I have to say, I have found it uncomfortable being a player after DMing for so long. I find myself wanting more from my character's story, and wanting to craft it myself. For example, I wanted my human fighter to have two ogre bodyguards who were brothers that he picked up in a city one day, but my DM didn't allow it because he hadn't chosen it; that character had the leadership feat for it and I was willing to pay the gold for them, but because he hadn't made the characters, he didn't want me to have them. Which was frustrating.
I also find myself playing less seriously. I'm rarely the party leader, not because I'm incapable of it, but because I'm no longer interested in playing that type of character. Instead, I play characters like my halfling rogue who wants nothing more than to collect the greatest collection of daggers ever collected, or my barbarian who has a wonderful mind for strategy in war and siege combat. I tend to go along with what the DM wants, because I know he wants us to go that direction, but I try to always do it in a way he would never expect.
In other words, I end up setting my own goals for characters that often conflicts with what the DMs I've had try to do with my characters. Maybe it's simply because I haven't had a good DM since I started DMing, or maybe I'm just not a player who is easy to get along with as a DM. I dunno.
Parentheses are (not) important.
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