Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Convincing 4th Edition players to consider 5th Edition
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 5965478" data-attributes="member: 2067"><p>I'm of the opinion that, <em>as a DM</em>, I don't like having to make a bunch of little judgement calls.</p><p></p><p>You can run a good game with nothing but a good DM. A good DM can run a good game of anything. A good DM knows when to break the rules, how to set the stage, how to enhance the game, how to entertain. A good DM earns and keeps your trust, is fully impartial, and is always honest and direct. </p><p></p><p>But that's a lot of frickin' work. And a lot of <em>unnecessary</em> work. I shouldn't NEED to make a million little judgement calls about whether or not my party is permitted to succeed in Action X or Y. The game should be able to tell me what happens and give my players enough confidence to friggin' get on with it, so I can react for a little while, rather than pro-act. </p><p></p><p>I'm perhaps a bit of an outlier -- so many DMs saw 3e's "rules for everything" approach as limiting, but I saw it as liberating. Finally, <strong>I don't have to make up the rules for how fast you climb that wall!</strong> There they are! And I can always change them if I want to, since I'm still the DM!</p><p></p><p>Some people want a lot of autonomy built into the rules to enable players to act without asking, and to enable DMs to relax and roll with the dice without having to second-guess the balance implications of every player stunt. DM Fiat is always going to be there, and always essential for the very best games, but not everyone thinks that it should be a prerequisite for play. If you require that, you exclude a broad swath of people. You don't need to have a mental disorder to not like DM Fiat anymore than you need one to appreciate it. It is a tool like any other. Over-use it, and it is bound to break, but keep it for when you need it, and you can employ it judiciously, to enhance, rather than as a necessary prerequisite for the game to be enjoyable.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="I'm A Banana, post: 5965478, member: 2067"] I'm of the opinion that, [I]as a DM[/I], I don't like having to make a bunch of little judgement calls. You can run a good game with nothing but a good DM. A good DM can run a good game of anything. A good DM knows when to break the rules, how to set the stage, how to enhance the game, how to entertain. A good DM earns and keeps your trust, is fully impartial, and is always honest and direct. But that's a lot of frickin' work. And a lot of [I]unnecessary[/I] work. I shouldn't NEED to make a million little judgement calls about whether or not my party is permitted to succeed in Action X or Y. The game should be able to tell me what happens and give my players enough confidence to friggin' get on with it, so I can react for a little while, rather than pro-act. I'm perhaps a bit of an outlier -- so many DMs saw 3e's "rules for everything" approach as limiting, but I saw it as liberating. Finally, [B]I don't have to make up the rules for how fast you climb that wall![/B] There they are! And I can always change them if I want to, since I'm still the DM! Some people want a lot of autonomy built into the rules to enable players to act without asking, and to enable DMs to relax and roll with the dice without having to second-guess the balance implications of every player stunt. DM Fiat is always going to be there, and always essential for the very best games, but not everyone thinks that it should be a prerequisite for play. If you require that, you exclude a broad swath of people. You don't need to have a mental disorder to not like DM Fiat anymore than you need one to appreciate it. It is a tool like any other. Over-use it, and it is bound to break, but keep it for when you need it, and you can employ it judiciously, to enhance, rather than as a necessary prerequisite for the game to be enjoyable. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Convincing 4th Edition players to consider 5th Edition
Top