My feelings about GMs' being in charge of the game have been made pretty clear.  What I want to know now is how many of you feel that the GM should also be the guy who is in charge of all the other details of the game? As in, decisions about who plays, food, game times, infrastructure for the game (seating, music, etc)?

Does your opinion on this change at all if the GM is not the host of where the game is played?

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditMy feelings about GMs' being in charge of the game have been made pretty clear.  What I want to know now is how many of you feel that the GM should also be the guy who is in charge of all the other details of the game? As in, decisions about who plays, food, game times, infrastructure for the game (seating, music, etc)?

Does your opinion on this change at all if the GM is not the host of where the game is played?

RPGPundit

I don't know about the other stuff so much, but I've never seen a game where the GM DIDN"T have the authority to pick his players. Ever.

Game times and other stuff: a lot of authority, but dependent up players desires too.

Seating and food: yeah right. Only if he's got some sort of system for initative order, and even then if the players bitch about it...

I think if it's a GM/Host they would more or less call the shots, perhaps with input from the rest of the group.  If the Host is someone else, I think the GM would need to collaborate with them on things like food, game times, infrastructure for the game (seating, music, etc).

Some of the issues mentioned above (care and feeding, seating arrangements, who does the dishes) are the business of the host.  RPGs are like any other gathering in that the host sets the ground rules for the event.

Group composition, game length and scheduling are things that should be hammered out by the group as a whole.

I have found that in my group I *have* to be the leader in such situations.  If I send out an email saying 'When are we going to play?' I'll get noncommittal or no answer at all.  And it isn't lack of enthusiasm, when I see them next it's usually "So when are we playing again?"  If I say "Game on the 17th at 5 o'clock - can you make it?" then they respond quickly and we sort it all out.

I'm not the host either, so that's not it.  Do I think I *should* have to do this?  Not really, but in my case at least I have to if I intend on keeping the game going.

Edit - oh, and I usually call food as well.  Same reason.  If I don't no one has any firm opinion and we all fend for ourselves.  If I say we should have X, even if someone else says no let's have Y, then we have a good meal to go with our game.

Apart from who plays in the game, the rest should be democratic, although I think seating should be decided by first making sure the GM has the best seat for GMing. Not necessarily the most comfortable seat, the guy that owns the place should have dibs on that. But for instance, some GMs like to sit at the end of the table where their shield covers everything easily while others like the middle of the table where they can reach the board better. If at all possible this should be accomodated.

Even on the "who gets to play" front I've seen democratic situations where someone the GM would rather not game with is allowed to play. This usually occurs when a girlfriend or boyfriend is involved.

For food, the GM shouldn't get more than one vote just like everyone else. However, if he is always the GM and sometimes reluctant, it might be nice to give him extra votes to make up for it.

Game times should be determined by figuring out which time the most people can arrive. In all my groups we've always played at a set time on a set day, with possible pick up games around the house back when I had more free time and roommated with fellow gamers. We sometimes lose people, but it's easier for us to set a specific time slot aside.

If I'm running a game I prefer not to be responsible for anything else. As a result I don't care where we play or what we eat, as long as I can concentrate on what I'm doing.

Quote from: MaddmanI have found that in my group I *have* to be the leader in such situations.  

You raise a good point.  Some groups need strongman leadership, where someone starts lobbing ultimatums and dictates to get people off their asses.  If things go too far in that direction, though, the whole bunch might be better off playing Xbox Live instead of Dragonlance.

Quote from: RPGPunditMy feelings about GMs' being in charge of the game have been made pretty clear.  What I want to know now is how many of you feel that the GM should also be the guy who is in charge of all the other details of the game? As in, decisions about who plays, food, game times, infrastructure for the game (seating, music, etc)?

Does your opinion on this change at all if the GM is not the host of where the game is played?

RPGPundit

I kinda get dragged/ambushed into GMing alot of the time. So where we play, who brings the food, etc. is usually handled by somebody else. Not that I'd care to handle those things anyway.

Maddman brings up a good point, that most of the things to be decided are pretty trivial, so people have no real opinion on them. Plus, people need some inspiration. I mean, go to a restaurant and get handed a blank menu, what do you order? But have a list, it becomes easier.

Someone has to say, "let's play at this place and time, eat so-and-so, finish by such-and-such" and so on. Otherwise everyone just sits there staring at you blankly, or hell, doesn't get together in the first place.

Roleplayers in general are pretty disorganised.

A lot of social activities/groups benefit from someone to up and say "okay, THIS! NOW!" - not necessarily bossing, but just taking the lead. It's takes a certain disposition to be that person, so it's not surprising that the GM (game-stuff) and Host (non-game-stuff) might be the same person. I'd bet that things would be a lot more chill if they were separate people more often, though, just so that one person doesn't feel like he's carrying the whole damn group. (On the other hand, when I was GMing, I also enjoyed hosting people at my home, what with the whole hospitality thing.)