Being a Dungeon Master is NOT Stressful.

Please don’t let anyone on YouTube convince you that it is.

I watched a video by a certain popular “DungeonTuber” or “D&DTuber” last night and while this person might have nigh onto a million followers on various social media I don’t think she knows entirely what she’s talking about. I want to be clear about something that was mentioned in the video- I’m not mad at this person. I’m not trying to pick a fight just for funsies. This isn’t a toxic callout.

I’m still in the wee early stages of my YouTube journey. I admire these “DungeonTubers” for all they’ve accomplished. I have a long, long way to go yet, and I know it. Although I will say to all the various DungeonTubers- if you think your life is too stressful and making videos is too hard, give me your problems and your money for a day. I think I’m ready.

Dear audience, you are getting the polite, polished version of what I could say. I could just as easily go on the ‘Tube and do one of those toxic reaction videos we hear so much about. I’d rather address it here because I feel I’m calmer and more composed in print. My channel is still in that young, getting-to-know-you phase of building a community. I doubt ripping someone a new one on the channel would sit well with her 500K+ rabid followers, so I’m not starting that fight.

Disclaimer: This is my blog. This is how I see things and how I feel. There is little factual information being presented. If you have issue with anything being presented, please contact me privately on X (Twitter,) Instagram, BlueSky, or by email. Otherwise, there are lots of platforms out there for you to vent your feelings and opinions, too.

Being a Dungeon Master (or any other GM role) is NOT stressful.

I know they say the military is “the toughest job you’ll ever love,” but I would make a strong argument that being a DM/GM is a close second. Does my game cause me any anxiety? No. The opposite is true. My game prep time and running a session actually calms me down.

That’s not a criticism of this DungeonTuber’s mental health. Only she knows what her issues are and it’s up to her to cope. Everyone’s feelings are valid to them. Please don’t take anyone else’s word for how you should feel about something.

She did finally get around to making my points at the end of the video and I think they should have been made sooner. (Sorry, kiddo. I’ve been at this whole gaming thing a lot longer than you have.) The main point that needed to be made: If you are stressed out by campaign creation, scheduling, game prep or anything else related to your hobby, it’s time to talk to your group or maybe make some changes. Maybe being a DM just isn’t for you. That’s okay.

You have to take care of your mental, physical, and emotional health. Downtime for depression and other mental health issues is real, family. I know all too well. Social anxiety is a thing, too. No doubt these things take a toll on physical health, relationships, and finances.

I cannot stress the value of therapy or any other mental health practice that works for you. Anxiety and depression are no laughing matter. Players- if your DM/GM comes in and says they’re getting stressed out over gaming, please take them seriously and try to help. They’re not going to be much fun if they’re hiding in their bedroom instead of running/playing the game.

Call me “conspiratorial,” but I think there’s an ulterior motive at play here.

The same content creator I’m speaking of is basically on Wizards of the Coast’s payroll as the spokesperson for Dungeons & Dragons either officially or unofficially. I mean, I’d say “shill,” but I’d hate to get labeled as one of those toxic social media naysayers. WotC’s spin doctors have found ways to demonize anyone who disagrees with their regular DungeonTubers. I wish I was kidding.

This much beloved content creator for the D&D brand just finished telling us how amazing the new 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide is. We got to hear about how wonderful it is several times over especially those great player facing Bastion Rules that DMs have almost no say in.. I have yet to read through this book in person, but everyone on YouTube sure thinks their free advanced copy is wonderful. (But they’re not being paid for the review like some of the DungeonTubers were allegedly paid for their 2024 Player’s Handbook reviews. Wink.)

But why would our trustworthy friends at WotC and our DungeonTuber friends want to say being a DM is so stressful. Weren’t they trying to set the newbie DM’s up for success? Oh, the heresy to suggest otherwise. WotC and their DungeonTubers always have their community’s best interests at heart. They’d never betray our trust.

Remember the Great D&D Open Game License Debacle of 2023? WotC would love if we all forgot. Not me. I’m one of those icky bitter old guys on the Internet with bad things to say. “Boooooo.” LOL!

Let’s put some pins and strings on the corkboard for a minute.

Remember the original proposed OGL changes included a lot of WotC exclusive access and even more draconian Virtual TableTop rules? That was before a certain DungeonTuber, and all of her massive followers jumped on the #StoptheSub movement causing D&D Beyond to lose a lot of those pesky old subscribers. Remember how WotC tried to shut down any/all Third Party Publishers and have a death grip on D&D as an Intellectual Property?

Anyone remember how a bunch of us “toxic” old fartz said if you wait long enough, it would all come back around. It’s been almost two years. The greater part of the #OpenDnD and #StoptheSub crowd has gone back to cheering for all things D&D. Many of them have products up on D&D Beyond now, too.

Remember how the AI Dungeon Master thing came up back then, too? We’ve all talked about it in the community since. Then we found out that Hasbro/WotC is using AI internally to “help” generate content. That’s a whole different article by itself, but the fact remains that the era of the AI DM on their VTT platform will definitely be a thing.

I still think Cobra Commander along with Tomax and Xamot work for WotC. First the plan was to create a DM shortage to make AI DMs more appealing. Now they’re back to the narrative that being a DM is somehow too stressful, so we need WotC and their AI to swoop in and save us. I think the ultimate goal is to replace human DMs completely and turn D&D into a strictly electronic game with lots of microtransactions. (The C in WotC now stands for COBRA!)
This has all happened before and it will all happen again.

If we’re not 100% in the echo chamber of “WotC is great,” then we’re toxic. That’s the narrative multiple DungeonTubers would have you believe. It’s very likely that the majority of (newer) D&D players have no idea about all this behind the scenes intrigue. Dr Mindbender’s plan is working perfectly. No one dares oppose Wizards of the Cobra now.

I’m sort of joking here but not really. The video that started me on this rant pointed out that the vast portion of the TTRPG community on social media is toxic. That’s pretty much true.

No one online dares to say, “I don’t like (blah) set of rules in the new 2024 D&D,” without it turning into “You hate D&D so much. Why do you criticize something you won’t even buy. You’re toxic!”

If I say, “I like vanilla ice cream” someone on the Internet will scream at me for hating pistachio even though I think whatever you like is just fine. Why hate on stuff? Everyone has different tastes. It’s fine.

Honest confession: I’ve considered going against my principles and buying the new 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide. It does look like an okay reference for D20 gaming. Then again, there are how many new GM related books that have come out in the last year or so. The Tales of the Valiant Game Master Guide and the Pathfinder 2E Remastered GM Core look like great GM books, too. If I had big YouTube dollars I’d have backed the ToV books and begged Paizo for review copies of the Core content. It is what it is, I guess.

But the new 2024 DMG is not for me at this time. My gaming dollars are, uh, nonexistent currently. There are just simply too many other expenses going in the background. Not to mention I’ve backed a lot of Kickstarters that have not fulfilled as of yet and there are a ton of reviews on the horizon. Alas, my post-holiday spending is more wish list than funds at the moment.

Unlike some DungeonTubers, I’m not begging for money on Ko-Fi or setting up a Patreon for additional support. I don’t have big money sponsors for my YouTube channel. (LOL! I’ll be surprised if that ever happens.) No one is asking me to write a tiny chunk of their book so they can put my name on the cover. I don’t even think my Instagram following is over 1,000 on either account currently.

We’ll come back to the accusations of the TTRPG community supposedly being toxic in Part 2. At this point, it might be the apology and retraction of this article. Then again, if this article offends, you haven’t seen me on “Intentionally inflammatory.” I can rouse the rabble when need be.

Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.