Okay I'm thinking about running an Eberron campaign, the first game I have attempted to run in about... two or three years. I have been thinking about my GMing style lately, and why I have had success with some people, and dismal failures with others. I think my fault is that I am apart of the "new school" of RPG gamer. Specifically I put less emphasis on combat and getting crap, and more emphasis on story. Also I have this love of heroic deeds, and this loathing of villiany. Basically D&D is escapest fantasy, where a person can get something they are lacking in their lives.... not totally unlike dreams in a way. But where people get different things out of their dreams (I for one dream about the Zombie Apocolypse a lot... and being Spider-Man... but that doesn't mean I fear about being impotent... but that is another rant) people also want to get different things out of their Role-playing. My personal taste is to be totally immersed in a world, where everything feels like it is a living breathing system... which goes along with my world view I guess. My problem is when I play with people who crave more escapist entertainment. It's like the difference between those who like reading a book, and those who like watching TV. I GM like a good book... or at least I try. But some just want to watch TV and not worry about all the complexities of a novel. There is nothing wrong with either way of thinking, but the two do not mesh well, and if you only one one form of experience, getting the other isn't going to do it for you.
So these are my strengths of GMing
- I understand Tone and Theme and attempt to bring them to the campaign.
- I plan things out far in advance, and attempt to use forshadowing, usually this ties into my theme.
- I think of character motivations in a highly complex way, to create truely interesting NPC's and Villians (I think Scorpius was a much better villian because his motivation was actually a "good" one, he just went about it at odds with John and the Moya crew).
- I ascribe to Ursela K. Le Guins philsophy about how fantasy shouldn't feel safe.
- I rarely do the same thing twice, I like to keep my players guessing.

My Weaknesses
- My plotlines tend to be complex, and require more effort than most sane people would be willing to give them.
- I ask a lot out of my players.
- I sometimes get so caught up in the story, that I forget about the loot factor in my games, which is important.
- I ask my players to play in a world which maybe fantasy, but is somewhat related to the real world.

In any event people (or person, for there only seems to be one person who reads this thing regularly) wish me luck... hopefully I can get a group that will appreciate my style of DMing.