I was asking myself this question when I noticed a post on the LFG forum of a frustrated player talking about how they can't find a non paid DM to play under after a good length of time. I saw some people agree with this user till the forum thread disappeared, and I am curious on what all of you players and DMs think about the ratio of players to DMs?
I doubt it is. While there may not be an exact balance, as you get more players you will eventually get more people who want to try being DMs. The ratio of players to DMs has always been skewed towards the player end.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Four-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
I would say that yes too many players not enough DMs at the moment. The only reason I ever was able to start playing DnD was because I offered to be the DM. Nobody else offered, and I now find myself playing only as a DM now. I think it can really turn people off because of being unable to find a DM, or at the very least a decent one.
Obviously if new players are joining faster than we can mint new DMs, then it's too fast. But it's the kind of problem that fixes itself. New players who can't find a DM will have to either wait or step behind the screen for the first outing.
I know I as a DM feel almost obligated to prepare some of my players for the path of the Dungeon Master, so that when they fly my nest they can go out and sow the seeds of D&D by recruiting new players to their games.
Not having enough people willing to be DM is not the fault of D&D or a sign of fast growth. It is a problem that falls squarely on the shoulders of the those unwilling to step up and DM, but will instead spend all their time waiting for someone else to do it. It isn't a new problem at all. The "Forever DM" has always been a problem because people are either too scared or too lazy to get behind the screen.
As others have said, there's a DM shortage and I think it's perfectly natural (but unpleasant all the same). Similar occurances come with massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGs), wherein there's a shortage of those roles of higher responsibility, such as 'Tanks' and 'Healers.' The solution is simply to become one, or join the queue, quite literally in the case of video games where you're relying on random groups. And while it's similar, it's not exact. The good news about paid DMs is that there'll always be someone who's willing to do it cheaper, and cheaper, and cheaper.... and free.
Truthfully, there's only so much either party involved can do - I've seen many criticisms of Dungeon Masters Guides for many different RPGs, and I've seen many players ask how they get into DMing, as they do with tanking and healing in MMOs. I'm certain Wizards of the Coast could do more for DMs, and I'm sure players can do more to pluck up the courage and use resources to become DMs. Or maybe that's the problem, they read too much into it. The most I ever wanted to DM was when I knew virtually nothing about the game with the Starter Set, and that was OK because the people I wanted to play with knew even less than me.
Without getting too 'shameless plug-gy,' you may want to look at getting an invite to the Discord server AltRole, which I discovered on D&D Beyond's own LFG forum. They not only form groups but hold daily one-shots and workshops to learn how to play, and teach people how to DM well enough to go on their way. It's the most luck I've had playing D&D, and with a consistent group no less. That might be worth a look, alas I can't seem to find anything about them when I search on the forum, so I'm not sure if the post was removed or anything like that.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
It doesn't really help that the current 5e DMG is very poorly designed and laid out, and does little to really arm a new DM with what they would need to know to run a game. A new gaming group either figures it out as they go, hitting every possible speedbump along the way, or has to do extensive research outside the official books to figure out how the whole DMing thing actually works. I know I learned exactly nothing about DMing from the DMG; anything I learned, I learned from watching Matt Mercer do it or from reading third-party sources like Angry GM. The 5e DMG is eighty percent crappy creative-writing 101 primer I don't need and 20% random tables of stuff I might actually need, but scattered about in bizarre places where it's super difficult to remember where they are.
A proper Dungeon Master's Guide could go a long way towards fixing the issue.
It doesn't really help that the current 5e DMG is very poorly designed and laid out, and does little to really arm a new DM with what they would need to know to run a game.
lmao
regardless, new players play LMOP and its very easy to play for the first time.
Another problem I would say is that there are a lot of DM's who seem to think they need to spend months or years perfecting a homebrew world before letting players loose in it. I know several people who have fallen into this trap and I imagine there are a lot more out there. I am constantly having to explain to people that if you haven't ironed out the creation story for your world that is 200,000 years old that is ok.
But WOTC does not help things, if I was a new DM getting into the game now I would struggle to know where to start, most of the campaign books need work to be fully playable and even the starter sets, lost mines and icespire peak, need work, the DM's guide is a hodge podge so I would be reliant on watching youtube videos.
The percentage of those willing to be DM has remained fairly steady over the past few years/thousands of votes. Also, we observe that it's about 50/50 of new players vs experienced taking the poll.
I have kind of mixed feelings on the notion of a paid DM. On one hand, it can be a major time investment for the DM and playing with strangers can sometimes be a frustrating playing experience. I am sure everyone who has played with randoms has at least one wacky story in their arsenal. To me, it makes some sense why some DMs require that players invest some in this experience.
On the other hand, it also kind of feels like those who are genuinely interested in having a good experience are now having to make up for those players who use random games to get out some, I guess we can call it ‘trolling energy’.
I do not believe that the recent rapid pacing of growth for D&D is to blame though. Rather, I feel that this is just a natural occurrence when a particular fandom of any type becomes large; there are those paid DMs who see opportunity and those who demand their time respected. There are many non-paid DMs out there though. My own group is made up of three DMs, who are only players now because our lives are far too busy to DM a game (two of us are healthcare workers). We have never charged for our games and while I can’t speak for them, I plan to DM again and I do not plan to charge.
It doesn't really help that the current 5e DMG is very poorly designed and laid out, and does little to really arm a new DM with what they would need to know to run a game. A new gaming group either figures it out as they go, hitting every possible speedbump along the way, or has to do extensive research outside the official books to figure out how the whole DMing thing actually works. I know I learned exactly nothing about DMing from the DMG; anything I learned, I learned from watching Matt Mercer do it or from reading third-party sources like Angry GM. The 5e DMG is eighty percent crappy creative-writing 101 primer I don't need and 20% random tables of stuff I might actually need, but scattered about in bizarre places where it's super difficult to remember where they are.
A proper Dungeon Master's Guide could go a long way towards fixing the issue.
none of the previous editions were any better...
Honestly the only way to become a "Good" DM is to just start doing it and keep doing it. There is no magic how-to-DM book or math formulae for it. Except for putting in 10,000 hours of practice needed to start to perfect the ART of DMing.
Those DMs on the streams we love so much? Here is a little secret ... Their first game? They botched it hard. Just like every other first time DM ever. (and truthfully? I think some of them are being given a pass based on a modicum celebrity.)
Being DM is draining and a lot of effort. I'm doing RotFM and I have to prepare 10 mini adventures each time we play because they can choose to go any one of 10 cities. That's a lot of prep and time sunk in, not to mention the increased effort during the actual game time. For each 4 hour session, I'd probably put i at least as much prep time again. That's a full workday.
Even if I were playing with a friend DMing, I'd be at least bringing him gifts to say thank you. And a bunch of strangers wants him to do it for them for free?
Yeah, sure, the player base is growing too fast for free DMs. You can say that about most things in life, though. It's just that DMing is hard to do enjoyably and we're expecting people to just do it. And I'm saying this as someone who has never charged and has no intentions of doing so.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
For some background I am a person who started DnD off as DM and prefer being the forever DM for over 5 years. Alot of you make some good and interesting points, but I do have some things to add. In the base mechanical sense DnD is a fairly easy game to DM/GM, but the biggest issues I see are building that decent to good campaign, and DMing for random players. As mentioned the DMG has not been the best tool for such advice on DMing, and for me personally my help came from hours of youtube videos of different content creators. The biggest challenge I ever had to deal with are the players themselves as many of us probably struggled in setting your foot down, or being the better person. I feel like these can be a contributing issue on what is keeping some players from trying to DM.
I have considered at one point making a discord server with other DMs to give a sort of support group and training ground for new DMs to give them a head start.
Having started with 1st edition, I can say that a shortage of DMs has always been a problem. I think WoTC is starting to address the issue with the Starter Set, Tasha's and just lately Wild Beyond the Witchlight which have sections aimed at new DMs. The Forever DM has always been an issue as well and some players are afraid of getting trapped in the role and never having a chance to become a player again.
Many don't realize there are resources beyond the DMG, that it's okay to start with a one shot or something pre-packaged. It's also okay to retcon if you accidentally TPK the party. Running a session 0 can help new DMs understand that it isn't just "their table". It is everyone's table and it should not be all on the DM to make it fun. Everyone tells the story. Critical Role, Dimension 20 and other streams set up unrealistic expectations. Matt Mercer has been a DM for a long, long time. It takes a long, long time to become that kind of DM. Even he makes mistakes on camera and acknowledges that he made them.
Pointing people that might want to DM but feel overwhelmed toward resources not supplied by WoTC can be helpful. DM's Guild, Matt Collvill's videos on running the game, Sly Flourish's Lazy DMs books, The Monster's Know What They are Doing, etc. are out there and I think most of us have used all of them at some point. I ask question's here when I'm a little freaked out by something and I get help.
I have noticed more and more threads on this forum from new DMs asking questions. I they get support and encouragement, they will eventually extend that support and encouragement to the one person at their table that wants to try their hand at a one shot.
Being a GM is definitely daunting at first, but I think that is based more on perception rather than actual difficulty. After watching a few videos from Matt Colville and seeing how Bill Allen runs a table with high school kids, it does not actually seem too bad. Being a GM is definitely more complicated than being a player, but I think it is something that anyone can do.
There is also this perception that being a GM is like doing a chore, so if you see it as a chore, then it would definitely feel like a chore. I think Wizards and the community in general can do a better job of selling the GM experience. As a GM, you are the creator of worlds, the master of fates, and the holy spirit that resides in every NPC! Exploring dungeons and fighting dragons is nice and all, but it pales in comparison to the things you can do as a GM if you ask me.
To me at least, I feel like I am getting the better end of the deal, as I have more roleplaying opportunity than everyone else and can play multiple NPCs at the same time compared to generally just one character at a time for a regular player. I also have much more access to creative freedom and to flex it as a GM compared to a player. Based on those two perks alone, I do not really mind being a forever GM. I did start out as a GM rather than a player, so being a GM feels more natural and familiar to me, so there is probably anchoring bias for me too. And after being a player a few times, it definitely feels like being the GM is on the greener side of the GM screen.
Being DM is draining and a lot of effort. I'm doing RotFM and I have to prepare 10 mini adventures each time we play because they can choose to go any one of 10 cities. That's a lot of prep and time sunk in, not to mention the increased effort during the actual game time. For each 4 hour session, I'd probably put i at least as much prep time again. That's a full workday.
Even if I were playing with a friend DMing, I'd be at least bringing him gifts to say thank you. And a bunch of strangers wants him to do it for them for free?
Yeah, sure, the player base is growing too fast for free DMs. You can say that about most things in life, though. It's just that DMing is hard to do enjoyably and we're expecting people to just do it. And I'm saying this as someone who has never charged and has no intentions of doing so.
I enjoy playing sandboxy campaigns where the party can jump about willy-nilly, but for new DMs I'll certainly advise running something a bit more fixed. Call it railroading if you want, it makes the job of DMing a ton easier especially for newer ones. Experienced DMs have tons of stuff from previous campaigns, if not in a folder to pull from then at least in their head. Need a scratch NPC or a quick random encounter, just pick something from a previous campaign with a little twist and you're good to go. Experience also gives you a better idea of what the PCs can do in the first place. You'll still be surprised regularly, I don't think that ever goes away, but the more limited the scope of options the easier it'll be to run with whatever the players' cooky brainwaves have come up with this time. It's ok to impose some restrictions. There's jumping into the deep end to learn how to swim, and there's getting tossed into the ocean on the first day of winter.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
I was asking myself this question when I noticed a post on the LFG forum of a frustrated player talking about how they can't find a non paid DM to play under after a good length of time. I saw some people agree with this user till the forum thread disappeared, and I am curious on what all of you players and DMs think about the ratio of players to DMs?
I find something incredibly funny about a large group of people all going to the same place and every single one of them complains about an inability to find DMs. It's like if group of people were all in a fully stocked kitchen complaining about how hungry they are and wishing a Chef would just show up to prepare a meal for them. All it takes is one person to say, "Hey wait, I might not know how to use a stove, but I could probably make something".
I think prior to COVID it was likely easier to find in person play through local networks, game and comic shops and probably localized digital outlets like Meetup and Facebook or what have you that is geography specific. The problem with a national cattle call on an online forum to a toolset is sure there are millions of people "on" D&D Beyond, but how many of them are frequently on the forums and more specifically the LFG/FLP forums? I think if you're looking for a game regardless of geography, I think other services probably fill that role better, that's not a dig at DDB itself, just an acknowledgement of the limitations of the present forum functionality. As the world gets healthier hopefully the old school social networking and local level game formation will come back.
As far as the actual question. No, people being interested in D&D does not harm D&D. I think the problem might be unrealistic expectations of what a DM is or should do and maybe, maybe, that leads to folks being gun-shy about stepping up. When I started playing, it was folks who were all new to gaming and basically we all took turns at DM (published stuff didn't take as long to finish as the hardbacks ... maybe there's a design flaw in the game's present production there) and those who were good at it, stuck with it. Eventually folks in that interest group started haunting comic and game shops and cross pollinated with other groups, and folks who want onto school or military had their clubs and would sometimes have hometown reunions. These journeys are how dispersed communities work. Going back to the unrealism, I think there's an expectation of curated experience (like lots of things in current life) that I think hampers active gaming community involvement ... but that's something that isn't just about gaming and drifts into sociology.
I was asking myself this question when I noticed a post on the LFG forum of a frustrated player talking about how they can't find a non paid DM to play under after a good length of time. I saw some people agree with this user till the forum thread disappeared, and I am curious on what all of you players and DMs think about the ratio of players to DMs?
I doubt it is. While there may not be an exact balance, as you get more players you will eventually get more people who want to try being DMs. The ratio of players to DMs has always been skewed towards the player end.
Four-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
I would say that yes too many players not enough DMs at the moment. The only reason I ever was able to start playing DnD was because I offered to be the DM. Nobody else offered, and I now find myself playing only as a DM now. I think it can really turn people off because of being unable to find a DM, or at the very least a decent one.
1 shot dungeon master
Obviously if new players are joining faster than we can mint new DMs, then it's too fast. But it's the kind of problem that fixes itself. New players who can't find a DM will have to either wait or step behind the screen for the first outing.
I know I as a DM feel almost obligated to prepare some of my players for the path of the Dungeon Master, so that when they fly my nest they can go out and sow the seeds of D&D by recruiting new players to their games.
Not having enough people willing to be DM is not the fault of D&D or a sign of fast growth. It is a problem that falls squarely on the shoulders of the those unwilling to step up and DM, but will instead spend all their time waiting for someone else to do it. It isn't a new problem at all. The "Forever DM" has always been a problem because people are either too scared or too lazy to get behind the screen.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I think the idea of playing D&D with random strangers on the internet is quite strange. I would imagine the average experience is quite lacking.
As others have said, there's a DM shortage and I think it's perfectly natural (but unpleasant all the same). Similar occurances come with massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGs), wherein there's a shortage of those roles of higher responsibility, such as 'Tanks' and 'Healers.' The solution is simply to become one, or join the queue, quite literally in the case of video games where you're relying on random groups. And while it's similar, it's not exact. The good news about paid DMs is that there'll always be someone who's willing to do it cheaper, and cheaper, and cheaper.... and free.
Truthfully, there's only so much either party involved can do - I've seen many criticisms of Dungeon Masters Guides for many different RPGs, and I've seen many players ask how they get into DMing, as they do with tanking and healing in MMOs. I'm certain Wizards of the Coast could do more for DMs, and I'm sure players can do more to pluck up the courage and use resources to become DMs. Or maybe that's the problem, they read too much into it. The most I ever wanted to DM was when I knew virtually nothing about the game with the Starter Set, and that was OK because the people I wanted to play with knew even less than me.
Without getting too 'shameless plug-gy,' you may want to look at getting an invite to the Discord server AltRole, which I discovered on D&D Beyond's own LFG forum. They not only form groups but hold daily one-shots and workshops to learn how to play, and teach people how to DM well enough to go on their way. It's the most luck I've had playing D&D, and with a consistent group no less. That might be worth a look, alas I can't seem to find anything about them when I search on the forum, so I'm not sure if the post was removed or anything like that.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
It doesn't really help that the current 5e DMG is very poorly designed and laid out, and does little to really arm a new DM with what they would need to know to run a game. A new gaming group either figures it out as they go, hitting every possible speedbump along the way, or has to do extensive research outside the official books to figure out how the whole DMing thing actually works. I know I learned exactly nothing about DMing from the DMG; anything I learned, I learned from watching Matt Mercer do it or from reading third-party sources like Angry GM. The 5e DMG is eighty percent crappy creative-writing 101 primer I don't need and 20% random tables of stuff I might actually need, but scattered about in bizarre places where it's super difficult to remember where they are.
A proper Dungeon Master's Guide could go a long way towards fixing the issue.
Please do not contact or message me.
lmao
regardless, new players play LMOP and its very easy to play for the first time.
Another problem I would say is that there are a lot of DM's who seem to think they need to spend months or years perfecting a homebrew world before letting players loose in it. I know several people who have fallen into this trap and I imagine there are a lot more out there. I am constantly having to explain to people that if you haven't ironed out the creation story for your world that is 200,000 years old that is ok.
But WOTC does not help things, if I was a new DM getting into the game now I would struggle to know where to start, most of the campaign books need work to be fully playable and even the starter sets, lost mines and icespire peak, need work, the DM's guide is a hodge podge so I would be reliant on watching youtube videos.
I've had a running poll on this to offer an idea: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/looking-for-players-groups/26939-community-discord-poll
The percentage of those willing to be DM has remained fairly steady over the past few years/thousands of votes. Also, we observe that it's about 50/50 of new players vs experienced taking the poll.
Nothing definitive; just providing some data. : )
Hello,
I have kind of mixed feelings on the notion of a paid DM. On one hand, it can be a major time investment for the DM and playing with strangers can sometimes be a frustrating playing experience. I am sure everyone who has played with randoms has at least one wacky story in their arsenal. To me, it makes some sense why some DMs require that players invest some in this experience.
On the other hand, it also kind of feels like those who are genuinely interested in having a good experience are now having to make up for those players who use random games to get out some, I guess we can call it ‘trolling energy’.
I do not believe that the recent rapid pacing of growth for D&D is to blame though. Rather, I feel that this is just a natural occurrence when a particular fandom of any type becomes large; there are those paid DMs who see opportunity and those who demand their time respected. There are many non-paid DMs out there though. My own group is made up of three DMs, who are only players now because our lives are far too busy to DM a game (two of us are healthcare workers). We have never charged for our games and while I can’t speak for them, I plan to DM again and I do not plan to charge.
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none of the previous editions were any better...
Honestly the only way to become a "Good" DM is to just start doing it and keep doing it. There is no magic how-to-DM book or math formulae for it. Except for putting in 10,000 hours of practice needed to start to perfect the ART of DMing.
Those DMs on the streams we love so much? Here is a little secret ... Their first game? They botched it hard. Just like every other first time DM ever. (and truthfully? I think some of them are being given a pass based on a modicum celebrity.)
I think the key word is "unpaid".
Being DM is draining and a lot of effort. I'm doing RotFM and I have to prepare 10 mini adventures each time we play because they can choose to go any one of 10 cities. That's a lot of prep and time sunk in, not to mention the increased effort during the actual game time. For each 4 hour session, I'd probably put i at least as much prep time again. That's a full workday.
Even if I were playing with a friend DMing, I'd be at least bringing him gifts to say thank you. And a bunch of strangers wants him to do it for them for free?
Yeah, sure, the player base is growing too fast for free DMs. You can say that about most things in life, though. It's just that DMing is hard to do enjoyably and we're expecting people to just do it. And I'm saying this as someone who has never charged and has no intentions of doing so.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
For some background I am a person who started DnD off as DM and prefer being the forever DM for over 5 years. Alot of you make some good and interesting points, but I do have some things to add. In the base mechanical sense DnD is a fairly easy game to DM/GM, but the biggest issues I see are building that decent to good campaign, and DMing for random players. As mentioned the DMG has not been the best tool for such advice on DMing, and for me personally my help came from hours of youtube videos of different content creators. The biggest challenge I ever had to deal with are the players themselves as many of us probably struggled in setting your foot down, or being the better person. I feel like these can be a contributing issue on what is keeping some players from trying to DM.
I have considered at one point making a discord server with other DMs to give a sort of support group and training ground for new DMs to give them a head start.
Having started with 1st edition, I can say that a shortage of DMs has always been a problem. I think WoTC is starting to address the issue with the Starter Set, Tasha's and just lately Wild Beyond the Witchlight which have sections aimed at new DMs. The Forever DM has always been an issue as well and some players are afraid of getting trapped in the role and never having a chance to become a player again.
Many don't realize there are resources beyond the DMG, that it's okay to start with a one shot or something pre-packaged. It's also okay to retcon if you accidentally TPK the party. Running a session 0 can help new DMs understand that it isn't just "their table". It is everyone's table and it should not be all on the DM to make it fun. Everyone tells the story. Critical Role, Dimension 20 and other streams set up unrealistic expectations. Matt Mercer has been a DM for a long, long time. It takes a long, long time to become that kind of DM. Even he makes mistakes on camera and acknowledges that he made them.
Pointing people that might want to DM but feel overwhelmed toward resources not supplied by WoTC can be helpful. DM's Guild, Matt Collvill's videos on running the game, Sly Flourish's Lazy DMs books, The Monster's Know What They are Doing, etc. are out there and I think most of us have used all of them at some point. I ask question's here when I'm a little freaked out by something and I get help.
I have noticed more and more threads on this forum from new DMs asking questions. I they get support and encouragement, they will eventually extend that support and encouragement to the one person at their table that wants to try their hand at a one shot.
Being a GM is definitely daunting at first, but I think that is based more on perception rather than actual difficulty. After watching a few videos from Matt Colville and seeing how Bill Allen runs a table with high school kids, it does not actually seem too bad. Being a GM is definitely more complicated than being a player, but I think it is something that anyone can do.
There is also this perception that being a GM is like doing a chore, so if you see it as a chore, then it would definitely feel like a chore. I think Wizards and the community in general can do a better job of selling the GM experience. As a GM, you are the creator of worlds, the master of fates, and the holy spirit that resides in every NPC! Exploring dungeons and fighting dragons is nice and all, but it pales in comparison to the things you can do as a GM if you ask me.
To me at least, I feel like I am getting the better end of the deal, as I have more roleplaying opportunity than everyone else and can play multiple NPCs at the same time compared to generally just one character at a time for a regular player. I also have much more access to creative freedom and to flex it as a GM compared to a player. Based on those two perks alone, I do not really mind being a forever GM. I did start out as a GM rather than a player, so being a GM feels more natural and familiar to me, so there is probably anchoring bias for me too. And after being a player a few times, it definitely feels like being the GM is on the greener side of the GM screen.
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Running the Game by Matt Colville; Introduction: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8 >
D&D with High School Students by Bill Allen; Season 1 Episode 1: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52NJTUDokyk&t >
I enjoy playing sandboxy campaigns where the party can jump about willy-nilly, but for new DMs I'll certainly advise running something a bit more fixed. Call it railroading if you want, it makes the job of DMing a ton easier especially for newer ones. Experienced DMs have tons of stuff from previous campaigns, if not in a folder to pull from then at least in their head. Need a scratch NPC or a quick random encounter, just pick something from a previous campaign with a little twist and you're good to go. Experience also gives you a better idea of what the PCs can do in the first place. You'll still be surprised regularly, I don't think that ever goes away, but the more limited the scope of options the easier it'll be to run with whatever the players' cooky brainwaves have come up with this time. It's ok to impose some restrictions. There's jumping into the deep end to learn how to swim, and there's getting tossed into the ocean on the first day of winter.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
I find something incredibly funny about a large group of people all going to the same place and every single one of them complains about an inability to find DMs. It's like if group of people were all in a fully stocked kitchen complaining about how hungry they are and wishing a Chef would just show up to prepare a meal for them. All it takes is one person to say, "Hey wait, I might not know how to use a stove, but I could probably make something".
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I think prior to COVID it was likely easier to find in person play through local networks, game and comic shops and probably localized digital outlets like Meetup and Facebook or what have you that is geography specific. The problem with a national cattle call on an online forum to a toolset is sure there are millions of people "on" D&D Beyond, but how many of them are frequently on the forums and more specifically the LFG/FLP forums? I think if you're looking for a game regardless of geography, I think other services probably fill that role better, that's not a dig at DDB itself, just an acknowledgement of the limitations of the present forum functionality. As the world gets healthier hopefully the old school social networking and local level game formation will come back.
As far as the actual question. No, people being interested in D&D does not harm D&D. I think the problem might be unrealistic expectations of what a DM is or should do and maybe, maybe, that leads to folks being gun-shy about stepping up. When I started playing, it was folks who were all new to gaming and basically we all took turns at DM (published stuff didn't take as long to finish as the hardbacks ... maybe there's a design flaw in the game's present production there) and those who were good at it, stuck with it. Eventually folks in that interest group started haunting comic and game shops and cross pollinated with other groups, and folks who want onto school or military had their clubs and would sometimes have hometown reunions. These journeys are how dispersed communities work. Going back to the unrealism, I think there's an expectation of curated experience (like lots of things in current life) that I think hampers active gaming community involvement ... but that's something that isn't just about gaming and drifts into sociology.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.