer and Christmas season. For a good long while (a few years), I had no one to play with. All I had was my imagination, an ever-increasing stack of sourcebooks and novels, and my own stories and character archs which I thought up in my head.

In the fall of 1996 I found #shadowrun and #s-run on IRC's Undernet, and FINALLY got to play in a game of Shadowrun! For about 3 years I did nothing but play, and then tried my hand at GM'ing -- and I sucked hard. Somehow I managed to turn that game into a single-player campaign for my regular GM, a few pickups -- and my then crowning GM achievement -- a week-long epic with a zombie-infested island.

For the next few years, I only ran one or two pickups, until 2003 when I started 'The Chronicles of the A-Team' on a whim. The game turned out to be a huge success, and I found myself continuing an energy-charged campaign despite two 9-month-long deployments overseas (the second to Falluja, Iraq in 2004-2005).

While I was fighting in Iraq, I kept a little green notepad with me, into which I poured every ounce of my creativity into -- all of which revolved around the 'A-Team Chronicles'. The campaign was about halfway finished by this point, and everything seemed to flow right into place. So at this point, the campaign is the closest thing I have to my great american novel.

'The Chronicles of the A-Team' (site at www.s-run.com) has been going for around the last 4 1/2 years, and is currently on it's 16th Chapter. I expect the game to reach about 25 chapters total, and will be attempting to wrap it all up within the year 2007. It will hopefully be followed by a sequel campaign (probably using SR4) cleverly titled 'A-Team II: The Sequel'. I am also currently accepting submissions another game which I am beginning called 'Shadowrun: Noir', set in Seattle of 2041. This game will focus more on the cyberpunk aspects of the world, and is somewhat of a prequel to the 'A-Team' in that the new characters will encounter a few key NPC's that have cropped up.

I'm really excited about this as well, because it allows me to flesh out my already existing NPC's -- and give fans of the series a glimpse into their histories first hand.

Not sure how motivating this is for you, but it's the answer that comes to mind when I'm asked the equivalent of, "Why do you love to GM?"
Wounded Ronin
A lot of writers carry notepads to put their best ideas down in as they come up during the day. A college professor I knew who taught a creative writing class in fact suggested that the idea notebook is indispensible for the serious writer.

Since I am lazy and devoid of creativity I don't bother to carry a notebook.

I do like the idea of somebody carrying the creative idea notebook through combat situations, though. I visualize it like this:

*Sesame Street fade to imagination noise*
[daydream]
A Vietnam-era soldier with skinny arms, an olive drab tee shirt, and his face twisted into a mask of stress-packed terror sprays left and right from the hip into the jungle with a M16A1 which jams at least twice per magazine. The camera pans to the right as 7.62x39 WP rounds rip through the air like enraged Awakened hornets and cause divots to explode out of trees and the muddy jungle floor. The camera shows another soldier to the right just in time for us to see a quarter of his head explode. The camera pans back left and the original soldier has been specked with his comrade's pink brains and this just makes him grimace harder.

After a few minutes the firefight is over and the camera zooms out a bit. The brain-smeared soldier is standing in a huge pile of casings. His face slakens with exhaustion and he pants open mouthed and fish-eyed for a moment recovering from the traumatic experience.

Then, he sits down on a log, jauntily leans his rifle against a banana tree, and begins scribbling on a tiny pocket sized notebook, pausing occasionally to wipe brain flecks from his face. By now the brain flecks are grey.

The camera rotates around and zooms in on his notepad.

It says, "Sexy CHA 15 princess kidnapped by pirates, held in ancient catacombs. Random encounters: ghouls, giant rats, zombies, pirates. For cha levels 1-3."
[/daydream]

Wow, that's almost a Tarantino flick.
fistandantilus4.0
See my sig for Plan B's motivaitons.
Kagetenshi
QUOTE (Wounded Ronin)
Kumite! Kumite!

Someday I will fight in the kumite and make my father proud...

To honor you means everything to me, shidoshi!

What is obvious to me from this is that we need rules for the Kumite.

This is what motivates GMs.

~J
Wounded Ronin
QUOTE (Kagetenshi)
QUOTE (Wounded Ronin @ May 7 2007, 11:31 PM)
Kumite! Kumite!

Someday I will fight in the kumite and make my father proud...

To honor you means everything to me, shidoshi!

What is obvious to me from this is that we need rules for the Kumite.

This is what motivates GMs.

~J

That would be destiny. That would be the ultimate consumation of all SR stands for. The kumite. In rules.
Tiralee
The power, and the girls.


-Did I mention my lovely wife plays as well?

Tir:)
LordHaHa
I perfer GMing over activlely gaming for, say, three reasons.

The first is the ability to tell a story to other people, a story that they can interact with. I can usually develop a decent yarn on my own, but when you have a good group of players (which I do) then you can intergrate their actions into the greater plotline and thus create a memorable experience for everyone involved. I also get to expose my players to things they would have never experienced otherwise. Like a crazy, high, cyber-modified bear running around downtown St. Louis.

The second is the fact that I am the best GM I know. I'm not attempting to toot my own horn here, it's just that damn near every GM I've done stuff with has had (in my opinion) a questionable level of compitence.

The first GM I had did the whole "campaign on rails" deal - you couldn't do anything outside of his notes without him having to prematurely end a session. He also threw out hostile NPCs that were probably at least five steps above the rest of the party, so every encounter ended with one of his overpowered NPCs to take the villian(s) out. It didn't help matters that the system he was using was an unholy gobbelygook homebrew combination of Rifts, Traveller, D&D3E and SR in "hippie-high-power" mode. All of our regular (unassisted) martial art moves did MDC damage and one character had an attack that did EDC. All-in-all, it was pretty bad.

There was another one who was very easily manipulated by other people, so sessions turned into one big political clusterf***. One group of players wanted to become godlike and kill off everyone who wasn't in their stable (ie: me and two other people), so that was the main point of contention. I had some clout with the GM, so I was able to provide a bit of a counter-weight to that line of thinking. Unsurprisingly, the campaign collapsed in on itself.

Those are two instances that stick out in my mind right away. So on the whole, I perfer being in control of the situation. I'm generally pretty fair, don't take sides. My house rules are more clairifications and attempts to streamline SR. I have a campaign that is 3 (real-life) years old going on right now with largely the same player set, so I don't seem to be doing that bad.

The last reason is probably that I find GMing much more fun than being a player, regardless of anything else. As a player, I am subject to the rules of someone else, and who's views on what makes a good game may or may not be the same as mine. Aside from rule disagreements, I like creating new weapons, vehicles (etc.) more than actually participating in the circus.

LordHaHa
Dayhawk
The best part of being a GM to me is letting the story unfold.

Most of the time I gather a very loose idea of what I want the plot to be and let the players run the show.

More often then not, they think of idea's I never even guessed at and if I like them enough, I make their guesses reality.

When I think about how the story progressed, its often very creative.
Maimer
I enjoy GM'ing for two reasons.

1. I like to see how my group will handle the situations / stories lines / plot twists that I can through at them. Like I tell them at the beginning of my campaign. I'm along for the ride as much as they are. How you react to any given situation is up to you, and I'm just there to keep things moving along.

2. Your comment on not being able to grow characters strikes me as odd. When I start a campaign, I have already considered the 'End Game". Where I want the characters to end up. How they get there is up to them. Along the way I will introduce NPC's that will in some way show up to make their lives interesting. It's these recuring NPC's that I will actually have a character sheet for, get karma awards and money equal to the players. That way, these bad guys progress along the same route as my group.

Zolhex
I know it's been said before but I'll say it again because I'm the one who is willing to do it most of the time.

But also to a degree I like to do it it gives me knowledge of how other players do things then when I get the chance to play I can go hey this worked for other players let me try it.
Wounded Ronin
For me personally I find it interesting that a great many responses on this thread specifically cited "story" since for me as a GM "story" is less important. Hell, as a player, it's less important to me as well.
Demon_Bob
Creating an intricate interconneted world for the players to discover.
Aristotle
Because the story is my character. I don't play the "bad guys". I just tell the good guys where they are. I play the driving plot line and the intricate weave of subplots that sometimes mean something and sometimes don't. I'm there to witness the players' characters' triumphs and their tradgedies.

I run games because some nights it all comes together perfectly and you get to see that sense of awe in the face of a player that lets you know they can see the story just as clearly as you do, and they love it too.

I've been told I'm good at it. I think I still have a lot to learn, but I'm certainly enjoying the process.
DireRadiant
I GM for the money.
fistandantilus4.0
You can do that?!?! eek.gif

I want in! biggrin.gif
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