Regarding the Changeling game, I've something to say about that, despite the fact that I'm not actually technically a full-time player yet.
Regardless of how much time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears you put in, someone is going to feel as if they haven't gotten everything that they wanted from you. It's inevitable. I've been in games with three other players and a single, monomaniacal gamemaster, and we still felt as if we weren't getting enough of what we wanted. Never mind the weekly five pages of handouts and the stupidly well-planned sessions.
Having said that, you and David (and the other wonderful STs / ASTs) have managed to create an environment where story and character flourish because you've managed to put your time and effort into the bits of the game that matter most. Further, you've managed to do that while juggling a very large set of players, a massive multi-layered plot goliath, and a selection of memorable non-player characters.
I sometimes worry that the best games I've had the pleasure of being a part of threatened a ST / GM / DM / whathaveyou burnout seasonally. That, above all things, is what you should avoid. You shouldn't run a game that you don't enjoy running, at least on some level. ...so have fun, tackle the workload as best you can, and realize that the players are inventive folk, too. My major failing as a GM has always been that I underestimate the creativity of the players and try to tell the whole story; you seem to be avoiding that, by and large, for which you deserve many kudos.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 06:39 pm (UTC)Regardless of how much time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears you put in, someone is going to feel as if they haven't gotten everything that they wanted from you. It's inevitable. I've been in games with three other players and a single, monomaniacal gamemaster, and we still felt as if we weren't getting enough of what we wanted. Never mind the weekly five pages of handouts and the stupidly well-planned sessions.
Having said that, you and David (and the other wonderful STs / ASTs) have managed to create an environment where story and character flourish because you've managed to put your time and effort into the bits of the game that matter most. Further, you've managed to do that while juggling a very large set of players, a massive multi-layered plot goliath, and a selection of memorable non-player characters.
I sometimes worry that the best games I've had the pleasure of being a part of threatened a ST / GM / DM / whathaveyou burnout seasonally. That, above all things, is what you should avoid. You shouldn't run a game that you don't enjoy running, at least on some level. ...so have fun, tackle the workload as best you can, and realize that the players are inventive folk, too. My major failing as a GM has always been that I underestimate the creativity of the players and try to tell the whole story; you seem to be avoiding that, by and large, for which you deserve many kudos.
But overall, don't sweat the small stuff. :)