by Zeb
Okay. I got a confession to make.
I think being a GM is much more fun than being a player.
Anyone whose known me for the five years of running games or being a generally chatty and kinda opinionated ass in the Legion should vouch I run more often than I play.
I do not know how to start a community address and I took a bong hit before I wrote this. And now you must all suffer my stream of consciousness bullshit. Hi, welcome to hell.
Right, back on track: Five years in the Black Pants Legion. Five years in a box of manic thought, creative energy, sometimes poor or absent social skills and then adding the neurostimulus of everything jank, odd, unique and just fucking WEIRD to your frontal lobe. It’s a good brain damage.
But in my time here, I need to confess that I have GMed more games than I played, both out of the curse of all tabletop groups, the one we all have pained in our souls. THAT CLARION QUERY THAT STRIKES AT THE HEART OF YON DICE CUNT’S HEART: WHOMST GM’TH, YON FUCKER? And every time I ever put the call out to players, I have gotten some wonderful bastards over the time. Some have done multiple games, others have been once in a specific game.
Now, I gotta acknowledge the elephant in the room. I’m a highly opinionated prick and asshole with poor social skills and a blunt tone. This isn’t beneficial for public facing duties, so why do I like GMing? Why would I purposefully engage in a task that involves organizing peoples schedules, herding cats, writing, stating, setting up the VTT Du Jour for the players? Why obsess over the minutae of a thing we do on a Sunday afternoon between bong hits, wrestling PPVs or just playing something in General Chat?
Because I think being a GM and helping people have a great time makes me feel good.
I think seeing Eldonious Rex come up with the idea that everyone on Tatooine are space hillbillies and thus made what could only be described as Gomer Pyle crossed with a sadistic Frankenstein for droids. The man tried to take a trio of buzz droids and made them a limbless anger ball. “Golly, they sure are MAD.”
Also, I need to emphasize this, HIS CHARACTER PICTURE WAS JUST GOMER PYLE WITH A WRENCH. It’s fucking beautiful.
Or, in another game, Digs joining a Cyberpunk Red game as a big, kinda dimwitted himbo of a gang of nitwits alongside a tired and cranky Tech, a lethal and cunning Exec martial artist and what could only be described as “Trauma Team Tacticool Instagram Influencer”. That campaign was rocky, at times, but the moments that stick out far outrank any of the hassle. Seeing players cackling and pitching ideas back and forth, of trying to solve the puzzle in the best way without getting burnt hard.
Of course, there is always a bit of sadism. I get my fun out of this. Like OP: Mountain Mama, a Delta Green Adventure where our own Faithful Deputy tried to gun down a massive Quebecois to only discover the man was made of blood and wood detritus, and blowing the top of his head only made Discount Mythos Mr. X mad. Or when that loveable Engineer with Eldonious and a crew discovered an Imperial Star Destroyer that had begun borgifying its crew and they realized they were trapped on board.
I love GMing because I get to spend time with funny, kind, interesting people I meet here, through the legion. I finally had a community to explore my love of these weird and wonderful games and settings. Only in the legion, in my adult life, could I find a place to play or run Twilight 2000, Hunter the Reckoning, Call of Cthulhu, Delta Green, FFG Star Wars and more, and despite thinking I botch more often than not, I never have problems finding players here. And running those games made me realize what I want out of being a writer. What I like to write. What I feel passionate about. It helped convince me who I wanted to be. That I deserved to live openly and happily. To finally admit I had to make some decisions.
Me running these games in the legion has helped me get through some of the worst patches of my adult life, because I know I want to have a good time with people I care about. So I keep running for folks, both in and out of the Legion.
Because its fun.
Because it helps us get through bad times.
Because knowing they are here and okay and having a good time playing pretend in a discord call is nice.
Because I like seeing them have fun while I make them run through my fucking maze, because I am the god king of this mighty tabletop, and none can oppose me.
You have read to the end of this article, now I must tell you the Mage’s curse is now on you. YOU must now read and run a campaign for ME. I will only play at the most obscure time slot. You need to find the other players. I want a narrative and lore heavy game of Mage: The Ascension. I already have 3 character concepts and I can happily talk about the lore and dish about it wait no comebackIthoughttheheartfeltconfessionwouldwoooorrrrk!
