The Gamemaster is a player too, they're just playing everyone that _isn't_ a protagonist. While there's some level of responsibility it would be a very toxic group that expects the GM to do all the "work" and they just get to "play". It should be everyone's responsibility to make sure the game is fun for the entire table.
I’m also not limited to the character options or a single character. I can create anything I like and run with it.
Do I want a village of fox people? Grab a monster, adjust the stats, and decide on a few personalities.
The goal isn’t to tell a story. The goal is to create a playground and let the players tell the story while you get to play anything they encounter.
I have asked players to not do certain things because I’m running out of a book to save prep time and don’t have as much flexibility as I’d like to give them. Any players that have an issue with that are free to leave my game. We’re here to have fun and if everyone (including me) is not having fun, something needs to change.
Fuck that, I love being the DM! It's a good bit of prep but it's _so much fun_.
> no one around me would want to sacrifice themselves
It's not so much a sacrifice as it is simply a different game. Some people enjoy coming up with stories more than exploring other people's stories.
If so, which are the ones that don’t need a dungeon master. I’m not really attracted to those as I would think no one around me would want to sacrifice themselves to play that role.