As much as DMs like to take responsibility for the success or failure of their games, you’re one person running a group that could be six or more players. Their personalities, attitudes, relationships, and a hundred other factors will have a big impact on the game. Some players are going to be very easy for you to work with and others may not be.
In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave talk about the struggles they’ve had with player-DM relationships, including:
1:00 What makes a “good” player?
4:00 Maybe drinking at the game IS a problem?
5:00 Attitude, enthusiasm and players being “game” for the game
12:00 What kind of players cause problems for us:
22:00 Ways players help make it a good game
28:00 Guiding players to character classes they’ll enjoy (beware the casual player who comes to play a wizard).
36:00 When players become secretly disgruntled
42:00 Does faster leveling make better games and happier players?
46:00 How non-D&D RPGs handle leveling and character rewards differently (story rewards)
51:00 Grinding games: When the rewards are too low and slow
58:00 When players turn on each other — the hardest thing to DM
1:05:00 Figuring out what is true to you as a DM
1:12:00 D&D brings out everyone’s vulnerable side, be gentle with them
1:16:00 Final thoughts
